Mike Elko preached about opportunities in decision to bench his first-string early

South Carolina v Texas A&M | Alex Slitz/GettyImagesTexas A&M fans can afford to rest well this week, as they had no problem with Samford, beating them 48-0 in the week leading up to Texas.

Some fans were surprised that Marcel Reed got called to the bench early, but it's safe to say he did his job. Elko wanted no part of any injury taking place right before some of the biggest games in Reed's life. The senior class was also celebrated in this game.

Here's what head coach Mike Elko had to say regarding the decision to bench Reed early in the game.

Mike Elko on benching QB Marcel Reed after first quarter:

"More than anything, it's about getting people in. We wanted today to be about guys getting…