When Mike McQueen and Jordan Reid were in their junior year of high school, football was a mere afterthought.
Nowadays, donning helmets and pads is part of their daily routine.
McQueen, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman from Garfield Heights, and Reid, a redshirt freshman wide receiver from Stone Mountain, Ga., began playing football during their freshman year of high school, but decided it just wasn’t for them.
“I actually played my freshman year, but I wasn’t that good,” McQueen said.
Both the football-converts played basketball in high school, with the 6-foot-6 McQueen playing power forward, while Reid was a guard in addition to pitching and playing outfield for Parkview High School’s baseball team.
Reid’s desire to return to the gridiron began when he attended a football game during his junior year and realized how much he missed the game.
“There’s this hype about it,” Reid said. “It’s more teammates, more fun and more physical. I like the atmosphere of the games and Friday nights were fun. But Saturday nights are way better.”
The calling for McQueen came a week into two-a-days, wh en the head coach contacted him and expressed a need for him on the team. And as the season progressed, coaches took note of McQueen’s improved play, resulting in a rise of his confidence and football aspirations.
Several schools pursued him, including Bowling Green, Indiana and West Virginia, but the prospect of staying in-state and playing for the Bobcat coaching staff appealed to McQueen.
Meanwhile, Ohio was the only school to offer a scholarship to Reid, who said the recruiting process was anything but smooth.
“It was definitely a hectic process, especially on my parents,” Reid said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen, honestly. Midway through the season, teams would talk to me, saying they wanted me free the first year, but none of them would offer me.”
And Reid knew the fact that he played just one year of varsity football played a role in making his route to college football more difficult.
“Everybody was ahead of the eight ball because they’d been playing all their lives,” Reid said. “All the schools have been watching them for a long time, so for me to come in there with only one year of varsity ball is kind of hard to do.”
But wide receivers coach Dwayne Dixon has been impressed with how much Reid has worked to become a better receiver and catch up to those who have been involved in football much longer.
“He’s hungry to have the success we believe he can have,” Dixon said. “He’s working at playing the game faster and he knows that’s what we’re demanding from him. He’s got good hand-eye coordination and he can get in and out of cuts, we just need him to do it with confidence.”
Offensive line coach Keven Lightner was similarly pleased with McQueen’s development and his versatility in playing both offensive guard along with offensive tackle, which he said is a tough proposition for younger players.
McQueen said that maintaining a strong work ethic is important as he strives to improve, trying to justify the scholarship offer Ohio sent him based on his potential.
“I think I have to get better every day,” McQueen said. “It’s one thing I’ve been concentrating on since I’ve gotten here. … I just strive to reach that potential every day like I didn’t do anything the day before.
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