Calculating the next moves
Newly drafted cornerback Reid’s love of computers forges path to NFL
Strong connections — the traditional interpersonal type and the high-tech computer variety — built a pathway to the NFL for Penn State cornerback John Reid.
The New Jersey native became the first Nittany Lions player to be drafted by Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, a former Penn State coach who recruited Reid out of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia.
The fourth-round draft pick wasn’t surprised to hear from the Texans. Beyond the presence of O’Brien, Texans secondary coach D’Anton Lynn is a former All-Big Ten Conference cornerback from Penn State. And Texans scouting assistant Todd Jones Jr. is a Philadelphia native and one of Reid’s best friends.
“I definitely felt like this was a team I could land on,” Reid said after being selected 141st overall on Saturday. “I had a few conversations with (O’Brien) when I was being recruited, just when I was on campus, and then I just heard all of the respect that the players had for him. There were still a lot of players there that had been coached by him when I came in as a freshman. All they ever spoke about was just the respect that he had for all of the players and how much they liked him as a coach.”
Reid isn’t the biggest corner at 5-10, 187 pounds, but the two-time All-Big Ten honorable-mention selection is known for his toughness, his tackling ability and how he contests larger receivers for footballs.
Reid also brings a cere
bral background in his approach to football and life. A self-described perfectionist who majored in data sciences, he is a hard-core gamer adept at writing code for video games and is familiar with virtual reality.
Reid interned last summer at Blizzard Entertainment, a Southern California-based video game company. He interned previously at Intel. “World of Warcraft” is one of his favorite video games.
His teammates at Penn State poked good-natured fun at Reid’s bookish and computer habits but looked up to him for his devotion to film study and schoolwork.
“I come from a bit of a software engineering background,” Reid said. “I’ve been doing coding since high school. It was the first thing I found outside of football that was relatable in the case that I could work really hard at it, it’s really detail-oriented and you can constantly see results if you put the work in. At Blizzard, I did software engineering. I did front-end and backend web development. It was a great experience.”
When Reid was on campus in State College, Pa., for a recruiting event, he famously left a barbecue to study tape with former Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop.
Rather than focus on the raucous social life or the rah-rah aspect of recruiting, Reid was intent on learning something. He wanted to be taught. That’s what made Penn State an attractive school for him.
“Throughout my recruiting process, I really wasn’t so much a fan of they kind of want to hype your head up, tell you how great you are,” Reid said. “For me, it was more about learning and getting better. So instead of actually doing the barbecue, I was like, ‘Coach, I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything, but if you have some time, I would rather go upstairs and watch film to see what you guys actually run and where I could be potentially playing at.’
“I could kind of get a feel for his coaching style. It was one of the reasons I ended up choosing Penn State. Because they kind of knew I was all about football and not so much about the recruiting. I’ve always just been interested in football. That’s just my love for the game.”
Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry found a lot of ways to utilize Reid, lining him up all over the field. He also involved Reid as a blitzer, and he recorded 1 ½ career sacks
“John is super intelligent, a great competitor who worked to master his craft and was really a professional playing corner for us,” Pry said in a telephone interview. “John was our best cover player for multiple years. We would put John on their best route runner, their fastest guy. John has quickness and change-of-direction skills and really good speed. He was a model of efficiency. There’s not a lot of wasted footwork.
“You would always find John studying. He would have his iPad out walking to and from meetings, on the bus, on the plane, like a pro. He’s a guy who can learn multiple positions: boundary corner, field corner. He’s a good blitzer. We sent him a lot from the nickel spot. He can accelerate and get leverage. He has some rush ability.”
It’s that kind of approach that made Reid a draft priority for the Texans.
Though Reid is relatively undersized, he’s fast, running the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds at the NFL scouting combine with a 36 ½-inch vertical leap. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 20 times.
Reid recorded 37 tackles, one sack and two interceptions last season. Two years ago, he had 24 tackles and two interceptions.
Reid has the frame to play nickel but also could line up outside.
“I think he can do both,” O’Brien said. “I think he’s got good quickness; he’s got good toughness. When I was at Penn State, he was a sophomore in high school and came to our camp. I think we offered him a scholarship right there.
“Really smart guy. Comes from a great family. That was another guy that we felt really good about that we had targeted and we were really hoping would be there.”
Reid, who has three brothers and two sisters, was the MVP of an ultracompetitive Catholic league, an all-state selection, and the Philadelphia Player of the Year. O’Brien worked him out when he was a 15-year-old sophomore.
“We took him on the field and did some drills with him and just noticed right away his movement skills, his ability to follow directions, his intensity, his seriousness,” O’Brien said of Reid, who overcame a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2017. “He’s a good guy. We’re glad we are able to have him. He went through some adversity there at Penn State — injuries and different things — but he came out last year and was highly recommended by (Penn State coach) James Franklin.”
Reid has been staying in shape during the coronavirus pandemic. He has a set of dumbbells to lift at home and runs in his neighborhood, doing sprints to maintain his conditioning. He also does footwork drills.
Reid studies several versatile cornerbacks, including Chris Harris Jr. and Tre’Davious White, hoping to emulate their best qualities. He started studying at a young age by watching running backs Barry Sanders and Walter Payton.
“I definitely watch a ton of film. It’s kind of a habit I’ve had since I was a little kid,” Reid said. “My father used to always tell me, ‘If you want to be really great, you need to watch other people that have done it before and try to take little things from them.’”
Reid graduated in December. Instead of concentrating strictly on football and attempting a less demanding academic schedule, he embraced difficult classes.
“When I put my mind to something, I’m going to do everything I possibly can to accomplish it,” Reid said. “I’m not going to make any excuses. I kind of go into things knowing it’s going to be really hard. If you really want something bad enough, you make the sacrifices. It definitely wasn’t an easy road.”