The versatile FSU junior relishes his role as the team's utility player.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published October 28, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Florida State's Willie Reid didn't know what to make of it all.
Instead of lining up behind the quarterback and waiting for a handoff as he had done throughout a stellar high school career, he found himself on an August morning in 2001 in unfamiliar territory, set up on the outside waiting for a pass.
"I never played receiver in my life," he said with an ever-present smile. "I didn't know what was going on. I just knew if the ball comes to you, you're supposed to catch it."
So despite his experience and the absence of the prerequisites - reading coverages, beating jams at the line, blocking downfield and running the routes - he had neither reservation nor hesitation about trying to help fill the void left by injuries to Anquan Boldin and Robert Morgan.
Hey, Coach, whatever you need.
"The first time we went against the defense, he went right out there and made two big catches," receivers coach/offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden recalled. "When a guy in his first day out at receiver shows you that, you know you've got a ballplayer."
But that rare athletic versatility, a commendable team-first mentality and physical adversity have conspired to limit his opportunities. Not eliminate them, mind you.
Just ask Wake Forest.
Hampered by a groin and hamstring injury, the 5-foot-10, 186-pound redshirt junior outran the Demon Deacons' secondary for a 20-yard touchdown reception last Saturday. It came moments after he returned a punt 48-yards to jump start a struggling offense. He later came up with a critical, 18-yard catch that set up up a go-ahead touchdown by Dominic Robinson in FSU's 20-17 win.
"I was dying for somebody to make a play for us," Jeff Bowden said, referring to a half dozen dropped passes.
Reid did that and has. Between a rush, 12 receptions and 19 kickoff and punt returns, Reid has racked up 444 yards. If senior Chauncey Stovall can't play after straining his right hamstring last weekend, Reid may start for the first time this year.
"Wherever we put him," Bobby Bowden gushed, "he's just done excellent."
Being the ultimate utility player has had its ups and downs. Or more precisely, back and forths. He has moved between receiver and tailback so often you might think Reid, 22, came to FSU on a pingpong scholarship.
That's no way to master one's job.
"It's a different game, it's a whole different ballgame," he said of the two positions.
Not that the switch to receiver should have surprised him. Before leaving home, his father, Willie Sr., a pastor at the Fellowship Bible Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Ga., suggested he'd be better suited to play receiver.
"I said, "You're short, and you're little.' I couldn't get him fat," his father joked. "I didn't want 300-pounders knocking him down."
Reid didn't have the chance to show how quickly he would adapt. He broke his left leg just before the start of his freshman year and was a medical redshirt. During his rehabilitation, he worked out with Boldin and tried to learn from the future NFL standout.
But he spent the 2002 season at tailback. Last season, with FSU loaded at tailback (Greg Jones, Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker), he moved back to receiver. But he was back in the backfield in early September when Washington and Booker were injured.
"We made the decision we're not going to shuffle him around this year," Jeff Bowden said. "We think he's a great talent if we'll put him at a position and leave him."
He's just now starting to get comfortable at receiver. Predictably enough, when Bobby Bowden learned Washington would be out for Saturday's game at Maryland with a right shoulder separation, he toyed with the idea of moving Reid back to tailback or using him at both positions.
"It wouldn't be a problem for me," Reid said. "It's true I would like to be at just one position and get better at that. It's not about me right now. It's about what the team needs. If the team needs me to do something, I'll do it."
The elder Reid said his son always has been that way, very much a product of his environment and a faith that good things come to those who wait and depend on the Lord.
"You don't have to worry about rushing or getting all upset. Chill on out. Do your job. When your time comes, you'll know what to do," his father always counseled.
So, you haven't and won't catch the younger Reid complaining or pouting. He doesn't want anyone to ever suggest he's divisive or worse, selfish. It's a reason why he tries to play through pain.
In addition to his broken leg, a shoulder injury forced him to miss three games in 2002. He had screws removed from his left ankle that cost him the last spring practice, then the hamstring and groin cost him most of the North Carolina and the entire Syracuse games.
"One thing about Reid, he's a warrior," Robinson said. "If he can go, he's going to go. ... I know he's a big-play guy. He may not get the opportunities, but when it's there for him, he's going to make the play."
