On3 Consensus 4-star QB Marcel Reed commits to Ole Miss

Montgomery Bell Academy (Tenn.) quarterback Marcel Reed just wrapped up his second spring visit to Oxford, Miss., driving down to Ole Miss to check out the Rebels’ spring game on Saturday. Soon after leaving, he tweeted he would be making a verbal commitment on Monday.

And on Monday he announced he was committing to Ole Miss and head coach Lane Kiffin.

The 6-foot-2, 180 pound quarterback is the No. 356 overall prospect in the On3 Consensus rankings for the class of 2023. He is considered the No. 19 quarterback in the class. He chose the Rebels over notable offers from Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Louisville, Baylor, Miami, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, TCU and Cincinnati among others.

Earlier this spring, Reed seemed to focus on three programs: Arkansas, Georgia and Ole Miss. But the Rebels always seemed to stick out above the rest.

He later took unofficial visits to Clemson, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Ole Miss. The Razorbacks and Rebels seemed to get out front with the hometown Commodores and head coach Clark Lea also pushing for Tennessee’s 9th-ranked prospect. But it seemed like Kiffin and his staff won out in the end because of their offensive attack and the homey feel he gets when he is in Oxford.

Reed talked with On3’s Jeremy Johnson about those things last month.

“Coach (Lane) Kiffin has brought in a lot of energy to that program,” Reed said. “Their offense is electric. They brought in Jaxson Dart from USC, which is going to be a fun thing to see this season to see how they play with the offense they had this year as well as the air raid they’re bringing in from USC.

“It’s really nice out there and Oxford is a great place to be,” Reed said.

In his first three years of high school at MBA in Nashville, Tenn., Reed has thrown for 4,159 yards and 35 touchdowns while also running for 1,333 yards and 23 rushing touchdowns.

Four-star 2023 QB Marcel Reed with patience finds an easy crosser for a score. #GoDawgs #HottyToddy #Florida all after this signal caller. pic.twitter.com/eRiVi6rRuw

— Jeremy Johnson (@JeremyO_Johnson) March 13, 2022

The son of former Tennessee State head football coach, Rod Reed, Marcel is a crafty signal caller. Johnson sat down and talked with OMSpirit’s Ben Garrett on Recruit Check last month, speaking about his innate ability to not panic, work through progressions and take what the defense gives him.

“He’s athletic and can run around, but he doesn’t have to,” Johnson said. “A lot of kids rely on their athletic ability a lot early and Marcel Reed, his father was a coach, he’s really football savvy and at the next level that’ll be elevated even more.”

Johnson went on further to say he can always fall back on the aforementioned athleticism when things break down.

“Playing in a system like what Lane Kiffin runs over there that’s a lightning in a bottle situation for a guy like him.”

Johnson’s mention of athleticism can be seen in the box score, too, as Reed ran for 593 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021, leading MBA to the Division II-AAA title game.

Johnson praised Reed’s showing at last weekend’s event in Atlanta, naming him one of the standouts on day two.

Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell quarterback Marcel Reed showcased the entire toolkit on Saturday and Sunday. He threw on the move, he showed leadership and he showed patience waiting for receivers to come open after looking through a few progressions.

Kiffin and new co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. visited Reed at his high school earlier this year and have hosted him twice this spring, tipping the scales in their favor away from the likes of the Razorbacks and Commodores and eventually earning his verbal commitment on Monday.

Reed is also a standout basketball player for Montgomery Bell Academy and he is also a track athlete, high-jumping 5-foot-8 as a sophomore in the spring of 2021.

He joins On3 Consensus four-star and Raleigh (Miss.) linebacker Suntarine Perkins in the Rebels’ 2023 class.

Reed currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $26k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index which looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.