| Spotlight: Kicker Jeff Reed |
Jeff Reed had one regret when he was given a standing ovation at halftime of the Tar Heels' home basketball game Feb. 26 against Maryland. The former Carolina place-kicker took the court alone, flying solo from his Super Bowl-winning teammates from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Willie Parker and Greg Warren.
"Willie had an autograph signing and Greg had some business in Pittsburgh," Reed says. "I hated they couldn't be there. It was special to win a Super Bowl with two of your college teammates, and it would have been fun to have shared that moment with them."
Still, it was just another in a long line of magic moments Reed has enjoyed since his team dispatched Seattle 21-10 to win Super bowl XL in Detroit.
"Even if there was no one in the stands, to just stand on the court in the Smith Center with all its tradition and all the talent that has been on the court, it gives you chills," Reed says. "To be there in front of a full crowd of cheering fans was a humbling experience."
It was a banner day for Carolina on Feb. 5 when Parker dashed 75 yards for a touchdown on the second snap of the second half, setting a Super Bowl record for the longest run from scrimmage. Warren handled all the deep snaps for the Steelers, and Reed nailed three extra points and kicked off four times, though he didn't get a field goal attempt.
Two of his most salient memories will be from, one, the opening kick-off, and two, the post-game celebration when his parents climbed down a wall at least eight feet tall to join him on the field.
"There were flashes going off all over the place on the opening kick-off," Reed says. "I couldn't believe all the flashes. People told me after the game, it's the biggest play of the Super Bowl, unless there's a game-winning play at the end.
"Then after the game to see my parents jump a wall was surprising. They're not real old, but still, it was quite a feat for them. They were ecstatic. They were soaking up every minute. My family is so close and we have come such a long way from pee-wee sports to the Super Bowl."
Reed didn't begin kicking a football until his senior year at Charlotte's East Mecklenburg High School. He'd played soccer growing up and decided to try football because it was a new challenge. He kicked a 54-yard field goal at East Mecklenburg, then enrolled at Carolina and made the football team as a walk-on. When Brian Schmitz graduated after the 1999 season, Reed won the starting job and was granted a scholarship after the third game of the season. As a senior in 2001, he only missed one field goal inside 47 yards and hit 12-of -16 for the year. His 66 consecutive extra points over the 2000-01 seasons are a school record.
Reed was signed by Pittsburgh in the middle of the 2002 season and has since carved his niche as one of the NFL's top place-kickers. He connected on 24-of-29 field goals for an 82 percent accuracy mark in 2005. He was perfect on 18 field-goal tries inside the 40 and made all 45 point-after attempts. In his four years with the Steelers, he has made 92 of 113 field goals (81.4 percent). Reed's longest field goals have been two connections from 51 yards, and his most dramatic success was a 42-yarder with seven seconds left to beat Oakland in 2004.
One of his nicknames is "Guaranteed Reed."
"We know if it gets down to a game-winning field goal, Jeff Reed will make it," says linebacker Joey Porter.
Still, Reed is well-grounded. He knows in the roller-coaster existence of NFL specialists, you're only as good as your next kick.
"Sure, I kicked for a Super Bowl championship team," Reed says. "But if I miss a big one early next year, that will be forgotten. Coach Cowher never lives in the past, and he won't let anyone else do that either."
The Tar Heel lettermen's community in the NFL is a big one. When the 2005 season began, Carolina ranked 12th in the country in NFL players with 28. Only Miami and Florida State in the ACC have more former players in the pros. Thirteen Tar Heels were involved in the NFL playoffs.
"We're thrilled for Jeff, Willie and Greg," Tar Heel Coach John Bunting says. "They are three terrific young men who have each overcome a lot of challenge and adversity. It was a lot of fun to see them win the Super Bowl."
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Volume I | Issue No. 02 | April 01, 2006 |
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