re: Ed Reed HOF Speech

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Didn’t even offer

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About 15 schools offered scholarships to Reed while he was at Destrehan High School in Louisiana. A few SEC teams, like the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels, made an offer to the defensive back. Most of his list was filled with smaller in-state programs like Tulane or even schools from the Southland Conference, which was part of Division I-AA at the time.

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There were question marks, anyway. He was only about 5-10 or 5-11 coming out of high school with about a 4.6-second time in the 40-yard dash. The measurable athleticism wasn’t exactly there even though he was a four-sport athlete — an All-State star in football, a 20-point scorer in basketball, a legitimate professional baseball prospect and a state finalist in track and field.

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The modern star system was still years away when Reed committed to Miami. Recruiting coverage was localized with each city’s newspaper chronicling commitments and producing its own rankings.

The Times-Picayune, which has since become The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, was the local authority at the time and the players atop its recruiting rankings were always the ones LSU wanted most. The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, didn’t include Reed in its Super Dozen for the Class of 1997, instead placing him in the Second Dozen.

When Reed orally committed to Miami, Martin told him to tell the assistant coach recruiting him to Baton Rouge. Martin finally spoke with the coach, whom Martin declined to name, after National Signing Day.

“Well, you know, Coach, Miami’s probably a great place for him,” Martin remembered the Tigers’ assistant telling him. “I’m not sure he’s an SEC defensive back.”

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