Reid is still the most talented signal-caller, but attitude is reason for change

STILLWATER — Bobby Reid stood near the team charters last Friday night, using his cell phone, eating his boxed meal.

The attitude of quarterback Bobby Reid has been the biggest question about him during his tenure in Stillwater. Last week, television cameras captured Reid laughing with assistant strength coach Trumain Carroll during the Cowboys' loss to Troy. BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

His mother was feeding him chicken.

Which brings us to the quarterback switch-a-roo at Oklahoma State.

Don't see the connection?

Let me explain. Cowboy coaches have gone full-speed ahead with the Zac Attack, opting to start Robinson over Reid a week ago, then sticking with him against Texas Tech today even after an embarrassing loss at Troy. Weren't we being told just last week that Reid was still the guy? All the weight with which Cowboy coaches were backing Reid has totally shifted to Robinson.

The change seems sudden.

Thing is, it may not be as abrupt as it looks. If you believe the rumors and the rumblings, Reid has been pushing coaches that way for quite some time.

Tile up the back stories told on the sly over the past few years, and you see a pattern that hasn't always been pretty.

Word is that Reid has considered transferring a couple different times, the first as early as 2005. Reid, then a redshirt freshman, was facing competition from returner Donovan Woods, and apparently, Reid considered leaving OSU just because he had to compete for the spot.

Reid's nerves have also been an issue. Earlier this year, he told our Andrea Cohen about his game-day emotions.

"I get sweaty palms. I get the butterflies in my stomach. I sweat lot,” he said then. "I've been playing this game for 15 years. And I can honestly say every game I've played in, I've been nervous. It's not so much me being scared; I just get to a point where I start worrying about a lot of things I can't control.”

A lot of guys get nervous, some even puke before games. How you handle the nerves is important, though, and Reid hasn't always managed them well. He has gotten off to some extremely slow starts, putting the Cowboys in some holes. Some, they dug out of, with Reid often wielding the biggest shovel, and some, they couldn't.

Then, there have been the injuries. No doubt some of Reid's ailments have been severe, including an injured shoulder that required surgery and forced him to redshirt.

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