Mike Elko says Texas A&M’s struggles are not just on Marcel Reed: ‘Our offense is inept’
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Mike Elko’s team has been in free-fall for some time now, and after Saturday’s latest loss, the Texas A&M head coach wasn’t going to go dark side.
In other words, he wasn’t going to put all of the blame on quarterback Marcel Reed, who once again struggled in a Week 11 home loss to Tennessee that was the Aggies’ 3rd straight defeat. After being ranked and very relevant early in the season, Texas A&M has lost 6 of its past 8 games and stands at just 4-6 overall with a 1-6 mark in the SEC.
It’s been an epic struggle for the Aggies and Reed for a while now, and it continued on Saturday in a listless 22-7 loss to the Volunteers that came with many red-flag signs of offensive ineptitude.
With Reed at the controls for almost the entire day, Texas A&M managed a season-worst 179 yards of total offense while registering just 8 first downs.
Reed’s stat line left a lot to be desired, of course. He went 9 of 22 for a measly 71 yards passing with 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. After failing to get the Aggies’ offense going at all in the 2nd half, Reed didn’t even make it to the end of the game, being replaced by backup Brady Hart for the final offensive possession.
Naturally, Elko had a lot to answer for in the postgame press conference, including his starting quarterback. But he wasn’t about to blame Reed for all of the struggles, responding to a question from a reporter on if Reed will remain the Aggies’ starting quarterback.
“We’ll figure that out moving forward. Our offense is inept. It’s not just on one kid. It’s not just on Marcel Reed, that’s on me. It’s on me,” Mike Elko said. “It’s my fault. I own it. Come after me.”
Despite what Elko said, the whole Reed thing in College Station will be something to watch for as this deeply disappointing season winds down.
Will Reed still be the starter going forward?
Or will Elko shake things up and make a change?
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
