Now that it's official that Marcel Reed is healthy enough to take on the Notre Dame football team on Saturday, Marcus Freeman's unusual method of preparing should pay off in spades. The Fighting Irish head coach pulled out a secret weapon, Scrap Richardson, to get his group ready to take on one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
Richardson was a versatile athlete during his high school days at Greenville High in Georgia. The Irish are taking advantage of that by having him run the scout team offense this week. His speed, while also logging some hours as a prep QB, makes him the best choice to play Marcel Reed.
Why Scrap Richardson is simulating Marcel Reed for Notre Dame football’s defense
Usually, Tyler Buchner has been the guy who runs the scout team. As a former college quarterback, he's still better than some of the QBs the Notre Dame football team will face off against. However, he doesn't have the blazing speed that Richardson does.
Reed has gotten off to a heck of a start to his 2025 season. The Texas A&M quarterback has completed 66% of his passes for 507 yards and 7 touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception and has also carried the ball 18 times for 105 yards and a touchdown.
While the dual-threat QB played in 11 games last year, the Notre Dame football team isn't familiar with him because when the Fighting Irish opened the season against the Aggies last season, the starting quarterback was Conner Weigman. Reed didn't get a snap in that contest, which ND won 23-13.