McGee & Swope share thoughts on the QB position at Texas A&M

Our favorite former playing duo Stephen McGee and Ryan Swope were back on Thursday morning's edition of TexAgs Live. The quarterback-receiver combination shared their thoughts on last week's offensive performance at Jerry World and looked ahead to Missouri.

Key notes from the interview with Stephen McGee

• On the one hand, quarterbacks are judged based on wins and losses. Marcel Reed is 3-0 and has given this football team a lot of momentum. I love the way he carries himself on the field, on the sidelines and also in the press room. He is a great representative. It checks all of those boxes.
• The question mark… And that will be a big test, assuming he's the starter, of how his skills can keep up with a better defense. It will be the best test for him yet. Can you put it in the bag and remove the legs? Can we complete the deep passes when A&M is in three-point situations? These are question marks.
• The first went back to Bowling Green, he played quickly and decisively. The biggest thing I see from Marcel is that he gets the ball out on time. You throw these deep balls and it's difficult when you take two or three strikes because they're faster than your arm. When you teach a young man to make those decisions in a timely manner, you get a little more breathing room on the ball.
• When the time comes, the quarterback decision is an extremely difficult decision. I told someone the other day that I'm glad I didn't make it. Our situation is unique because the decision you are making is one that you believe will help your soccer team win games today. Offensively, our blind spot seems to be the passing game. Can we separate more specifically in the backend?
• What does it take to be a champion at the quarterback position? I haven't bothered with it in the last ten years. You have to be able to make passes and win football games. Is Marcel ready to take on this? I think both he and Conner Weigman Bring great things to the table. I'm glad we have two really good players in this position.

Key notes from the interview with Ryan Swope

• It's time we played such an explosive game Noah Thomas 75-yard touchdown. It was a really good route he ran. Man, I'm totally into it. I want to see more of that. I want him to do that consistently. You have to start somewhere. Be proud of it and take on this role.
• We saw flashes last year and now I feel like our receiving corps is below average. Go forward. Noah had his best game of the year. I want more guys to show up and play. I know they are talented. We have to be more consistent. I think we are on the right track.
• If everything else is average… Buy, sell, lease: An elite receiver, an elite running back or an elite offensive line? I will buy an elite offensive line. You don't win games on offense if you don't have an elite offensive line. I would lease the receivers. I would sell running backs. While these are very important, we have a running back who won us that football game last week. That's a difficult question because I think you need them all. A good offensive line helps your receivers.
• I didn't see much separation. In the last week our game plan becomes more fluid. They become more comfortable, which then leads to a breakup. I think we will see great progress. These guys have only been playing with Marcel for three or four weeks. It takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.
• I'm looking forward to Saturday. When he returned to Florida, Marcel provided the spark for our soccer team. There are many things we can do better. Arkansas was only his third start. I think Marcel Reed gives us the best chance of winning.
• I'm a big fan of Marcel because I see a lot of potential. There are still many areas where he will mature and develop as a quarterback. This will involve repetition. He's 4-0 and I see another Texas A&M football team under his leadership, which is huge.
• Conner has all the tangible attributes of a great NFL quarterback. What I'm looking at is: Who can help us win now? How does your entire football team react to this guy? From what I've seen, our team responds better with Marcel at quarterback. His body language, I feel like he understands himself better as the leader of this football team and that's contagious.
• I thought Arkansas played a pretty good game and they were prepared. I think as an offense it takes some time to understand a game, but I'm excited. They got nothing in the second and third quarters, but they were patient and persevered. That's courage, and that's exciting. We could have easily given up, but we just kept fighting and fighting, and that's what you have to do in this league.
• I think the offensive line is close to the 2020 offensive line. I'm not going to say they're elite, but it's impressive that the guys are slowing down and the next guys are stepping up and playing well.
• Missouri's receivers are impressive and they have a good quarterback who can make plays, but I'm confident in our team and where we are. I think being at Kyle Field will help us.
• There is no better place to attend a football game than Kyle Field. The environment is hostile and loud, and at the end of the day the 12th man wins our football games. They did it in the '90s, and they did it in the '80s, and I think those comments about Kyle Field not being credited for what it is, we'll see on Saturday.
• Hopefully all Aggie fans hear this and show up on Saturday and the Missouri players can't communicate out there. We are creating all these problems for them and that's why they shouldn't have opened their mouths at all. I think we'll use it as fuel for the fire and show up on Saturday.
• Our pass rush and defensive line were so impressive last week. Both Shemar Turner And Shemar Stewart I did it and Nic Scourton was incredible. I was proud of our defense last week. This weekend our offensive will succeed. We're in for an explosive day, and what better place to do it than at Kyle Field?
• I don't think Brady Cook is as good as people think. I don't think he can make it this week. I think our defensive line causes some big turnovers and ultimately I think it's a good game. Our DBs have to account for the two really talented receivers, but I think it's going to be a really good game.