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Facing last strike, Florida State's Bert Reed straightens up

Nearly dismissed for violating team rules three times, receiver Bert Reed changed his attitude and became a leader for FSU.

Florida State's Bert Reed, left, celebrates with Andrew Datko after scoring the go-ahead touchdown against North Carolina State which made the score 45-42 in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Tallahassee.
Florida State's Bert Reed, left, celebrates with Andrew Datko after scoring the go-ahead touchdown against North Carolina State which made the score 45-42 in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Tallahassee.
STEVE CANNON / AP
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BY IRA SCHOFFEL

Miami Herald Writer

TALLAHASSEE -- One year ago this month, Bert Reed thought his college football career might be over. At least at Florida State.

After already serving two one-game suspensions for violations of team rules, the then-freshman receiver had found trouble yet again.

This time, he was among a group of Seminoles who got mixed up in a lunchtime brawl at the university's student union.

``I felt like I was going to be thrown into the fire first,'' Reed recalled this week as he and the Seminoles prepared for Saturday's game at Clemson.

He nearly was.

FSU coach Bobby Bowden has taken much criticism over the years for giving too many players second- and third-chances. And with this being Reed's third ``offense,'' many in the Florida State community began calling for his dismissal.

``It was probably down to the last strike,'' Bowden said.

But when he sat down with Reed, Bowden saw a soul he could help save. A young man with great potential, but one who could only reach that potential with discipline and structure a football program could provide.

``If you can save a life, that's the most important thing in the world,'' Bowden said. ``I've always said that: I hate to throw them back on the street if I can help it.''

Reed and four of his teammates were immediately suspended for one game after the campus fight, but none were dismissed. Reed went on to finish the season with 23 receptions for 295 yards and three touchdowns.

But the number that had a larger impact on him was the three games he missed because of suspensions.

``It really made me appreciate everything,'' Reed said. ``Knowing that I wasn't playing because of my decisions and the things I had done, it really affected me. I had to take a step back and look: `Where do I want to be? Where am I going to be if I keep acting like I'm acting?'

``I had to take a moment and become a man and be responsible for things.''

Realizing for the first time that his future was in jeopardy, Reed decided to make some real changes. He re-dedicated himself to schoolwork and stopped skipping classes. He also spent more time learning the intricacies of coordinator Jimbo Fisher's offense, not simply relying on his athletic skills.

Through eight games, Reed leads the Seminoles with 42 receptions for 504 yards. And he has become a go-to receiver in clutch situations.

Last Saturday against N.C. State, Fisher went to Reed three times on the Seminoles' game-winning, fourth-quarter drive. Reed caught an 18-yard pass, he scooted 15 yards on an end-around, and he scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard reverse.

Reed said he is grateful for another opportunity.

``I don't want to be another statistic or somebody that he had to kick out,'' Reed said. ``I know plenty of people before me have had their backs against the wall and turned it around and succeeded. That's what I want to do -- just show people what type of person I really am and what type of person Coach Bowden knows I am. That's why I'm still here.''

The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald

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