Pulling for Reed

The loss of Curtis Lofton to the NFL draft puts OU in a bad way for linebacking. But maybe it opens a spot for Mike Reed. The junior-college hotshot was supposed to be OU’s linebacker savior a year ago. But he never made much progress, due to personal problems and unfamiliarity with the defense. Reed ended up virtually suspended from the team, because of academic issues. He cut back to six hours of classes, making him ineligible, because of his wife’s illness.

I wrote about Reed on Christmas Eve, about his family’s financial hardships and his wife’s medical problems. I didn’t really go into it in the story, but Reed is a personable fellow. Engaging, friendly. Nothing at all like the killer linebacker you’d think. On the field, he’s a beast; everyone says so, even when he wasn’t performing the way he had hoped. But off the field, Reed seems to be a swell fellow.

I’m pulling for him to make it in football and in life. If that’s at OU, fine. If that’s somewhere else, fine.