By Christian Malone
VALDOSTA — For the past three years, local football fans have known how good Greg Reid is. Now Reid has shown his talents to a national audience.
Reid was chosen the Black team’s Most Valuable Player at the Under Armour All-American Game Sunday night in Orlando. The Lowndes High star intercepted two passes, nearly picked off a third and also had a long kickoff return.
“I was really excited,” Reid said about getting the MVP award. “I wasn’t expecting it. I had two picks, and almost had a third one. It was good.”
His team lost 27-16 to the White team, but Reid certainly did his part on defense and special teams.
“It was fun,” Reid said. “I’ve always wanted to play against guys from other states. We had some great players playing on both teams. I loved playing in that game.”
On the first play of the game, White quarterback Matt Barkley (rated the No. 1 quarterback in the nation by scout.com) hit wide receiver Marlon Brown on a slant, and Brown raced 72 yards for a touchdown. After that, the Black coaches had Reid cover the 6-foot-5 Brown the rest of the night, and he shut down scout.com’s No. 4 receiver.
“Coach told me to stick with (Brown), and that’s what I did,” Reid said.
The coaches were thoroughly impressed with Reid’s performance, both in the game and throughout the week. ESPN was equally impressed, saying Reid’s stock had definitely gone up.
“Reid was arguably the biggest surprise of any Under Armour All-American participant the entire week of practice, and he capped it off with an MVP performance Sunday night. He simply came up with big play after big play in Orlando and made it nearly impossible for opposing receivers to create separation,” Craig Haubert and Billy Tucker of Scouts Inc. reported on espn.com. “While not one of the biggest or fastest corners in this class, Reid showed us this week that he may be one of the quickest and more instinctive perimeter defenders in the country. He consistently jumped routes, showing great anticipation, skill, transitional quickness and closing burst. When you couple those traits with his outstanding ball skills, you have an upper-tier cornerback prospect and a very versatile athlete who can also provide a spark in the return game.”
Scout.com’s Chad Simmons, who called Reid the top playmaker from the Black team, added, “The 5-foot-9 athlete may be small in stature, but he makes big plays... He has so much speed.”
It was the second time in the past two weeks that Reid was chosen the top player in an all-star game. Reid also earned MVP honors at the North-South All-Star Classic in Columbus. That day, playing against some of the top talent in Georgia, Reid returned two punts for touchdowns, and led the South team to a 17-0 win. Those punt returns, which went for 89 and 77 yards, were the only two touchdowns scored in the game.
Fans who saw Reid for the first time, either in the Under Armour game or the game in Columbus, found out what Lowndes fans have known for a while: Greg Reid is a great football player.
This season, Reid rushed for 1,242 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaged 10.5 yards per carry, and also led the Vikings with eight catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, he intercepted nine passes, made 28 tackles, three tackles for loss, and had four pass breakups. He also returned a punt and a fumble for touchdowns. Overall, he had 2,048 yards of total offense and scored 21 touchdowns.
Reid was also named the state’s all-classification Player of the Year by both The Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“That meant a lot to me,” Reid said. “I’m not sure I deserved it, because I expected more from myself, but I was happy to win it.”
Reid was named All-State for the third consecutive year. He was the Region 1-AAAAA Player of the Year for the second straight year. He helped the Vikings go 12-1, a year after leading them to a state championship. He was also named to The Orlando Sentinel’s All-Southern team for the second straight year.
“They say your senior year is supposed to be your best year. I enjoyed this year,” he said. “It has been a blessing.”
Now Reid, who was a superstar as both a running back and a cornerback at Lowndes, not to mention as a kick returner, is trying to decide on a college. The longtime Gator fan had committed to Florida last February, but now has decomitted, and is reconsidering his options.
“It was nothing against Florida. They’re still my No. 1,” Reid said. “But I felt like I may have committed too soon, and I needed to take some time, and decide what school was best for me. I feel like my life’s on the line, and I don’t want to pick the wrong school. I’m going to think about it, and decide on my own.”
There are plenty of schools interested in him, especially after his performance Sunday night. New Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen, a former assistant at Florida, even offered to let Reid play both offense and defense, like he did at Lowndes.
“Everybody (is talking to me), from Big XII to Pac-10,” Reid said. “I plan to take a lot of visits.”
He wishes he could stay at Lowndes another year, but is grateful for the time he spent on the gridiron for the Vikings.
“I loved playing for Lowndes,” Reid said. “You can’t beat going to Lowndes. They’ve got all that tradition. They did a lot for me.”
“I appreciate all the fans who have supported me. I want them to know I’m going to come out on top,” he added.
