Reed Under Pressure, Owens Takes Blame as Texas A&M Opens Fall Camp

Texas A&M opened fall camp Wednesday evening at College Station, four weeks before the 2026 season opener against Missouri State at Kyle Field on Sept. 5, with quarterback Marcel Reed once again drawing the bulk of attention as the Aggies seek to build on their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Reed, a redshirt junior entering his second full season as the starter, spent much of 2025 in the Heisman Trophy conversation before struggling in the program's highest-profile moments — back-to-back losses to Texas and a first-round CFP defeat against Miami. He did deliver what has been described as one of the greatest performances in program history, engineering a second-half comeback against South Carolina. Head coach Mike Elko and Reed are both aware that advancing Texas A&M's national-contender aspirations depends on Reed elevating his play when it matters most. Despite the inconsistency, the former four-star dual-threat prospect out of Tennessee — a three-time TSSAA state championship game participant who earned 2023 Mr. Football honors — enters the year as a dark-horse Heisman candidate.

Owens Accepts Blame; Backfield Battle Takes Shape

Redshirt junior running back Rueben Owens spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time in months, taking direct accountability for the Aggies' ground-game struggles late in 2025. Owens, who rushed for a career-high 639 yards and five touchdowns last season, acknowledged that poor footwork, inconsistent post-snap vision, and several dropped passes — most notably during a 48-yard performance in the road loss to Texas — cost the team at critical moments and likely kept him from eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career.

That's on me.

— Rueben Owens, Texas A&M running back

Owens, who added weight this offseason, will compete with rising sophomore Jamarion Morrow over the next two to three weeks for the starting job. Morrow, described by the staff as the best one-cut back on the roster, impressed coaches during spring practice. Elsewhere in the skill positions, the wide receiver rotation flashed Wednesday, led by junior Terry Bussey, now listed at 205 pounds, alongside Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 215 pounds.

On the injury front, Elko confirmed Tuesday that senior linebacker Daymion Sanford, who suffered a lower-body injury during the spring Maroon & White Game, is on course to be a near-full participant in fall camp, though he will operate on a snap count as he works back into live scrimmage situations. Elko added that Sanford still has benchmarks to clear but is ahead of schedule. Center Mark Nabou Jr., the lone returning offensive line starter after four linemen were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, was named to the Preseason Outland Trophy Watch List this week, recognizing a 2025 season in which he allowed just 12 pressures and zero sacks across 522 snaps.