He
didn't have the statistics to make some postseason
all-star teams, but one of the best college programs in
the country wanted him, a kid with a 6-foot-4, 230-pound
body that seems chiseled by a higher power.
Then three weeks into practice in August 2002, it all
came crashing down.
His parents, Steven and Antonia Reynolds were in
Coral Gables getting him settled when a registered letter
arrived and waited back in Akron. It was from
administrators of the ACT and appeared to accuse their son
of cheating on the college entrance exam. Because Reynolds'
score of 25 had been higher than his scores on previous
tests, he'd been red-flagged, four months after he thought
he'd had a successful test. Evidently it took that long to
get his paperwork processed.
When his parents got home, they opened a second
registered letter about the test. A shocked Antonia Reynolds
called Miami's compliance department and she said their
reaction was: "You're kidding me." Antonio
Reynolds was just as shocked.
"I really couldn't believe it," he said.
"I thought they were joking. I was hoping they
were."
He had to pack the same day the Hurricanes forced him
to leave because of questions about his college entrance
exam. When he got on the plane, he figured he'd never be
back there again.
"I cried at that," Antonia Reynolds
said. "That was like no feeling I'd ever felt, seeing
my child get on an airplane and come home. His whole year
had already started. That was the longest ride of his
life."
She said she feared her son would get a job, start
hanging around with his high school friends and might even
end up selling drugs. But Steven, who works at Morton
Salt, and Antonia had raised a tougher son than they
realized.
Instead of giving up, Reynolds fought to save
the football career that had been taken away.
In August, he enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy in
Chatham, Va., to get his grades up and his ACT score in
order. He awoke every day at 6 a.m. and met with his
academic adviser at 7.
He learned to make his bed so perfectly that when an
officer threw a quarter on it, it bounced. His mother said
he got baptized, dedicated his life to God and started
reading the Bible. He went to study hall every night from
7:30 to 9:30, then it was lights out at 10.
According to Antonia, Reynolds got straight A's
and made the president's list, which is higher than the
dean's list. Reynolds said when he took the ACT
again, he got a 24.
"Coming into a military environment, it's a
rigorous schedule," Hargrave football coach Robert
Prunty said. "He made all the adjustments. At first,
it was kind of a shock. But he did an outstanding job for
us on and off the field."
On Wednesday, Reynolds, 19, will be rewarded for
his struggles when he signs a national letter of intent
with Tennessee. He was pursued by more than 30 big schools
at Hargrave, which Prunty said will have 45 Division I-A
signees this week.
His "postgraduate" academic work and football
at Hargrave cost Reynolds none of his eligibility
and he will receive a five-year scholarship. Hargrave has
already produced such NFL stars as Torry Holt of the St.
Louis Rams and the New Orleans Saints' Jon Sullivan and
Charles Grant. Tennessee defensive ends and special teams
coach Steve Caldwell is so taken with Reynolds that
he thinks he might play this fall as a true freshman.
In Knoxville since Jan. 12 and enrolled in six classes
this semester, Reynolds doesn't seem hardened or
cynical about what he's been through.
"I can't feel bad about anything," he said.
"It was something that was out of my hands. I put it
in God's hands. I'm in a good place now."
Those who know Reynolds are proud of the battle
he's fought.
"Our son went through hell and came back,"
Antonia Reynolds said. "They tried to take
something from him. He could have given up. I told Antonio,
'It all depends what you want out of life. Nothing's going
to be handed to you.' "
Caldwell said, "For him to have the discipline to
go to military school and get his academics taken care of
shows a lot of character. Athletically, there's no doubt
he has the ability. He's a big young man who can run.
That's what you're looking for."
Buchtel coach Claude Brown wasn't sure Reynolds'
trials would turn out this way.
"It's hard to go through the back door,"
Brown said. "He sacrificed a lot going to the
military academy. Sometimes it works out. We've had other
kids who tried to take that route and it didn't."
But Prunty said Reynolds was a natural for
Hargrave, which has several players with academic problems
sent there by colleges. The school also recruits on its
own. Prunty, who graduated from Hargrave in 1983 and went
on to play at Alabama A&M, boasts that his team has
beaten the more well-known Fork Union six of the last
seven years and has "doubled their total of Division
I players the last couple years."
Reynolds' roommate was Keion Lattimore, the
brother of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.
Lattimore is bound for Maryland.
"Antonio is a leader, the type of kid who
fit right into this," Prunty said. "He learns
quick. He's the kind of kid that if he continues to keep
his life in order and keeps God first . . . he already has
an NFL body. That's a gift from God, we can't take credit
for that."
After Tennessee suggested Hargrave as an option for Reynolds,
Antonia and Steven Reynolds had to come up with
$12,000 to send him there. Reynolds received a
$10,000 scholarship but his parents still had to pay a
full year's tuition.
"It's something you're not looking forward to
paying," Antonia Reynolds said. "When you
have a child who has a dream, you do anything to fulfill
his dream."
As well as it's worked out for Reynolds, the
military life was far from easy.
"The first couple weeks were the hardest weeks of
my life," Reynolds said. "No TV, sitting
around doing nothing until formation. Getting up every
morning at 5:45 so you could be outside at 6, cleaning,
doing chores. Wearing that uniform, that was probably the
worst thing. I was looking forward to getting out in
December. Dec. 19, the last day, I'll never forget.
"I almost gave up at one point. I thought there
was no way I'd get back into school and football. But my
relationship with God gave me more faith in myself. I
started focusing on reading the Bible. I started to grow
up."
The routine became so familiar that he now starts his
college days with 8 o'clock classes, a time of day which
he said makes him feel like he's sleeping in.
When he was sent home in 2002, the recruiting game
started all over. Miami, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Pitt
and Tennessee were among those trying to lure him the
second time around, but the interest wasn't quite as
great.
"When a kid is no longer in the spotlight,
colleges aren't interested anymore," Antonia Reynolds
said. "He'd been gone a year. The only one who showed
interest that whole year was Tennessee. Miami never gave
up on him. But you have to weigh your options and decide
who has always been there for you. Tennessee kept writing
him letters. They won his parents over."
Reynolds said Tennessee coaches also came to
Hargrave to visit whenever they could.
"They were on the ball," he said. "Miami
didn't show as much attention. It seemed like Tennessee
cared more. I based my decision on that."
Caldwell, who recruited Reynolds, hasn't stopped
checking on him. Antonia Reynolds likes that
Caldwell calls Reynolds to see what he's doing over
the weekend and whom he's doing it with.
"You've got to be like a father to them,"
Caldwell said. "While they're there, living way far
from home, their parents have trusted you with them. You
try to watch over them like you watch your own."
As high as expectations are for Reynolds, his
college career could bring more challenges. But at the
very least, he worked to turn around a deep
disappointment.
"It all worked out," Reynolds said.
"It was probably meant for me to be here."
