Anybody else excited about this kid? He was one of my favorite recruits of the class of 2014, and the guy looked like a beast in the Spring game. Granted it was against Kavaris Harkless, it was still impressive how he dominated Harkless so effortlessly. Here's my breakdown of Reed's O&B game.
On the very first pass attempt of the game, he pulled a beautiful spin move on Harkless and put him on his back, though Grier got rid of the ball just in time. On the next pass attempt he went around Harkless and pressured Grier again, though Grier stepped up in the pocket, rolled out, and threw a nice pass that was dropped. A couple of short passes followed, presumably to neutralize the pass rush. Then there was a 3rd and 3 and this time Reed went to the left side and went against Sharpe, who handled the rush much better than Harkless and Reed wasn't able to influence the play.
Next up is the big tackle by Reed on Taylor on 3rd and 1. It seemed like the play was supposed to go behind the RG and Harkless was supposed to keep Reed on the outside. However, the interior of the line collapsed, and Taylor tried to cut to the outside, but Reed pulled a nice violent move on the TE (Lewis) who was supposed to chip him, and engaged Harkless a lot quicker than Harkless probably anticipated, and then used his excellent quickness and balance to bend around and under Harkless to make the play.
On Harris' 2nd drive, Reed came in on 3rd and 1, but was stoned by Lewis, who sorta made up a bit by his failed chip on Reed the last 3rd and 1 though the play didn't go in that direction. Then on the next play where Harris made a deep, albeit late and high, it seemed at the beginning of the play that Reed was gonna blow right by Goolsby, though Goolsby showed his quickness and stayed just close enough to Reed to prevent him from getting to the QB. In this drive, Reed showed his weakness by his inability to overpower the TEs, who are quick enough to square up to him. He then pressured Harris on the next pass, a PA bootleg, though Harris showed his agility and managed to juke Reed and complete a nice pass. A quick pass followed, then Reed pressured Harris again on Harris' overthrow to Goolsby in the endzone. On the next pass attempt, a 3rd and 4, it was the only time Harkless handled Reed well, as he gave Harris plenty of time to make the pass, though the receiver couldn't shake the defender and get the first down.
The Orange team went max protect on the first play of the 2nd half, Harkless got some help from Taylor and Reed didn't get to the QB in time. Next up a KT run that went nowhere as the entire defense seemingly got into the backfield, and Reed was a part of it, doing a great job sealing the outside and forcing Taylor back in. On 3rd and 8, Reed blew right past Harkless and had a clean shot at Grier, but the rest of the line held up, allowing Grier room to step up in the pocket and throw a nice back shoulder pass to Lewis. Upon closer inspection, this play actually probably should've been a sack. It's a bit unclear in the video, but it actually appeared that Reed could've clocked Grier had it been full-contact. Grier did do a good job of stepping up and delivering the ball, though it seems like Reed had already decided to just run past him anyway. Reed immediately looked back at the ref after running past Grier, probably thinking that the play should've been blown dead. A bit later, Reed then went out for 2 plays, and KT was able to get 2 good runs and score a TD.
On the next drive, Reed split a double team and got immense pressure on Harris to start the drive, but Harris stood tall and delivered a nice deep pass to Robinson. Goolsby then had a good block on Reed to allow for a decent KT run. On the next play, Reed made a nice inside move, got by Harkless, and got pressure on Harris, but Harris showed his athleticism by getting out of the pocket and scrambling to inside the 10. Harris made a nice TD throw to Lewis after that. Reed was in his face, but he was going up against the RB and probably used a bit too much finesse on the play, resulting in him getting to Harris late and allowing a nice on time throw by the QB.
On the last drive, Reed seemed a bit confused on the flea-flicker and kind of just stood there. Reed again demonstrated his lack of strength a couple of plays later, when he failed to dislodge Goolsby and allowing a short gain by the RB. He then made up for it somewhat by making a quick move at the line and getting to the backfield quickly on a run intended to go to his side, but the rest of the line held up very well, Case Harrison cut back to the other side and scored a TD untouched.
Overall, I think Reed played very well in this game, showing tremendous quickness thoughout the game. However, he also showed time and again his lack of strength, and that did hurt him in a number of plays. If this kid can continue to grow and pack on some good weight, I think he'll be a force to be reckoned with for us.
On the very first pass attempt of the game, he pulled a beautiful spin move on Harkless and put him on his back, though Grier got rid of the ball just in time. On the next pass attempt he went around Harkless and pressured Grier again, though Grier stepped up in the pocket, rolled out, and threw a nice pass that was dropped. A couple of short passes followed, presumably to neutralize the pass rush. Then there was a 3rd and 3 and this time Reed went to the left side and went against Sharpe, who handled the rush much better than Harkless and Reed wasn't able to influence the play.
Next up is the big tackle by Reed on Taylor on 3rd and 1. It seemed like the play was supposed to go behind the RG and Harkless was supposed to keep Reed on the outside. However, the interior of the line collapsed, and Taylor tried to cut to the outside, but Reed pulled a nice violent move on the TE (Lewis) who was supposed to chip him, and engaged Harkless a lot quicker than Harkless probably anticipated, and then used his excellent quickness and balance to bend around and under Harkless to make the play.
On Harris' 2nd drive, Reed came in on 3rd and 1, but was stoned by Lewis, who sorta made up a bit by his failed chip on Reed the last 3rd and 1 though the play didn't go in that direction. Then on the next play where Harris made a deep, albeit late and high, it seemed at the beginning of the play that Reed was gonna blow right by Goolsby, though Goolsby showed his quickness and stayed just close enough to Reed to prevent him from getting to the QB. In this drive, Reed showed his weakness by his inability to overpower the TEs, who are quick enough to square up to him. He then pressured Harris on the next pass, a PA bootleg, though Harris showed his agility and managed to juke Reed and complete a nice pass. A quick pass followed, then Reed pressured Harris again on Harris' overthrow to Goolsby in the endzone. On the next pass attempt, a 3rd and 4, it was the only time Harkless handled Reed well, as he gave Harris plenty of time to make the pass, though the receiver couldn't shake the defender and get the first down.
The Orange team went max protect on the first play of the 2nd half, Harkless got some help from Taylor and Reed didn't get to the QB in time. Next up a KT run that went nowhere as the entire defense seemingly got into the backfield, and Reed was a part of it, doing a great job sealing the outside and forcing Taylor back in. On 3rd and 8, Reed blew right past Harkless and had a clean shot at Grier, but the rest of the line held up, allowing Grier room to step up in the pocket and throw a nice back shoulder pass to Lewis. Upon closer inspection, this play actually probably should've been a sack. It's a bit unclear in the video, but it actually appeared that Reed could've clocked Grier had it been full-contact. Grier did do a good job of stepping up and delivering the ball, though it seems like Reed had already decided to just run past him anyway. Reed immediately looked back at the ref after running past Grier, probably thinking that the play should've been blown dead. A bit later, Reed then went out for 2 plays, and KT was able to get 2 good runs and score a TD.
On the next drive, Reed split a double team and got immense pressure on Harris to start the drive, but Harris stood tall and delivered a nice deep pass to Robinson. Goolsby then had a good block on Reed to allow for a decent KT run. On the next play, Reed made a nice inside move, got by Harkless, and got pressure on Harris, but Harris showed his athleticism by getting out of the pocket and scrambling to inside the 10. Harris made a nice TD throw to Lewis after that. Reed was in his face, but he was going up against the RB and probably used a bit too much finesse on the play, resulting in him getting to Harris late and allowing a nice on time throw by the QB.
On the last drive, Reed seemed a bit confused on the flea-flicker and kind of just stood there. Reed again demonstrated his lack of strength a couple of plays later, when he failed to dislodge Goolsby and allowing a short gain by the RB. He then made up for it somewhat by making a quick move at the line and getting to the backfield quickly on a run intended to go to his side, but the rest of the line held up very well, Case Harrison cut back to the other side and scored a TD untouched.
Overall, I think Reed played very well in this game, showing tremendous quickness thoughout the game. However, he also showed time and again his lack of strength, and that did hurt him in a number of plays. If this kid can continue to grow and pack on some good weight, I think he'll be a force to be reckoned with for us.
