The college football season is nearly here. And thanks to Week 0, actually college football games will be happening this weekend! We are in the single digits of the countdown, and today features the player who wears the #8 Jersey, Markel Reed.
#8, Markel Reed, Senior (5th year), CB
Stats
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 190
High School: Temple HS, Temple, TX
How’d he get to The BlueTM?
Once a Texas Tech commit, Markel decommitted after Kliff Kingsbury was fired from TTU. Mr. Reed was a former three-star recruit from Temple, Texas, who held offers from TTU, Purdue, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt. He also had an offer from Cornell (you may have heard of it). While at Temple High, he was also on the track team, competing in the triple jump and long jump.
Nickname
“8CHO”
This is currently Markel’s Twitter handle, and who am I to question Eightcho’s nickname?
Look-alike
It worked in 2021. It worked in 2022. And it works this year. Omar Epps.
Career highlights
After a consistent year in 2019, Markel made appearances in seven games in 2020, starting one. He made six tackles, five solo against Air Force, and four tackles with a TFL against Hawaii. The 2021 season was his best year in his college career. Reed set career highs in starts (4), tackles (21), solo tackles (16), and tackles for loss (1.5).
2023 Prospectus
Last year, I predicted Reed to win one of the starting cornerback spots, which he did. Unfortunately, he didn’t stay in that role long because he suffered a season-ending injury in the season opener against Oregon State. Now, with three surgeries in the past two years, Markel is back for another year with the Broncos.
Going into 2023, Boise State basically has three players competing for two starting spots. All will play, but Reed, Kaonohi Kaniho, and Jaylen Clark are gearing up for a fall camp position battle. This isn’t even including junior college transfer A’Marion McCoy, who impressed during fall camp, and the slew of incoming freshmen from the past recruiting class.
I’m going to predict Kaniho nails down one of the sports, and then Clark and Reed get into more of a timeshare, depending on matchups and situations. In some ways, it would not surprise me to see Reed follow the path of former cornerback Bryan Douglas, who also played a lot early in his career, suffered injuries, and then took on more of a quality reserve role at the end of his time at Boise State in order to help him stay on the field.
One thing is for sure, Markel is going to give it everything he’s got when he’s out on the field and will make positive contributions in some way this season.
Is he on Twitter?
He is, and he likes Del Taco. And signing things.
Completely made-up fact.
Markel is a big horror fan. He watches horror films every night before he goes to bed. And when football is finally over, Reed wants to open a year-round haunted house.
