The Life and Times of Lucas Reed

“Yeah, Brooks was nice enough to get us all tickets,” Lucas replies with a sly grin on his face. You know, that we call him the ‘Ticketmaster’ now, right?. That’s his new nickname around these parts (laughs). Seriously though, he has been very generous to the family with those types of things.”

Would you like some more proof of that? Here is a little something that Brooks said in our last interview that I have only told your dad about so far. When I asked him what his goals were for the season, I figured they might be things like leading the team in sacks, getting to start (this was before he was inserted into the starting lineup) or maybe even making the All-Rookie team.

Much to my surprise, his answer did not have a thing to do with football or himself. Instead, he said that his main goal was to be able to pay Katie’s way through college at a bigger school when he scores his next contract. Now, how cool is that?

Somewhat stunned by the news, Lucas manages to say, “That’s amazing. He hasn't even mentioned doing that before, so I guess it must be something he recently decided upon. I understand the way he is thinking though. I have often thought that if I am ever lucky enough to play in the NFL, I am going to pay back my parents for everything that they have ever done for me.”

For what it’s worth, I believe you are going to make that jump. I know that your family does too. And I think your senior year is going to make up for some of the dismal losses from seasons past. Call me crazy, but I sensed something special in our coach when first I heard him speak. Either he is a great orator, or he is the real thing. I guess it is probably one of those intangible things, but I believe that you are going to see this team start playing like a real band of brothers instead of a band of others. Know what I mean?

Laughing at my choice of words, Lucas replies, “I think that I know exactly what you are saying. There really is something different about him that comes through, like you said. As a player, all I can do is what I have always done. That is, lacing 'em up, tightening down the chin-straps and giving it everything that I've got."

Still keeping it real about his brother making the leap into the NFL, Brooks urges his younger sibling to take charge of his own future.

"Here's the thing," says a knowing Brooks, "Lucas was helped all of the way through high school and in getting into college by my father. If my brother truly wishes to play in the NFL, then he is going to have to take it upon himself to kind of let go of my father's hand and be his own man. If he wants to reach that goal, then he has to make that his main priority. It is just something that my dad (God bless him) will never be able to help him with.

Talking or begging the other coaches and teams will not get him anywhere. In the end, it is what Lucas shows them on tape --how he prepares for this season and what he shows out on the field. That is really all that matters. It will be up to him from now on."

Pretty strong words from someone who (according to dad) doesn't like being interviewed.

Laughing, Brooks says, "You just have to understand, I hated...really dreaded, being interviewed in high school. Whether it was phone interviews or being on camera, I hated being in that kind of spotlight. As it happened more and more, I guess that I just got used to it. This is not like those though. Not like any regular interview for me at all. This is deeper than that and all about my brother whom I love. No matter how it comes across in this story, I am pulling for that skinny kid from Barbary Coast Road in every way possible."

It was a serious question that I was now asking Lucas. Not that the other ones weren't. Some had dealt with his possible future upon this rock, after all. But this one dealt with his very real presence upon it now.

"For me, it is probably a different story about my dad," says Lucas. "For Brooks, there was a time in his life that he could easily relate to me and the relationship that I have with my dad right now." (Taking a deep breath) "My dad...he is a part of me. He is my initiative. He is the half that pushes me in the right direction and makes me get up in the morning. He is the force that pushes me to do well in sports and in school and he is always there for me. He breaks the walls down so that I can always bounce back whenever I fall down. If I ever start leaning over in the wrong direction, he is already there with a steadying hand. He really doesn't know how much I appreciate him. It's hard...it's hard to put into words how much my father has done for me. He got me through high school. He got me through middle school. He even got me through my disability."

"I wasn't even tall when I was first dealing with those problems," continues a somber Lucas, "and just how things worked out...it is a miracle."

Well, I have always told him that he would get my vote for father of the year.

"Father of the year?" replies Lucas somewhat incredulously."How about father of the decade or father of the century? Whenever I stop and think about it --how lazy I am sometimes --especially when I am at home, he always takes care of me by doing the things that I should be doing for myself. He cooks for me and does the things that I don't normally do on my own, like make my bed. He does everything and always has for us kids. It is really unbelievable to me, how he did as a single parent after my mom and him split-up.

Now, my mom, she really cares about what I do and how I am doing in school and all, but she doesn't put as much effort into it as my dad does and that kind of goes unseen in all of the workings of academia and athletics. He got me through high school and he is getting me through college. Katie is in college as well, but out of all of us kids, she can take care of herself. Me, I like to lean on my dad sometimes, because he is so capable. I can talk about this stuff forever. My sister...she had written something that meant a lot to him, and even made him break down a little bit. It is kind of harsh on my mother, but it is realistic, nonetheless. I really don't think my dad knows how much we love and appreciate him."

Struggling to find the right words, Lucas finally manages to say, "I just want to make him proud of me --that's all. He has influenced me so much. I am even looking into opera now sometimes because of him (laughs). You have to acquire a taste for that sort of thing though."

His reach extends pretty far. He has even sent me an opera CD. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate music of all types, but this one will take a while to grow on me, as I am kind of an old hippie.

Raising a curious eyebrow in my direction, Lucas says, "The amazing thing to me about him is, fathers and sons grow up alike. But he envisioned a totally different life for me, my brother and my sister --compared with the life that he grew up with. While he did go to college...he didn't have a scholarship. He worked hard for everything that he ever had. Down the road, he made it easy for us. He gave us everything that he had lacked as a youth. It is just like when you see a farmer and his son. The father wants his son to be just like him. Dad wasn't like that at all. He pushed us in a totally different direction --towards what we wanted. Even if we didn't totally realize it at the time. We probably still don't know (laughs)."

Okay Brooks, no more easy ones lobbed straight at the bat. Here is a hardball question (as if). Imagine that it is 2013 and Lucas has been drafted into the NFL. As a rookie, he barely sees any action during the regular season. That all changes in the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans. Called into service because the starting tight end was injured, his head coach calls a play designed to be a pass over the middle to Lucas. His thinking being that it would catch the Texans by surprise, since nobody knew who the tall, unheralded rookie was.

Off Lucas goes like a rocket, untouched except for a bump at the line of scrimmage. Completely wide open, it is all going according to plan, except that a certain Brooks Reed (who seems to know this rookie pretty well) reads the play and is waiting for him like an assassin out there in no man's land. What is going to happen? Are you going to be even more aggressive and take out his legs as so often happens on those types of plays, or are you going to let up just a bit and simply make the tackle (if you can)?

"That would be a pretty awesome thing right there," says an intrigued Brooks Reed. "I would have my pride on the line right there for sure (laughs). I really don't have anything more to add to that scenario, except that he had damn sure better be ready if that day ever arrives."

The wide smile on Brook's face kind of betrays his fierce words. At least to me anyway. I think he is just happy to imagine his kid brother playing alongside him on the biggest stage in the world. Lucas, on the other hand...

Laughing at the question, Lucas struggles for a bit, with a lot of 'hmmms.' It is clear that he is thinking this thing through carefully. "I would just like to give him a stiff arm and throw him to the ground," replies Lucas between fits of laughter, "and then gloat after I get a long touchdown reception. I've never got one over on him in my whole life like that. On such a play, I would try even harder than I normally would, for sure. My whole instinct would be to try and outdo him in that game."

So, the challenge is on between the two brothers, but that's nothing new in the Reed household. Pretty similar to those old boxing matches that they use to have out in the backyard way back when --only this time it counts and the gloves will be off. This past weekend, the Lobos received a verbal from Cherry Creek High School tight end, Christian Rebhun. At 6'5" and 240 pounds, he certainly has the size. His highlight video shows him to be primarily a blocker --and a good one at that. His pass catching ability seems rather suspect though, as only a small portion of the video showed him actually catching the ball. As this seems to correlate with the direction our new coach is going in (a hard-nosed running game), I was curious what Lucas thought about his own blocking skills. Surprisingly, he was not even aware that another tight end had committed that weekend.

A somewhat bemused Lucas Reed answers, "Honestly, I didn't even know that we were recruiting another tight end. I'll have to check out his video. Seriously though, competition at your position is always a good thing. It usually makes you a better player. So he looks like a pretty good blocker? So far with this new staff, blocking does seem to be the emphasis, but they said right at the get-go that we would adapt to the strengths of the players that we have currently have on the team. I don't feel that I am that good of a blocker, though I know that I can become one. My new tight end coach said that I have to prove myself in the running game before I can prove myself in the passing game, as that was the most important thing to them right now."

That kind of goes along with all of the talk being heard from the south campus so far (meanwhile, Lucas is searching on YouTube for the video).

Finding it, Lucas exclaims, "Wow. That is a long video. I think that I'll watch it later on tonight --or maybe not (laughs)."

Describe to me the different mindset it takes for a tight end when it comes to blocking versus pass catching. I mean, it really is a unique position in those aspects. Essentially, you are an offensive lineman who is pass eligible.

"During the game, I try not to over-think things like that. I like to keep it simple. The one thing that I am worrying about between each play --doesn't matter if it is a running play or a passing play, is I have to keep my focus on the responsibility that my coaches have assigned to me. If I don't complete that on my end, then it will mess up everything and I don't want that. It is the last thing that I want. Blocking on a play or going out for a pass reception are equally important in my eyes. A team is like a big jigsaw puzzle. When complete, it makes a pretty picture. If you have one piece missing, then that leaves a gaping hole that the other team will take advantage of. I guess that what I am saying is, there are no less important positions or assignments. They are all equal in making the greater picture complete.

Now, blocking certainly doesn't gain as much publicity as reeling in a big reception would, but we as players know that they are both equally important. Of course, I am not thinking about that when I am out there as player. Everything just goes so much faster out on the field, that a full game seems like maybe only half of a game --at the most. Watching it up in the stands --even as a player, it feels like a full game. On the field, it is just a blur."

I think that sums it up pretty well about a tight end's role in the grand scheme of things. I will be most curious to see how the different philosophies of the Davie coaching staff translate out on the field for you in 2012. Now, here is something that I have wanted to ask you about for quite sometime. You played on special teams quite frequently in 2011, and did really well. I mean, you looked like a headhunter at times, speeding down the field all hell-bent for leather. Not at all unlike those Pop-Warner days when you were this little squirt-bug running all over the place looking for someone to hit or tackle. Now, to us fans, that looks like you take an immense joy in that sort of thing, which is unusual for an offensive player. Am I reading this correctly?

"Oh yeah. I really enjoy that stuff," smiles Lucas. "I like it that you noticed. The truth is, I miss tackling a lot. It is certainly nice to be the tackler and not the tackled every once in a while. When you have the ball in your hands, I sometimes feel like the focus is so unreachable. There are just so many targets going after you --eleven guys are all focused on you and can potentially bring you down. You can't focus on all of them. All you can do is worry about the general area within your vision, and that is how you get blindsided at times. When you are on defense, you can really focus on the ball and that one person --focus all of your strength on him...and kill him potentially (laughs).

You know, I used to play defense a lot when I was younger. When I was in high school, I played both ways. It was a lot of fun, but whenever I got tired, they would take me out of the defense and just keep me out on the offense. I'll play wherever they put me though. I love this game."

I heard from the usual source, that you gained 30 pounds over the holidays, and are now sitting at around 240. Must have been that holiday cooking.

"Nah, it was the fatherly cooking," laughs Lucas. "Not mom's home cooking, but dad's home cooking."

So you should just go to coach Davie, and tell him that while you still want to be the starting tight end, he should throw you in as a defensive end every now and then, whenever the other team is facing 3rd and long. Kind of like former Dallas Cowboy, Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

Not having a clue who in the hell I was talking about (Ed Jones retired about the same time that Lucas was being born), Lucas says, "I don't know about that. We have players a lot more geared towards those types of things than I am. Besides, I love what I do now. If that means that I also get to lay the hurt on someone during a punt or kickoff return, then so be it."

I figured that I was finished interviewing Lucas until after his senior season at this juncture, but I was wrong. On January 25th, I spoke with him a bit about going to Houston to watch his big brother play against Cincinnati in the playoffs. Along the way, he met up with an old comrade in arms.

"After the game, we went down to a dinner area that was set up for the players and their families," recalls Lucas. "It was actually a real struggle for us to get in there, but we finally got in --sat down, and I started looking around at the spectacle. What do you know, but Glover Quinn sees me, although I hadn't noticed him. He started making gestures over to our table, and Katie saw him. She was confused though, as she did not know who Glover Quinn was. He was like motioning, 'Hey, let me talk to that guy' and she was like pointing to people all over the place, and replying, 'Do you mean this guy?' Finally, she points at me and I look up wondering what is going on. Then I see that it is Glover, and I shout, 'Oh my God!' and run over to him. We embraced, shook hands and reminisced a bit...pretty cool stuff."

Earlier that year, Bob Reed had strolled around the pre-game tailgate with a friend (Tim) from back home, simply amazed at the acres and acres of Texan crazies on hand for the game (it was only preseason). It was not at all unlike a country boy seeing Manhattan for the very first time. Well, a couple of gregarious fans saw this wayfarer, and invited them over to their camp for a beer. Once there, Bob told them who his son was and was greeted with polite (although somewhat dubious) praise for his 'son'. Now, this little ritual seemed to repeat itself over and over again, whenever Bob was fortunate enough to make one of Brook's home games that season. The natives --although they were always gracious and welcoming in that somewhat rambunctious Texas way, were maybe not completely convinced that his son really played on the team --although one of them took a picture of him and had him sign it from 'Brook Reed's dad'. Little did they know that on this day --in the biggest game that the Texans had ever played in their short history, something was going to happen after the game that they would never, ever forget.

"After the game, we drove back down to the tailgate lot at dad's request," explains a buoyant Lucas. "We drove up, it was dark and at first a lot of folks wondered why this big pick up truck was now blocking the road. But when Brooks got out, it was almost like the second coming of Christ! It was like Moses parting the sea or something like that. All of a sudden, these people just drained into this one spot where we were all at. It was like ants swarming to a picnic. The noise of the fans when Brooks came out of his car was just ridiculous --like the game was still going on and we had just scored a touchdown. Their love even rubbed off on me, my dad and my sister. They were just so appreciative that a player would do this sort of thing for them.

It was really insane, just how happy people were. These ladies were running around saying things like, 'This is the happiest day of my life!' and 'This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me!' Brooks must have signed autographs for way over an hour. He was signing bald people's heads and even signed a girl's breasts. It was funny and totally reminded me of that movie 'Talladega Nights.' I have never seen anything else like it --just how happy and appreciative these people were. Apparently, it is really out of character for a player to come out of their safety zone and mingle with the fans. It is just something that you don't do as a professional for personal safety and other reasons. I am pretty sure that Brooks was the first Houston player to ever do that for the fans. They just kept gushing over how this had never happened to them before and of how it was so out of character for a player to do such a thing."

That is one of the coolest stories that I have ever heard...

"It was crazy. Everywhere we went, he was recognized, especially because this was their first playoff win. He was a total celebrity with everyone wanting to give him a free meal or drinks on the house. It was totally surreal."

What a great weekend that must have been for the family. I can only imagine that those types of things must make you even hungrier to follow in his footsteps one last time.

"For sure they do," asserts Lucas. "You just have to make yourself into something more than what people make of you. I am used to having to do that, though. Seeing what my brother has accomplished, and what a former teammate [Glover Quinn] has accomplished, that just kind of puts things in perspective for me."

Speaking of perspective, you know how things always look closer in the rear view mirror than they really are? I hope that after reading this series of stories you will feel much closer to the Reed family than you were before. They have truly been reed instruments, making beautiful music together. Surely, it can't get any better than for a kid to go from being considered a scrub to becoming a 2-time All American, All-Conference and team MVP, can it?

Yes it can.

One day after my last interview with Lucas, the Mountain West Conference All-Academic Team was announced. The kid with the learning disability who had never made the grade and who had been forced to humble himself on numerous occasions in order to qualify for a higher education, was on it --bigger than life. And that is why you should never bet against him and Brooks colliding head-on over the middle someday, at an NFL stadium near you. It will simply be yet another one of those Lucas Reed 'tall tales' in a long line of such things. Y'all come back now, you hear?