CFP FIRST ROUND: MIAMI VS TEAXS A&M

December 20, 2025

Marcel Reed

Collin Klein

Mario Craver

Kyle Field

Teaxs A&M Aggies

Postgame Press Conference

Miami - 10, Texas A&M - 3

Q. Marcel, what was the look on that last play? What were you looking for, and what did they do to mix that up?

MARCEL REED: We were trying to get an exchange with the receiver and tight end, kind of have a big body in the end zone. I tried to put it up there over some of their backers they like to drop right on the goal line and got it just over, but it wasn't in the right spot.

Yeah, they picked us off on that one, and that was the end of the game.

Q. With the way the season started and ended, how do you hope people kind of view this season?

MARCEL REED: I think it's just another step of this program. We took what we learned from last year, brought it to this year, and hopefully we can take from what we learned this year to next year.

This is a really good team, had some minor setbacks in some games, but ultimately this team worked over the off-season and had a goal in mind. We put our heads down and went the entire season. Regardless of what people were saying on the outside, we were worried about ourselves. We had a pretty successful season.

Q. You guys weren't able to run the ball consistently, at least I imagine as much as you'd like to. What do you think led to the struggles and being able to establish the run game?

COLLIN KLEIN: Credit Miami. I thought they did a really, really nice job of taking away a lot of easy opportunities, squeezing space, getting off blocks, making tackles. Because we were not able to get the wheels turning in some of those areas, we were in third and long way too much.

We knew that going in, they're too good of a defensive front to play the game in that field zone. Again, credit to them.

Q. Marcel, how would you assess your season, and what do you think you need to get better this off-season?

MARCEL REED: I think I had a pretty decent season, definitely better than last year. There's room to grow for sure. I'm going to go into this off-season and keep pounding, try to make throws in tight windows, stuff like that, make sure my feet are set, and just do that.

I don't think there's really anything tremendously that I have to nitpick on, but I'm just going to keep growing over the years.

Q. Seven sacks, just what were they presenting to you guys that was such a challenge from a pass rush standpoint?

COLLIN KLEIN: I think there's some things schematically, but for the most part, they create ways to get those guys in one-on-one situations. Again, it's -- we knew it was going to be a long day if we were going to play in that many third and long to go situations, right? Credit to them.

Q. Mario, I saw you had a pretty long embrace there with KC after. What did you say to him, and what has he meant to you throughout this year, just kind of being that one-two combination?

MARIO CRAVER: I just told him thank you. Thank you for everything he's done. I told him he made me a better teammate, better person, better player in all aspects of the game. I just told him thank you, just in case he won't be here next year.

Q. And just talking about the receiving corps as a whole, maybe one of the most talented groups that's come through here, how do you want this group to be remembered in that aspect?

MARIO CRAVER: I just want us to be remembered as explosive play guys, big play guys, get the ball in our hands and create plays in space. That's us.

Q. Marcel, I know you guys are disappointed right now, with you is there a sense of pride knowing that you got the Aggies to a place they've never been before and were able to do things that hadn't been done here ever?

MARCEL REED: Yes, definitely a sense of pride. There's lots of things, not only because it put us out, but it was a loss at home, and we were looking to go undefeated at home.

I think we thought this season obviously could have been a lot better than what it ended at, but we're proud of what we accomplished. Like I said earlier, we're growing. We grew from last year, and we're going to grow again from this year.

Q. Collin, as you and Marcel part ways this off-season, you took a big jump from last year to this year. What's his upside moving forward?

COLLIN KLEIN: Well, Marcel is dear to me. I couldn't be more proud of, first of all, the whole unit, but how he has grown into leading that unit. These two guys are two of the best competitors that I've ever been around. It was a joy and an honor coming to work with them.

I told them after the first spring practice, our first spring scrimmage, that we were here two years ago. I told him that he's got a chance to be as good as anybody that has come through this program.

I think the sky's the limit for him. I think his character and foundation is outstanding. It's extremely bittersweet.

Q. What has this Aggie family meant to all of you all, especially after a time like this?

MARCEL REED: As an Aggie family, you mean like everybody or -- just yeah?

Q. As a team.

MARCEL REED: As a team, okay. This team is probably one of the best teams I've ever been on. I've been through -- this is my third year of college, and I was here for Jimbo and Elko, so just being here as a freshman and seeing the changes that have been made and the difference in the culture and how bought in our players are, it was great to see.

I had a talk with my roommate Dalton Brooks, and then Taurean York is just a really good friend of mine, we talked about this when we were freshmen that we were going to put this team in a position to go win it all. We kind of wrote out our goals and did all that for ourselves, and we just kind of spoke a lot of it into existence.

Obviously we wanted to do more, but we have made tremendous strides since our freshman year since we've been here. I love this team with all my heart, all the coaches, whether they're staying or leaving, I appreciate every single one of them for what they've done for me and this team.

Q. Marcel, it looked like you had a moment just by yourself after the game where you were sitting on the bench. Can you kind of take us through what was going through your head in that moment?

MARCEL REED: Yeah, it didn't really feel real. I don't want the season to end. A lot of changes are going to be made after this season, so I really didn't want it to end. It sucked. Just sitting there trying to avoid as many people as I could honestly. I just wanted to be in my own space at that point in time. So, yeah, just sat there with a towel over my head.

Q. For you and Mario as two returners, I realize it's fresh, but what are the biggest things this team needs to accomplish this off-season, you feel like, to continue taking steps forward?

MARIO CRAVER: I said it in the press conference earlier we have to finish, and that needs to be our motto moving forward. We need to learn how to finish games.

Q. For Mario, what would you say is the biggest lesson you learned in your first season here at A&M, and what will you take over next season as you potentially lead the receiving corps?

MARIO CRAVER: Just keeping a level head no matter what's going on, just keeping my composure because my teammates are relying on me, looking at me, seeing how I'm reacting to each and every play that's going on out there. So just staying level headed and becoming a leader.

Q. Collin and Marcel, you had a lot of good drives in the first half that you didn't finish. You had the false start before the fourth down try and the fumble on the broken play and the blocked field goal. Did you feel like you're trapped in a rut a little bit and the frustration kind of builds?

COLLIN KLEIN: Absolutely. It's kind of the story of this one. From a turnover standpoint and no points in the red zone, that's the way to get beat. It's hard when you're spinning your wheels because everybody's grinding at it and trying to get it done and then we weren't able to do that. So that was tough.

Q. Marcel, you heard Collin kind of get choked up there when he was talking about you. I wonder what you thought in that moment and just what that relationship's meant to you over the years?

MARCEL REED: I don't want this guy to leave, but I'm really happy for him. Everybody in the QB room always knew this was a dream of his to go coach at his alma mater, so really proud of him. It's going to suck, but things change. That's life.

I love this guy to death. He's taught me a lot of lessons. I'm always just talking to him. He checks in on me more than anybody besides my parents, and even when I come up there to just watch film with him, he's always asking me how I'm doing, how's my day been, and where I'm at with everything that's going on in the world.

He's really like a second father to me. My dad was a coach, so I'm used to having a coach as a father. This guy, he's done a lot. He's done a lot for me, him and his family.

Q. Question for Mario and Marcel both. A chance to play a playoff game on campus. Can you speak to just how much fun it was to play a playoff game here at Kyle Field?

MARCEL REED: It's an amazing environment. You never should be mad at having the opportunity to play at Kyle Field. This is probably the greatest place in college football to play at. Unfortunately, an end to the season at home, but we love all the fans here and the energy they bring.

Q. Marcel, just from your point of view on that incompletion to Rueben, did you feel like that should have been a targeting or reviewed or anything?

MARCEL REED: I mean, I thought so, but it's not up to my discretion. In the game of football, things like that happen, and you've just got to keep playing and go to the next down.

It's unfortunate, but you have to get to the next play.

Q. How did you see Le'Veon just kind of handle the last several weeks working his way back, and how tough was it for you guys mid-game to lose him again?

MARCEL REED: Honestly it's probably more tough for him than it is for us. It sucks to lose one of your best players on offense. He's been doing so much to try to work back and get to this opportunity. It just sucks that that happened and then also that we're not able to go on so he could be back again. That's really the part that hurts the most.

Q. I know 11-0, you guys reached tremendous heights and wanted to win a National Championship. What do you think will stick with you most as this thing comes to an end?

MARIO CRAVER: Just the brotherhood this team had. This team was a real family. These guys really accepted me coming in from the transfer portal. I just really love these guys, and it was an honor to play with every single last one of them.

MARCEL REED: Really what he said. This team, like I said, is probably one of the greatest teams I've ever played on. There's tremendous talent. We're always competing with each other in practice and always have things to say to each other, but at the end of the day, it's all love.

The locker room is probably some of the best memories I'll have for the rest of my life, and I just appreciate every single person that was on the team.

Q. Dalton Brooks was in here and talked about, as a roommate, just the conversations you guys have after every game of what went wrong, right, what you guys can do better. How do you anticipate this conversation to go?

MARCEL REED: Yeah, I really don't know what this conversation is going to be like, but it's going to be a long one for sure. York will probably be over at the house. We sit down and watch the game every time, after every game. We'll turn it on and just watch it, TV copy.

I don't know what's going to be said, but it's going to be a real long conversation. I think we're going to talk a little bit about the future too, just what's going to change and hearing what should have been done, what should have been done. At the end of the day, you can't change what happened already.

There's really going to be a lot of talking and really not much result that comes behind it, but yeah.