Mike Elko describes Conner Weigman's reaction to being replaced by Marcel Reed against LSU

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko watched on as his offense struggled against LSU. That’s when he decided to make a bold switch at quarterback, bringing in Marcel Reed to replace Conner Weigman. The move worked and Texas A&M ended up scoring 38 points in the winning effort.

Following the game, Elko praised Weigman for his reaction to getting benched and noted that he didn’t feel as though the offensive issues fell on Weigman entirely.

“He took it great,” Mike Elko said. “I just told him, I said, ‘It’s not you. This is not on you. I’m gonna tell everybody it’s not on you.’ We let him down. We all did. But we needed a spark and we were just at a point where we had to try something different.”

For the game, Conner Weigman completed just six of 18 pass attempts for 64 yards. He also lost 14 yards on six carries, with sacks being accounted for in that number. Meanwhile, Marcel Reed was able to spark the offense. He finished the game completing both of the two pass attempts he had in the game for 70 yards. He also ran for 62 yards and three touchdowns.

“We felt like, if nothing else, Marcel’s athleticism would give us a different variable that they probably hadn’t spent a ton of time preparing for,” Elko said. “So, that’s what we did and it worked for us.”

Earlier in the season, Marcel Reed came in and played well as a replacement for Conner Weigman when he was dealing with an injury. However, Mike Elko turned the offense back over to him once he was healthy enough to return. Now, with this benching, he’ll need to make his decision at the quarterback position moving forward.

Mike Elko praises Marcel Reed for preperation, competing vs. LSU

Following the win over LSU, Mike Elko praised Marcel Reed for his preparation despite going into the game as the backup.

“He works his tail off,” Elko said. “He never backed away. We needed him early, he came, he was ready. When we went back to Conner, he stayed ready. We felt like, the way the game was going, we needed him tonight, and he was still ready. He’s a great kid, he’s a great competitor, he won us the football game tonight.”

Next week, Texas A&M will be on the road against South Carolina. Ahead of that game, Elko will need to make a decision on the quarterback position moving forward.