Chris Eaton
Football is the ultimate team game. It’s 11 players on offense, 11 players on defense, and 11 players on special teams. Throughout training camp, it’s about getting the squad to focus as being one unit and doing anything for one another.
At Mesa High, that meant a change in position for Adrik Reed.
The 6-1, 190-pound athlete was heading into his senior year expecting to play safety and receiver for the Jackrabbits. About a week before the team’s scrimmage in August, an injury opened up a spot at the quarterback position and being a team-first guy, Reed answered the bell.
“(Head) Coach (Chad) DeGrenier asked me to take up the role,” Reed said in an e-mail interview. “I was definitely nervous at first, since I hadn’t thrown a football in forever, but I had to do what I had to do for the team.”
While he didn’t play the QB position as a junior, it wasn’t completely foreign to Reed. He played being center through some of his time in youth ball and in his freshman and sophomore years at MHS.
After what seems like a baptism by fire having to get his first two starts against 6A (and Open) ranked teams Red Mountain and Basha, Reed has settled in nicely as a quarterback. In the past five games (3-2 record), he is averaging 220 yards passing per game, highlighted by a 261-yard performance against Casteel last month. Overall, Reed has thrown eight touchdown passes with just three interceptions.
He’s also a dual-threat out of the backfield. Reed averages 10 carries per game and has 316 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The preseason plan of Reed starting at safety hasn’t changed either. He’s one of the few players at the big-school level playing both quarterback and on the defense. He has 19 tackles this season and, against Casteel, forced a fumble and recovered one.
While it can be grueling work, playing in the secondary is what Reed prepared for all spring and summer and he’s performed well on that side of the ball. With his high football IQ, he is able to take techniques learned as both a quarterback and a safety, and figure out how to then use them to his advantage with whichever position he is playing.
“I keep myself conditioned very well so I don’t get tired,” Reed said. “At QB, it helps to understand what the safety is looking for when I drop back, and especially at safety, it helps me understand the quarterback’s reads and progressions throughout the game.”
It’s not all about football for Reed, either. In addition to his versatility on the football field, he played in the well-renowned basketball program for the Jackrabbits. He has stopped competing in that sport to focus on football, but treasured his time of being a multi-sport athlete.
“The experience was good,” Reed said. “Our basketball team is really good and the coaches on that staff help keep the tradition alive.”
Last year’s MHS basketball team went 23-7 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the 6A East Valley Region. The Jackrabbits made the Open Division playoffs and ultimately finished in the 6A quarterfinals.
Reed has football offers (he’s being recruited as a safety) from Arizona Christian and Pacific University in Oregon. As the season has gone on, he’s been getting more college interest. In the classroom, he carries a 3.60 GPA.
I want to thank @UtahTechFB for the game day experience provided to my parents and I. I appreciate the conversations that I was able to have with Steve Clark and @__coachclark and am looking forward to building a relationship in the future with them and the other coaches.… pic.twitter.com/FOw3oZybyx
— Adrik Reed (@Adrik_Reed) September 30, 2024
With three weeks left in the regular season, Mesa is averaging 29 points per game, but sits at 3-4. The quest for a third straight trip to the playoffs resumes on Friday with a home game in Jackrabbits Stadium against Cesar Chavez (5-2). After that come games at Desert Ridge (1-6) and at home against Westwood (4-3). When you factor out the Open Division teams, Mesa was at #13 prior to its game last Friday against Mountain View (a 63-30 loss). The team certainly still has its postseason fate in its own hands.
“We just need to stay focused on one game at a time,” Reed said. “If we just do our jobs on the field, we will make the playoffs again this year.”
TD Jackrabbits by WR Adrik Reed.
Toros 28, Jackrabbits 16.
0:29, 2Q. @azc_preps pic.twitter.com/l3pDn5qnDN— Mohana Holloway (@MohanaHolloway) October 19, 2024
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
