Despite Marcel Reed's struggles, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko wants to see more from backup Brady Hart before he garners more opportunities as the Aggies' starting quarterback.
After Texas A&M's 31-20 loss to No. 13 Alabama in Week 8, Elko said he was close to pulling the trigger on Hart after Reed threw two interceptions in the first quarter, but Hart never got his moment. After turning his game up a notch and helping the Aggies take a lead over the Crimson Tide, Reed's miscommunication with center Mark Nabou Jr. on a crucial fourth down allowed Alabama to reclaim the lead and momentum, which sparked more speculation about Hart taking more snaps.
According to Elko, the sophomore from Cocoa, Florida, continues to receive opportunities to showcase
his development, but still has to reach a certain level before being named the starter.
"We feel like Brady gets a ton of opportuntites to showcase where he's at, a ton of opportuntites to show us whether or not he's ready to go or step in and be the guy," Elko said. "The challenge to him has been, if you want opportutnities, there's a level that we need to see in order to feel comfortable about doing that."
In four appearances this season, Hart has thrown for 143 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. While it is a small sample size, his 57.1 completion percentage is higher than Reed's 56.1% through eight games, which ranks last among all starting SEC quarterbacks. He is tied for first in the conference in interceptions, while his 114.03 quarterback rating is among the worst in the FBS.
It begs the question — how much worse can Hart be? Through the limited looks at Hart, he's delivered the football with accuracy and doesn't put it in harm's way nearly as much as we've seen Reed do in recent weeks. Reed has the advantage with his experience against SEC competition, but outside of that, what level does Hart need to reach to get more opportunities to showcase his talent?
There are more questions than answers for Texas A&M football entering this week's road showdown against No. 23 South Carolina, which is fresh off its third-consecutive league victory in Week 9. The Gamecocks have built tremendous momentum with ranked wins over Florida and Tennessee over the last few weeks and are playing their best football all year.
If Reed isn't able to provide ample consistency to run Texas A&M's offense at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, we could see Hart receive those opportunities Elko discussed during Monday's press conference.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M HC says 'there's a level' he must see for backup QB to get more reps
