Nick Saban raves about Marcel Reed entering 2026
By David Wasson
Published:
Texas A&M enters the 2026 season with high expectations borne from an 11-game winning streak last season and a berth in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff. Among the returning standouts for the Aggies this season is quarterback Marcel Reed, who shined in 2025 with 3,169 passing yards and 31 total touchdowns.
Reed has plenty of pundits high on his potential heading into his redshirt junior season – among them ESPN analyst and former Alabama coach Nick Saban.
“I think Marcel Reed is an outstanding player. I just love the way the guy plays,” Saban said Wednesday on SportsCenter during Day 3 of SEC Media Days in Tampa.
“First of all, he is really a good passer – and he has gotten better and better over the last two years in terms of processing and getting the ball out and being accurate. But he also is a tremendous athlete who can make plays with his feet and put tremendous pressure on the defense because of his athleticism.”
Saban went on to heap more praise both on Reed and Aggies coach Mike Elko, who has won 19 of 26 games so far in his tenure in College Station.
“I just love Marcel Reed and I love what Mike Elko and what he has done at A&M,” Saban said. “They had more guys drafted. They’ve had great recruiting years. They’re winning more games. (Elko) has a really good team coming back, even though they lost some players – they replaced them with some good players.”
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
