SE: Perseverance, Faith Quickly Carry D.J. Reed to Big Honors at K-State
Aug 09, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
When D.J. Reed thinks back on his past, his eyes open a little wider, both physically and spiritually. Reed believes every stop, for better or worse, served a purpose.
The zero Division I scholarship offers he received out of high school. The fruitless year he had as a walk-on at Fresno State. The springboard season at Cerritos Community College that led him from California to K-State. The Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year honor he earned last season. The captain status he earned for the 2017 season.
Reed took a winding path to becoming a standout player and leader for the Wildcats' defense. Now, he sees life through a much clearer scope.
"It really opened my eyes just to see what God could do with someone's life," Reed said. "I want kids who feel hopeless and feel that they can't make it this far to look at my situation and all the obstacles I had to overcome. I just want to give motivation to the youth and even to older people."
The 5-foot-9 junior defensive back said he always knew he wasn't going to be a "regular person and do regular things," and he kept faith that bigger opportunities would come his way.
After a breakout year at Cerritos Community College, they did. He landed a scholarship offer at K-State, which he turned into a starting spot on the Wildcats' defense. By the end of the season, he was tied for second on the team with 75 tackles and tied for first with three interceptions, along with leading the Big 12 with 19 passes defended.
"I knew God had big plans for me, but I just had to step out of my comfort zone to handle those goals and then He would handle the rest," said Reed, selected to the media's preseason All-Big 12 Team, along with being named to national watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award.
Put into context with where he was a few years ago, Reed said all of these honors have reaffirmed his self-belief to overcome any obstacle thrown his way.
"It's just me seeing the realness of God. I had people who didn't believe in me, that were telling me to stop playing football two years ago. Now they're supporting me. I'm just seeing how everything's opening up and how everything's making sense," Reed said. "You have to keep persevering. That's just what I did when I was at Fresno State and when I went to my junior college and now at Kansas State. I'm going to keep doing that throughout my life, just keep grinding and keep persevering."
From his first day in Manhattan, Reed's daily approach gelled well with how K-State's football program operates. His teammates and coaches noticed his hard work and dedication to improving himself, which led to him being voted as a team captain.
"He's just done it on hard work. He's done it on his incredible ability to always get better. It took him maybe half a game before he was automatically adjusted to the speed of Division I football, and he just continually got better throughout the season," K-State senior linebacker and fellow captain Trent Tanking said of Reed. "The fact that he got voted team captain just shows he's earned the respect of all the guys. To do that in a short period of time is just amazing."
Reed is definitely in rare company.
In the Bill Snyder era, only eight other players who transferred into the program were named team captain after just one year on the field. Those names include Jake Waters, Arthur Brown, Jermaine Berry, Marc Dunn, Josh Scobey, Michael Bishop, Jeff Kelly and Matt Miller. Only five of them were voted as a captain after one year in the program, as Brown, Berry and Miller either sat out for a year due to transfer rules or were redshirted.
"It's very special that my teammates voted me as captain. Honestly, I didn't expect it," Reed said. "When I heard my name, I was very surprised, but the coaches even told me that this is a very big honor because usually this doesn't happen with somebody who's only been here one year. It's just a blessing."
Tickets for the Wildcats' season the season-opener against Central Arkansas on September 2, are still available online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
Ticket availability for the Oklahoma game is down to scattered singles and standing room only. Wildcat 4 Packs, which include four reserved tickets, are still available for K-State's other six home games and are only $99 for Central Arkansas and Charlotte, $149 for Baylor, West Virginia and Iowa State, and $199 for TCU.
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