Reed Drawing Plenty of Interest

Lawrenceville, N.J., native Christian Reed is one of the most highly sought after prospects in the state of New Jersey for the Class of 2009 right now with over two dozen programs having contacted him already. He has been able to travel around the country to see what some of those schools have to offer him and already has some programs that he thinks very highly of.

If a disruptive playmaker is what college recruiters are looking for, they need look no further then Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, N.J., for defensive end Christian Reed, a 6-foot-2.5, 235-pound defensive end/outside linebacker. As a junior this impressive athlete made 86 tackles with a ridiculous 42 of them coming for a loss and10 sacks. He also forced three fumbles, recovered one, intercepted a pass, blocked a punt and had 10 hurries and seven knockdowns in nine games.

“Right now I have heard from roughly 25 schools,” Reed stated. “Some of them are Boston College, Notre Dame, Duke, Maryland, LSU, Penn State, Connecticut, Rutgers, Virginia, Buffalo, Clemson, Delaware State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Pittsburgh.” While Reed has not received an offer at this point, he has spoken with many coaches around the country and has made sure to visit some of these programs already with stops at Notre Dame, Connecticut, Syracuse and Maryland already. He has also camped at Penn State twice, another school he really likes.

“I went to Notre Dame for the Navy game and right when I walked in Coach (John) Latina and Coach (Corwin) Brown already knew who I was,” Reed stated. “Coach Brown asked me what kind of player I was and I told him that I was one that played with a lot of passion and intelligence and need to play for someone who hates to lose as much as I do. When I said that he looked over at Coach Latina and kind of gave him a little nod and a wink. Then he asked me if I could stick and I told him I definitely could and just to make sure to watch my film. After that we took a tour of things, watched a video on Notre Dame Football and looked at all the Heisman Trophies. We then went to watch the players walk from the Basilica and went to the field for warm-ups.”

“I sat with Deion Walker for the entire game and we talked about how the recruits that will be coming to Notre Dame over the next couple years will be revered for years to come for returning that program to glory,” Reed explained. “Those recruits coming in that I met already have a chip on their shoulder and are ready to get down to business and you really get a sense from them and the younger players that there was an energy there that is just building and building, getting ready to explode over the next few seasons.”

“After the game I went into the locker room and met some of the players like John Carlson, Asaph Schwapp and Jimmy Clausen,” Reed added. “Coach Brown took me aside and asked me if I thought I could help this team and I told him of course I could. Then he went and told my father the same and when he asked my father why, he simply opened his jacket and pointed to his heart. He told us to make sure we keep in constant contact at that point and told us they would be visiting me at my school sometime in December or January. All of the people in South Bend were unbelievable and they have some great fans. I really felt at home there.”

“We went to Connecticut to watch them play South Florida, but there were two accidents on the way there, so the trip ended up taking us over seven hours, but when we got there 30 minutes before kickoff Coach (Carl) Kotz was waiting for us,” Reed stated. “One thing I noticed about Connecticut was that the entire team was really into the game, whether it was people playing or even the guys on the sidelines. There was a ton of enthusiasm from everyone, including the fans and afterwards everyone stormed the field because of the upset.”

“When we went into the locker room after the game one of the coaches stood up and screamed “we didn’t earn respect today, we took it” and that is definitely the type of coach I could see myself playing for,” Reed added. “I spoke to Coach Hank Hughes and Coach Matt Cersosimo for a while after the game and told them that I really liked it there. They asked me to come back to see the facilities because I didn’t get to do any of that with us getting there late.”

“At Maryland I got to hang out with Matt Furstenberg and his parents and thought that they staff was very professional and did a great job making us feel welcomed. They spent time with us during our time there and even made sure to eat with us. They thing I liked the most was that Coach (Dave) Sollazzo actually knew who I was when I walked in the door without even having my nametag on yet. The crowd support during the game was great and at one point it really felt like the stadium was going to collapse.”

“I haven’t been to Penn State for a game yet, but I have camped there for two years in a row and really like them a lot,” Reed mentioned. “Penn State is just like Notre Dame, in that the entire town just shuts down on game day and football is like a religion there. The first year I camped there was as a linebacker, so I worked with Coach Ron Vanderlinden who used me to demonstrate and lead most of the drills. This past year I worked with the defensive linemen and Coach Larry Johnson and I love the intensity he brings to the game. He is a very passionate guy and says he hand picks his guys on the line. I just love the tradition that Penn State brings and think I could play outside linebacker or defensive end for them. I watch them play all the time and am always blown away by the fans with the “white out” and what not.”

Reed also visited Syracuse for the Illinois game, but the school simply was not for him. At this point he said his favorite two visits have been Notre Dame and Connecticut.

As a sophomore he registered 71 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, an interception and blocked two punts.

Reed in action: