COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Tigers are set to face another premiere quarterback, this time in the form of Texas A&M's Heisman Candidate, Marcel Reed. 

He's thrown for 1,972 yards and 17 touchdowns this season, while tacking on an additional 349 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, leading the Aggies to one of the best offenses in the Southeastern Conference. 

Reed's inherently a capable thrower, but may be more of a natural runner. His speed and elusiveness on the ground is what sticks out to Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz. 

"His added dimension when he runs is really, really impressive," Drinkwitz said. "It's got some Lamar Jackson-esque type qualities." 

Much of the narrative surrounding Jackson –a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and one of the greatest rushing quarterbacks ever – was that he couldn't throw as well as other top quarterbacks. The way to stop Jackson was to make him throw the ball in the air, and let the mistakes present themselves. 

Jackson eventually disputed much of that narrative, throwing for 41 touchdowns and 4,172 yards in his 2024 MVP campaign, but still looming echoes of it now and then. 

Now Reed, who shares similar qualities as a dual-threat quarterback, faces some of the same critiques. 

"(He's) able to make plays with his feet, and I think that's what opens up a lot of other things for offense," Mizzou safety Jalen Catalon said on what sticks out about Reed's game. We just have to try to contain that.... let's make sure that we make him play quarterback. That's all we have to do.

Catalon and the rest of Missouri's defense has had success throughout the season shutting down other mobile quarterbacks, so they're up to the challenge. They held Jalon Daniels to 25 yards on 10 rushes, LaNorris Sellers to -28 yards on 10 rushes, Jackson Arnold to 14 yards on 17 rushes and Diego Pavia to 20 yards on eight rushes. 

A standout front seven consisting of top run defenders like linebackers Josiah Trotter and Khalil Jacobs, along with support from lineman like Chris McClellan and Marquis Gracial have helped shut those quarterbacks down. 

"It''s not going to be our first rodeo of seeing a QB that can run the ball or use his legs to to extend plays," Trotter said. "So those games primarily helped us kind of prepare for this game."

Reed is fresh off his best career rushing game, totaling a career-high 108 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against LSU in Week 9 before the Aggies' bye week. He's peaking in terms of his rushing game right now, and it'll be a big challenge for the Tigers to stop Saturday.