Marcel Reed’s leadership and talent propel No. 3 Texas A&M to 1st 10-0 start since 1992

COLLEGE STATION Texas AP Marcel Reed wasn t perpetually a quarterback He got his start in Pee Wee football as the group s star running back But it speedily became clear he could throw better than anyone on the unit so they implemented halfback passes for the young Reed That wasn t nearly enough to showcase his athletic ability and by fifth grade he moved into the position that made him a star He knew it was where he was supposed to be all along It just felt natural just because obviously I got to touch the ball every play he declared So who can complain about that Years later Reed has developed into one of the country s top quarterbacks and a Heisman Trophy contender as he s led the third-ranked Texas A M Aggies to their first - start since The charisma and the character Aside from his physical gifts Reed s rapport with his teammates has helped him and the Aggies make a big jump in his second year as Texas A M s starter I have the charisma and the character just to be able to lead people he announced I tell people a lot that the way I lead is kind of connecting with all of my teammates not just on a football level but just kind of understanding them To that end he made it a priority to know the names of everyone in the locker room from the stars to the walk-ons And he s not purely memorizing names He works to establish a relationship with each member something he learned from his father Rod Reed a former Tennessee State coach I try to make it known who I am as a person not just a football participant he commented Teammates often rave about Reed s leadership and credit him for much of Texas A M s success this season Marcel has turned around this effort for sure noted linebacker Taurean York one of the band s three captains He s the leader on the forefront of it and he s out there playing his best in the biggest moments and that s something that you can t measure He s also impressed those who have been in his shoes in the past Jerrod Johnson the QB at Texas A M from - who is at the moment the Houston Texans quarterbacks coach commented Reed is everything you want at the position Just his command of the offense he just looks like he s in complete control Johnson announced You can see he looks a lot more secure You can see his anticipation is a lot better than last year But just big picture wise man you can see he s a leader of that organization Johnson whose late father Larry Johnson also played football at A M knows the pressure of leading a major college unit and can only imagine how much more complex it is in the current landscape of college football It s a privilege to play at Texas A M Johnson reported I was two generations at it and I never took the opportunity to run out in Kyle Field and lead the Aggies lightly And I can tell he cares about Texas A M he cares about his teammates and he has a sense of appreciation and importance of the position he s in Being the starting quarterback for Texas A M is a huge deal and he s making the greater part of it and we re all rooting for him Making a name for himself Reed made a name for himself as a dual-threat quarterback after throwing for more than yards and touchdowns while rushing for over yards and more scores in high school Last season he threw for yards with touchdowns and six interceptions and added yards rushing and seven TDs When the Aggies struggled down the stretch last year losing three of their last four games to fall out of contention for the College Football Playoff multiple criticized Reed for not being a strong enough passer Though he disclosed the criticism didn t bother him because he knew what he was capable of he spent much of the offseason working on improving his passing skills and it s clear his hard work paid off This year he s thrown for yards and leads the Southeastern Conference with touchdown passes Reggie McNeal who threw for yards and ran for yards for the Aggies from - sees multiple similarities between himself and Reed Though McNeal finished his A M career before Reed was out of diapers Reed named McNeal as one of the Aggies former quarterbacks that have inspired him What he s perhaps got more of than I had was the shiftiness McNeal announced I made people miss but he s more shifty than I am So it s a pleasure to watch him play and it s so similar to the things that I used to do back when I played And the offense that he gets to play in is top notch and it fits him perfectly McNeal has been impressed with how Reed has developed as a passer Each week he s gotten better McNeal reported You hear people talking and he is quieting all the talk down week by week So I mean the kid he s a player Bringing an edge to the Aggies In addition to the other qualities that have elevated the quarterback this season Reed has helped bring an edge to the Aggies that they lacked in current years He ruffled specific feathers after Texas A M cleared out the stadium with a - rout of LSU last month when he reported Death Valley didn t do much to me Reed doesn t care if people were bothered by his comments If it does then do something better so it don t irk you he disclosed That s not my obstacle Last week Reed was required about past Heisman moments as he enters the final two weeks of the regular season as A M s first contender for the trophy since Johnny Manziel won it in He mentioned Cam Newton and Manziel Then on Saturday after the Aggies fell into a - hole to South Carolina at halftime after three turnovers by Reed it looked like his Heisman hopes and possibly A M s chances to make the playoff for the first time were slipping away Instead Reed had what could be his Heisman moment by spearheading the biggest comeback in school history in a - win He finished with a career-high yards passing including yards and three touchdowns in the second half to earn Associated Press player of the week honors That ostensibly should hold a lot of stock with Heisman voters I would hope coach Mike Elko noted He has elevated himself week in and week out When we ve needed him to step up and make plays to win football games he s done it There s been a lot made of selected other people across the country when they ve had opportunities to step up and make plays and they were rewarded for it I d like to see our quarterback rewarded for it the same way Reed is happy to be gaining more recognition as the Aggies chase their first national title since But he s far more focused on helping Texas A M continue its perfect season and setting an example for those who come after him It s cool to be the person that you reliably dreamt of being he disclosed I wished to be a college football competitor and succeeding at the highest level And there are people before me who I looked up to so it s just great to be in this position and have other people look up to me And I try my best every day to go out there and put on a great example for the younger ones Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top throughout the season Sign up here and here AP News mobile app AP college football https apnews com hub ap-top- -college-football-poll and https apnews com hub college-football Source