The story of Lowndes High and FSU great Greg Reid began in rural South Georgia, in the small community of Clyattville, which sits on the Georgia-Florida state line. It was here where arguably the best football player, if not overall athlete to ever come out of Lowndes County, began showing off his incredible talents, even at a young age.
Margie Hill taught hundreds of kids during her seven years as a physical education teacher, and watched them all as they ran around on the playground at Clyattville Elementary. However, one youngster stood out from all the others from day one: Greg Reid.
“Greg was so quick and fast, in every thing we let the kids play, he always stood out,” said Hill. “When we would split up the kids and have captains choose the teams, he was always the number one pick for any sport; kickball, soccer, and yes, football. He had the best hand/eye coordination; the quickest feet…you could tell even back then that he was going to be a special athlete.”
And, it all started on the playground at Clyattville Elementary, under the watchful eye of Mrs. Hill.
From there, Greg would continue to impress, still at a young age, when playing football at the Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta. Greg’s mother, Diane, and father, Greg Sr, coached Greg’s teams for five years, and Diane remembered the pure passion that her son showed back then.
“Greg always had a football in his hand, and you could tell that he was going to be elite,” said Diane.
She recalled the old “Punt, Pass, and Kick” competitions that schools would allow their students to take part in, where kids would see who could punt, pass, and kick the football the farthest.
“Greg was winning those competitions, even at 3 years old,” said Hill. “We all knew he was destined to do something really big with football, and he did.”
Speaking of his parents, Greg said that despite a lot of the stories that have focused on the struggles and legal issues that he went through, his dad was good to Greg and his younger brother, Rayford, when they were growing up.
“My father was really good to us when we were coming up. He provided for us, and gave us everything we needed,” Reid said. “There’s been a lot of bad stuff reported about my father, but my dad was a good man. He would always spend time with me and my brother when we were growing up, and he taught us a lot about the game of football.”
Reid did admit that he wished his dad could have been able watch him play more.
“My dad missed a lot of my glory days when I was playing in high school, and that’s something that I wish would have been different,” Reid said.
But, with those things now just a memory, Reid said that he and his dad enjoy a great relationship, and see and speak to each other quite often.
“We are good,” Reid said.
It turns out that like his son, Greg Sr. was also a pretty good player in his day.
“My dad played basketball and football at Hamilton County, Florida, and he was really good,” said Reid. “He was No. 22, played linebacker, and could hit,”
Greg admitted that his mom, Diane, was quite the athlete, too.
“She played basketball in high school, and she was good,” Reid said.
Family is an important part of Greg’s life. He has a son, Ayden, who is 9 and lives in Atlanta with his mother.
The accolades continued through middle school and then into high school, which was where Reid really began to make a name for himself as a do-it-all player for the Lowndes Vikings. His head coach at Lowndes, Randy McPherson, who coached hundreds of players during his lengthy coaching career at Lowndes, many of them elite talent, said that Reid may have very well been the most talented he’d ever coached.
“He ranks right up there with the best, if not the best,” McPherson said.
The coach recalled how Reid was not only one of the most talented players he’d ever seen, but he had another quality that set him apart from the others.
“Greg was fearless, absolutely fearless,” said McPherson. “He never called for a fair catch during the entire time he played at Lowndes.”
He also recalled just how gifted Reid was.
“His right leg was no different than his left leg,” said McPherson. “He could push off with as much strength in his right leg as the other leg, and that made him unstoppable, especially in the open field. No one had any chance to tackle him once he was in the open field.”
Despite the great natural ability that Reid was obviously blessed with, the rising star never rested on it.
“As good as Greg was, he still worked hard at making himself better,” McPherson said. “That included outworking everyone in the weight room, which has always been the number one trait of the really good ones that ever played for me.”
Another coach at Lowndes recalled Reid.
“I’ve been a part of six state championships and saw some really good defensive players and kick returners,” said Randy Hill, longtime Lowndes assistant and former defensive coordinator. “But Greg was the best, by far, in both of those areas. … Greg was a really good tackler, and as a defensive-minded coach, I liked the guys that could wrap up and bring guys to the ground, and that’s something Greg did better than anyone.”
Reid was a force during his time as a member of the Lowndes football team. He never came off the field, playing offense, defense, and on special teams; wherever and however the team needed him, Reid was the man. He could do it all, and he just about did.
Reid finished up with 4,564 all purpose yards, with 49 total TDs and 24 interceptions. He once recovered a fumble on defense and returned it 102 yards for a TD, out-running all 11 of the opponents the length of the field for the score.
That was one of many remarkable plays that made Reid one of the very best high school football players in Georgia. He received numerous honors following his senior season, including Georgia Player of the Year from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as Class 5A Georgia Player of the Decade.
That raw football talent was what everyone that either coached or just watched Reid play the game knew would set Reid apart from the rest. Everyone was noticing, including just about every college recruiter in the country, and for good reason.
Reid initially committed to the University of Florida during his senior season at Lowndes.
“I remember he was running around doing the Gator chomp every time he would make a play,” said McPherson. “He just woke up one day and decided it was Florida State where he wanted to play.”
But, before Reid could play college football, there were the grades. If the standout at Lowndes was going to play football at FSU, or anywhere for that matter, his grades would need to improve. That was when one of Reid’s teachers stepped up and saved the day.
“Greg was doing just enough to get by, like every other student-athlete” said Andrea Bridges, who was Reid’s English teacher during his senior season.
The “just good enough to get by” at Lowndes wasn’t nearly good enough for Reid to get admitted to Florida State University. Bridges, with help from fellow teachers, began to tutor Reid, especially with those subjects he needed to pass the ACT. Prior to having Reid in her class, Bridges really didn’t know him other than what she had heard about his accomplishments on Friday nights.
“Like everyone, I knew he played football and that he was really good, but that was all I knew about Greg before he became a student of mine,” Bridges said.
But, all that mattered now was that he was a student who had aspirations of going to college, and he would need help to get there. Bridges admitted that they had a long way to go.
“We really rolled up our sleeves and got to work,” said Bridges.
Spending time with Reid helped build a relationship between teacher and pupil, and Bridges could see that Greg was committed to putting in the work and doing what he needed to do to pass the ACT.
She also noticed that there was one big obstacle that made things a little tougher on Reid. His mother’s job at the local Lowes’s distribution center required her to be there at 5 a.m. each day, leaving Greg and his brother to fend for themselves and get to school on their own. Already faced with so many challenges with Reid’s studies, Bridges decided to step up and see if she could make things easier.
“I asked Greg if he wanted to move in with me and my family,” said Bridges. “Of course, I met with Greg’s mother, Diane, and she was OK with it.”
She also spoke with Lowndes principal Wes Taylor to make sure that everything was above board. She also spoke with her husband and kids to make sure they were OK with another person moving into their home.
“I just wanted to make sure there were no gray areas,” said Bridges. “You’re talking about a student moving in with his teacher, which of course, is not the norm. … My family and our superintendent were OK with it.”
With everyone in agreement, Reid moved in with the Bridges family, which allowed him to not only ride to school with Bridges, but allowed him time to study after school hours once they arrived home.
“There were a lot of evening and nights spent at the kitchen table studying, and Greg really devoted himself to the work,” Bridges said.
Bridges said that she and her family went from knowing Reid the football player to developing a great relationship with him.
“Greg got to know us and trust us, and we came to know him,” Bridges said. “We really developed a great relationship with him. It was a very trusting relationship.”
Armed with daily studying, some days for hours, Reid was ready to take his ACT. Bridges picked him up after he had taken the test, and even though Reid would not immediately receive the test results, he knew he had done it.
“He got in the car, and told me, ’I did it. I passed it,’” Bridges said.
Reid would say goodbye to the Bridges family, and his Lowndes teammates, and head off to FSU, hoping that he had indeed done enough to pass the ACT. He still didn’t know his test results, and that worried Bridges.
“There was a possibility that Greg would get to FSU, unpack, and, then, if for some reason he had not passed, he would be coming right back home,” Bridges said. “I was on pins and needles.”
Bridges recalled the day the brown envelope came.
“I knew what it was,” said Bridges. “I knew it was his test results.”
She looked at the package, momentarily scared of what was on the piece of paper inside. What if all the hard work had not been enough, she thought. With that, she opened up the test results.
“I let out the loudest scream,” said Bridges.
He had passed. The hard work had paid off. Reid had done it. The kid from Clyattville had made it. Everything he had dreamed of on that playground as part of Mrs. Hill’s PE class had come true. He was officially an FSU freshman.
It was now time for Reid to get to work and show everyone what he could do on the football field, and it wouldn’t take long for everyone in the country to see what all of the fuss was about. They were about to see the quickness, the finesse, and the physicality that made Reid an absolute weapon.
September 7, 2009, was a Monday night, nationally-televised game against the Miami Hurricanes, a major rival of the Seminoles and conference opponent. It was both his college football debut, and his first game at Doak Campbell Stadium in front of 80,000 fans.
Greg did exactly what he had done every game he played in. He had three solo tackles, an interception, and three exciting punt returns, including a 51-yard return that rocked the ‘Noles home stadium. The punt returns totaled 101 yards, giving him an average of right at 34 yards per return in game one. That would continue through the rest of the season, landing Reid as the top punt returner in college football for the 2009 season, with an average of 18.4 yards per kick return.
The next year, Reid’s sophomore season, he was named the Chick-Fil-A Bowl defensive MVP for his performance against South Carolina in the bowl game, held at the Georgia Dome. Out of all the highlights in his career, Reid is most remembered for his crushing tackle on the Gamecocks, Marcus Lattimore, in that game. It momentarily knocked out the South Carolina RB, and was considered a clean, textbook-style tackle.
Reid would have yet another solid season in 2011, his junior season, playing in 11 of the 13 games that year, giving him a total of 38 game appearances a Seminole. Unfortunately, his season would come to an end with his dismissal from FSU for repeated violation of team rules. Reid’s Seminole career was over.
Reid’s run at Florida State was over, and while many media reports about his time there seemed to show an out of control football player, those in senior administrative and support roles with the team who got to know him during his time there talk about a very different person.
FSU Team Chaplain Clint Purvis is one of them. Purvis has been the team chaplain for the Florida State football team since the early days of Bobby Bowden and has seen hundreds of Seminole players come through the program, but ask him about Greg Reid, and he recalls a particular moment that still stands out to him.
“I remember the very first time Greg came in for a recruiting trip,” Purvis said. “He was with his mom, Diane, who I got to know, too. A lot of time, when the players get together and in their element, they get a little rowdy, and tend to hang together, and just leave their parents to fend for themselves, but not Greg. Greg stayed with his mom, and tended to her every need, and was such a gentleman. … You don’t see that with a lot of the young players coming in. That doesn’t make them bad people, but they’re just immature and want to make sure they can hang with their peers.”
Reid’s actions made a lasting impression on Purvis.
“But, Greg was different, and I have never forgot that day,” Purvis said. “It left quite an impression on me, and it still does, because Greg was the focal point that day. He was truly THE guy at FSU with that incoming freshman class, and it would have been easy for him to get caught up with the other guys, but he didn’t.”
Concerning the issues that occurred with Greg at Florida State and how that cost him his last season of eligibility, Purvis said this: “Some people make mistakes with their heart, and others make mistakes with their head. If there are bad intentions within someone’s heart, they have a hard time changing. With Greg, he made a few mistakes with his head, but not his heart. He never made that mistake again, and that shows you the type of person Greg was and is. Greg’s heart is as pure as any player I’ve ever mentored here at FSU. … Greg also never missed a chapel that I remember.”
He also points out how close Jimbo Fisher, the FSU head coach at the time, was with Reid.
“Coach Fisher loved Greg like he was a son, and they had that father-son relationship as much as a coach-player relationship,” Purvis said. “It just killed Jimbo to have to release Greg from the team, but his hands were tied. He had no choice.”
Bob LaCivita, the FSU Director of Player Personnel from 2007-19, remembered Reid as “a lover of the game of football.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player capable of making such a difference in a game as Greg Reid did,” said LcCivita. “Greg was the perfect mix of finesse and physical, and he enjoyed playing the game of football as much as any athlete I’ve ever been around here at Florida State.”
Reid returned to Valdosta in 2012. He was determined to show that he still was a force and walked on at Valdosta State University. His career there at the Division II school would last all of one play. On a live punt return, Reid suffered a significant knee injury. Just like that, Reid’s attempt at a comeback with his hometown university was over.
Following knee surgery in Tallahassee, Reid declared for the NFL draft and began rehabbing the knee with a personal trainer in South Florida. During the workouts, Reid says he felt something snap.
“I felt it, and I knew it wasn’t good,” Reid said.
Despite the unknown injury and determined to follow his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL, he decided to head to Indianapolis and try to tough it out in the hope that he could work through whatever it was.
After a thorough screening by several on-site doctors at the combine, Reid was officially told what he already knew in his heart. He had suffered yet another ACL tear in the same knee.
“That was tough,” Reid said.
Reid returned home and found comfort in familiar surroundings.
“I went back to the Bridges family,” Reid said. “They took really good care of me, like always.”
Reid sucked it up and returned to South Florida to once again rehab and train. After getting his knee healthy enough, Reid attended a pro day at Tallahassee, where he attracted the attention of the St. Louis Rams. The Rams coach at the time, Jeff Fisher, liked what he saw, and the club signed Reid in March of 2014. Unfortunately, Reid was cut and decided to try the Arena League.
In 2015, he excelled in his first season with the Jacksonville Sharks, snatching 12 interceptions in less than a full season of games, and was named Arena League Rookie of the Year. Hoping that he had found a resurgence, Reid was hoping this was his path back to the NFL. He had just completed a successful season with Jacksonville and was entering the 2016 Arena League season. However, once again, bad luck had found Greg. He suffered his third ACL tear.
“That was the worst,” Reid said. “I had never had any serious injuries, and here was my third serious knee injury.”
If Reid still hoped to play football – at any level – that would mean picking himself up, yet again, and going through rehab, a process he was all too familiar with at that point.
In 2018, Reid had had it. He’d gone through three major knee injuries and the long and grueling rehabilitations, including the most recent one, but he was not ready to give up.
“I called my agent and told him I’m ready to play again, but I didn’t want to go back to the Arena League,” Reid said.
That left Reid with one option: the Canadian Football League. And he agreed.
A tryout was arranged with the Montreal Alouettes, and in 2018, Reid signed with the team. He initially spent time on the scout team and was able to work his way onto the main roster and into a starting role, where he has remained. Reid made his presence known right away, and in his first full season in 2019, he was named a CFL All-Star.
He has just completed his third season with Montreal, making 134 tackles with six interceptions in just over the two full seasons he has played. (In his first season, 2018, Reid played in just three games).
It may not be the NFL, but it is pro football, and it’s where Greg Reid has finally found peace and his football home.
