Rusty Simmons
Kyle Reed is hesitant to admit it, but he obviously knows it: His career is on the line. "I'm not going to lie," Cal's sophomore quarterback said. "Coming into Cal, I thought I was the cream of the crop with the big arm, the ability to move and run and do anything it would take to rise to the top. I still think it's obvious that I have the physical tools, but I also realize that I didn't used to get it mentally. "It's been a frustrating learning process, but I finally feel like I know what it takes to get on the field, and I think I'm there. At least, I hope I'm there." On the surface, it appears as though Reed is trying to win the No. 2 quarterback spot this season. In actuality, coach Jeff Tedford will, at the very least, be designating a front-runner as the program's quarterback of the future when he chooses between Reed and redshirt freshman Kevin Riley in the middle of the week.
Being a sophomore with junior Nate Longshore firmly planted as the starter ahead of him, the future has to intertwine with the present for Reed. At best, Reed will win the reserve spot now and get to start in his final year. At worst, he won't start a game at Cal. "In a way, Tedford is naming the future quarterback," Reed said before quickly following, "but it will never be over, because he is always going to make us compete. If I win the spot, I'll be happy and proud, but immediately, I'll get back to working and improving." That has been one of the most difficult realizations for Reed. Everything had come so easily before. Tedford was so impressed that he offered Reed a scholarship as a rising sophomore at McClymonds High-Oakland. By the time Reed was a senior, the recruiting site Rivals.com wrote: "Cal was looking for a quarterback of the future, and it landed one of the top prospects in the nation," and quarterbacks guru Roger Theder said, "He is one of the very best in the country, without a doubt. Kyle has all the tools to make it big."
Since then, Reed has had no game-day snaps at Cal. "Of course, this has been difficult on me," he said. "People expect that if you have talent, you're going to get right out there, but that's not how it works. There's a process of understanding what's going on and learning how to lead a team." You can see Reed trying to do that at every practice. Whether he's getting reps or not. "Sitting on the sidelines wouldn't do me any good," he said. "I get as close as I can to the play. I try to simulate myself being in there, breaking down all of the reads and understanding what I have to do." It's not that Reed isn't smart enough to memorize Cal's complex offense. He simply wants and needs to understand the whys behind the facts and diagrams. "I had to get to a point in which I understood the process," he said. "It's not the easiest thing to do, but I wouldn't pass it up now."
That's exactly what he has been asked to do time and time again. "It's something else," Reed said. "It never stops. People are always telling you to transfer. "Your friends, your family and everyone in your immediate surroundings. You hear from every angle that you should be 'The Guy.' It has been the biggest challenge in my life to accept that I wasn't ready and to find different ways to explain that to different people." So he decided to stay in Berkeley and compete.
The stories of the hours Reed has devoted to video study are becoming legend. With his teammates walking away from conditioning drills after being dismissed one sprint too early at a recent practice, Reed called them back, saying, "I'm not going to cheat; we've done only three." And in the latest sequence of his now-or-never situation, Reed completed 7 of 12 passes for 55 yards in Thursday's scrimmage. "If you want to be a quarterback, you have to be a leader," he said. "So part of my preparation has been learning that I can't show weakness, I can't let others know when I'm down and I have to have integrity in everything I'm doing." Through it all, Tedford hasn't wavered on his opinion of Reed. "He always looks very good and is always really improving," Tedford said. "Once he shows the ability to take it off the board and translate it on the field, and controls the offense and the huddle, he's going to be a great quarterback here." Reed thinks he has arrived, and, with his braces recently removed, he finally even looks the part of the leader. He always has sounded like a quarterback. "You wouldn't believe what this situation has done for me," Reed said. "I remember my parents telling me that if I stuck with it, my time would come. It was a hard thing to believe, but it's inescapable now.
"Tedford always tells me that once my time comes, I'm going to be an unbelievable athlete for him, and I believe him to the fullest." That's why he has a plan, just in case Tedford announces that Reed will be No. 3 on the depth chart. "I'd be disappointed and may even question if I've made enough strides," he said. "But I can't imagine that it would stop me. Failure is not an option. "If I never start a game at Cal, I'll still chase the NFL dream. I still feel that I have tools to get it done at the next level, and if that doesn't work, I'll have that unbeatable degree." Reed is willing to admit all of that. Without hesitation.
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