Studious CB Reid returns to lineup

Knee injury forced him to sit out 2017 season

Some Penn State partisans undoubtedly are convinced that the 2017 season was an abject, agonizing waste for cornerback John Reid, an interminable stretch devoid of anything beside gloom and despair.

Others likely aren’t nearly as upbeat about it.

And indeed, last season is not one on which Reid ever will reflect fondly, since he spent it recovering from a serious knee injury that occurred in spring workouts.

So instead of being one of the key members of a defense that helped the Nittany Lions forge an 11-2 record and top-10 ranking, Reid had to settle for contributing moral support and an occasional nugget of advice to his teammates.

But while spending last autumn in street clothes on the sideline wasn’t Reid’s plan, that doesn’t mean he settled for being nothing more than an interested observer.

Reid is reputed to spend more time watching film than most movie critics and used his time off the field to evaluate and tweak his game, detecting and correcting flaws.

“One of the biggest things I was able to do is, bad habits I may have had in my technique or things I didn’t like, I had a whole year and some change to change those things,” he said. “That’s really big.

“Sometimes, it’s kind of hard when you’re dead in the middle of it and having to do it every day, but I was able to really focus on fixing those small things that I wanted to fix.”

Just how much Reid has fine-tuned his game should be apparent Sept. 1, when he will reclaim his starting job in — Coach James Franklin, on cornerback John Reid, whno missed the 2017 season the opener against Appalachian State at Beaver Stadium.

Count coach James Franklin among those who expect Reid to be even more of an impact player than he was in the past, despite the long layoff.

“John was playing at a really high level and has always been an unbelievable student of the game,” Franklin said. “He probably came in more mature than most freshmen, but … he’s even further ahead, just based on another year in the program.

“Sometimes when you go through injuries like that, it puts things in perspective, as well. You have to overcome adversity and those types of things, so I think he’s probably grown more than [in] a normal year because of the adversity he’s had to overcome.”

Reid, a redshirt junior, started all 14 games in his sophomore season and was in on 36 tackles, 23 of them unassisted. He had an interception, recovered a fumble and broke up nine passes.

He put up similarly impressive numbers as a freshman, when he started two of 13 games and participated in 29 tackles (18 unassisted), forced a fumble, recovered one, had two interceptions and broke up five passes.

Not surprisingly, major knee injuries negatively can affect a player’s speed and mobility. Reid, though, said that hasn’t been an issue for him.

“I feel like I’m a lot more explosive, getting out of my breaks,” he said. “They’re a lot more crisp.

“I feel faster. My feet are definitely quicker, so I feel really good.”

Reid volunteered that preseason camp, which is winding down, caused the usual aches and pains — “Everybody gets sore during camp” — but it did nothing to dull his excitement about getting back on the field when Appalachian State stops by Beaver Stadium.

“I always want to play football,” he said. “My love for the game, that’s never changed. That’s the reason I’m here.”