Mike Elko is standing behind Marcel Reed despite Texas A&M’s offensive collapse, but says the Aggies must find explosive plays before Arkansas arrives.
Mike Elko isn’t running from Texas A&M’s problems, and he isn’t running from Marcel Reed, either.
After consecutive SEC losses dropped Texas A&M to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play, Elko used his Monday press conference to make it clear the Aggies still believe Reed can lead the offense despite a brutal two-week stretch.
“We believe in him,” Elko said. “We have to find ways to let him be more successful. We’ve seen him be more successful. We’ve got to get him there.”
That confidence is being tested.
Texas A&M managed only 197 total yards in Saturday’s 35-6 loss at LSU, the program’s lowest offensive output since its infamous 2022 loss to Appalachian State.
Reed was especially ineffective pushing the ball downfield, completing just 1 of 8 passes for 27 yards on attempts traveling at least 10 yards.
The Aggies also failed to score a touchdown.
But Elko pushed back against making Reed the convenient scapegoat.
“The struggles in the LSU game were really deep,” Elko said. “He is not the only part of it. There were struggles at so many levels.”
One problem is impossible to ignore: explosive plays.
Texas A&M ranks near the bottom nationally in that department, and Elko admitted the offense has become far too dependent on stringing together mistake-free possessions.
“We’re having to be too precise, and that’s hard to do,” Elko said. “We’re too choppy, which puts us behind the chains a lot.”
Now comes Arkansas.
The Razorbacks visit Kyle Field Saturday night as Texas A&M begins its 150th-anniversary celebration, but there isn’t much celebratory about the Aggies’ current trajectory.
Elko’s message is straightforward.
“When things aren’t going the way you hoped, the only thing you can do is come together and work,” he said.
At some point, though, work has to produce results.
Elko knows that, too.
“We’re in this business to get results,” he said. “We have to find ways to be more successful.”
For Reed and the Aggies, Saturday against Arkansas would be a good place to start.
