It didn’t take long for Patrick Reed to realize there wouldn’t be much playing time as quarterback for him.
All Reed had to do was take one look at the depth chart to see that he was behind incumbent redshirt sophomore starter Lamar Jordan, redshirt junior transfer Austin Apodaca and redshirt freshman JaJuan Lawson.
That prompted Reed to propose a position switch during spring football practice: He told head coach Bob Davie that he wanted to go from quarterback to wide receiver. Davie accepted Reed’s proposal, and the redshirt freshman has proven that he’s a capable wideout thus far.
“It’s hard not to see number five,” Davie said. “He’s done some things that in some way surprise me because he was a quarterback, and very intent on being a quarterback. It’s made us look like good coaches so far. Again, can he do it in the game? So far he’s shown to me that he’ll be able to do it in the game.”
The transition from signal-caller to wide receiver has been “smooth” so far for Reed, he said — even though this is the first time in Reed’s entire playing career that he hasn’t been behind center.
Reed was a three-year starter at quarterback at Silsbee High School in Silsbee, Texas. He threw for 4,843 career yards with 46 touchdowns and he also ran for 2,772 yards and 24 scores.
The experience from playing quarterback has helped him at receiver, Reed said.
“It helps out a lot because at quarterback you have to know the plays and know where everyone is supposed to be,” Reed said. “At receiver you still have to know a lot, but not as much as quarterback.”
Reed has shown flashes of his playmaking ability at wide receiver during fall camp. He’s made several big plays over the course of the past two weeks.
“(There are) some glaring challenges for him as a receiver as it relates to route running and stuff,” offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse said. “As far as making plays, he’s made a good job of making plays. The reason that if we played tomorrow he would play is because he plays hard. At the end of the day those are the guys we’re going to be able to trust.”
If Reed does turn out to be a dynamic receiver, it will only help a passing offense that has been one of the worst in the nation for years. Last year UNM averaged just 89.1 passing yards per game, which ranked 123rd out of 125 Division I teams.
The Lobos have tried during this fall camp to develop a more balanced approached to the offense.
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“It’s looking real good. We’ve got players at receivers that can go up and make plays,” Reed said. “I feel like we’re really slept on by everybody; this season we’re just trying to come out and prove everybody wrong.”
Quarterback update
DeBesse said the quarterback competition between Jordan and Apodaca has been fierce. He also added that Lawson has shown much improvement during fall camp.
“Nothing is even getting close to being decided yet because it’s such good competition,” DeBesse said. “JaJuan Lawson has come a long way. I think we have three good guys who embrace the competition.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
