Former A&M QB Jerrod Johnson sees 'tons of potential' in Marcel Reed

Current Houston Texans quarterback coach and former Aggie signal-caller Jerrod Johnson joined Wednesday's edition of TexAgs Live to share his thoughts on Marcel Reed and the Texas A&M offense in 2025. Johnson also spoke on his coaching career in the Bayou City.

Key notes from Jerrod Johnson interview

• It's been good and good to be back in Houston. My football journey has taken me all over the country to get back here. I’ve been in 15 cities in six years and spent three years coaching with the Colts and spent a year with Kevin O’Connell for the Vikings, for all of that to come back coaching with the Texans and with our baby being born. I’m a kid from Humble, and it's been a dream come true.
   
• CJ Stroud is a special kid. He works really hard and loves football. He's got a great family and his mom. He's a mentally tough young man who has a great sense of who he is and sees the game. He's an elite passer and does well. It's a great job to coach him.
   
• We signed Christian Kirk, and I sent him a text message. It's good to see him in NRG, and when he returned those punts against Arizona State. He’s so mature. He's a pro and a great kid. It's good to have another Aggie in the building.
   
• For me, it's family and such a pivotal part of my story. My dad played at A&M from 1976 to 1980, and I grew up going to A&M games. I committed to A&M as a sophomore for basketball and football, and A&M has been a part of my family. For me, I’ve had ups and downs, but the people I’ve met, the experiences, deep-rooted emotions and feelings a lot of my life has revolved around Texas A&M. I love what it stands for, the people and alumni. It means family to me, and I'm forever grateful for what's done in my life.
   
• Mike Elko and A&M are doing a heck of a job. It is a new time in college sports. It's hard to win games. So, I think he is doing it with class and recruiting, walking around and seeing the talent. Now, I'm in the NFL evaluating guys and seeing the guys we have in Maroon shirts. Collin Klein is doing a good job, and we have a good product. I think we are in good hands.
   
• Most teams take the identity of their head coach. DeMeco Ryans is head forward and black and white, but does it with a smile on his face, with respect. He's demanding, not demeaning. Once the standards are set, that's the message we have here. There are parallels to what Elko is doing, and at the end of the day, we have morals and standards. If we all have an acceptable standard, it's easy to hold people accountable and meet standards every day.
   
• Marcel Reed is athletic and has good arm talent. He has games where he has made plays. The quarterback is a play-making business. The next step with all the reps is the biggest thing is knowing how to prep for the week and knowing what it’s like to get hit and go to class. Knowing what he's getting himself into should allow him to prepare for spring and summer for the rest of the season. There's a switch that goes and kind of reacting and playing off of ability to now anticipating. Something I got from Frank Reich is something called accelerated vision, so now I can anticipate what's going to happen as opposed to what's always reacting to what's going to happen. That's how we make the jump. He’s got tons of potential. He will be in a better situation and will be prepared for what is going to happen.
   
• Yeah, I mean my two biggest things when drafting guys are accuracy and mobility. You have to be accurate as a passer. Quarterbacks in college, you can’t put a gap on what a guy can be. Reed can be an accurate passer. The mobility of peace is so huge because guys like Elko will scheme you up and have great plans, but not always. The mobility part is huge because it's great to where when we don’t call a good play, you can keep us out of 2nd-and-20 instead of 2nd-and-10. So it starts with being able to minimize the catastrophic plays and be on schedule, and now, we get a positive play, and the special talent comes in. We look for accuracy and mobility, but the mobility allows you, with how good these defenses are getting, to not have to be perfect as a play caller.
   
• It's huge I think when you have a veteran offensive line group it allows you to be better in situational football. In the NFL, we have to think about the games and situational football, and in college, there are more plays. If the line is better, there should be more positive plays on first and second down, and there should be more third and manageable for the quarterback. If the line is good, there should be fewer negative plays.
   
• My junior year, Texas Tech was coming off a big win, but we rolled them and had good locker room memories. My Senior Day was big after my dad passed away, and my mom had my dad's jersey on the field. This place has so many special memories for me. Every time I drive by Kyle Field, I’m just thankful I got an opportunity to play there. It will always have a special place in my heart.