Johnny Manziel says full offseason will benefit Marcel Reed ‘tremendously’
By Sydney Hunte
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Johnny Manziel certainly is hoping that 2025 will be the year that Texas A&M breaks through and reaches the College Football Playoff for the first time, especially with Texas having made it to the semifinals in back-to-back seasons.
That might mostly rest on the right arm of Marcel Reed. The Aggies’ quarterback took over starting duties from Conner Weigman in the last few weeks of the season, but couldn’t steer A&M out of a skid that saw 4 losses in its last 5 games.
Going into 2025, Reed will open the season as the starter rather than needing to win it mid-year. On Thursday’s “Pat McAfee Show,” Manziel recounted a phone conversation he had with Reed recently and said that change in offseason mindset will help.
“We sat and had a 20- 30-minute phone call and (I was) just really trying to give him some tips and just talk to him and see how he’s feeling being under center, getting the reps, knowing that you’re going to be the guy,” Manziel said.
Getting that time as QB1 in the offseason versus working as a backup should aid in the growth of Reed heading into the upcoming season, Manziel added.
“I think having the full offseason to be able to get the reps, have the time week in week out throughout the season, will benefit him tremendously compared to what he was doing last year,” he said.
Reed’s dual-threat tendencies should help, too, He ran for 588 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2024.
“Everybody can see from what he did when he came in (against) LSU last year that the guy has the ability to shake you out of your shoes, be an unbelievable threat running the football,” Manziel said. “I think people are going to be able to prepare for that, and he’s going to have to step up in a bigger way, making passes down the field and making the whole thing work.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
