“Coach Reed comes highly recommended by people I know who have worked with him throughout his career,” Creighton said. “He fits into our culture because he cares deeply about his players while at the same time pushing them to do their best on and off the pitch. He’s off to a good start and we’re glad he’s here.”
Reed has seven years of progressive coaching experience at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Division III levels, having served as an explosive kick returner/running back at Baldwin Wallace University. In addition, he was named a finalist for the 2020 FootballScoop Coach of the Year Award.
“It’s an honor to be part of this program,” added Reed. “Coach Creighton has built a great culture and hired and recruited the right people to fit that mold. Things are going well here at Ypsi and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”
Most recently, Reeds served as the offensive quality control assistant at Rutgers University for the running backs.
In 2021 at Southeast Missouri State University, Reed helped SEMO lead the FCS on offense in the red zone. The Redhawks scored 23 touchdowns and made a perfect 10 of 10 field goals by taking all 33 of their chances inside the 20-yard line. SEMO had the second-best rushing offense in the Ohio Valley Conference (195.1 ypg) and ranked third in the league in both scoring (27 ppg) and total offense (360.6 ypg).
Running back Geno Hess collected 2021 Second Team Associated Press FCS All-America honors. He was a first-team All-OVC pick who led the conference in rushing yards (1,116), rushing touchdowns (14), and rushing yards per game (111.6). In each of these categories he finished seventh at FCS. Hess ran 100 yards in seven of his ten starts in a traffic jam. Overall, he finished 24th in the Walter Payton Award voting.
On the special teams side, punter Zach Haynes was a semifinalist for the 2021 FCS Punter of the Year Award. Haynes earned First-Team All-OVC honors after finishing third in the league at 41.2 yards per punt. His 76-yard punt against Eastern Illinois was the longest in the league and sixth-longest in FCS. All in all, Haynes punched 66 times for 2,716 yards and dropped 24 of his kicks inside the 20-yard line.
Prior to his arrival at Cape Girardeau, Reed spent a year in the same capacity at the University of Buffalo. He also worked two seasons as an offensive assistant for the Bulls.
Reed made an instant impact in the running back room as he trained two of the best backs in school history. Led by All-American running back Jaret Patterson, UB averaged a best-ever 287.4 yards per rushing game and had 32 touchdowns, four fewer than the school record for a single season in just seven games. Patterson led the nation in rushing, averaging 178.7 yards per game. Against Kent State, Patterson set an FBS record with eight rushing touchdowns and rushed for 409 yards, the second most all-time in an FBS game. He and Kevin Marks combined for 515 yards, at the time the most rushed by two players in an FBS game.
Patterson received All-America honors and was named an All-MAC First Team, MAC Offensive Player of the Year, and winner of the league’s Vern Smith Leadership Award. Marks had a stellar season of his own, averaging 105 yards per game and earning All-MAC Third Team honors.
As a result of UB’s successful 2020 campaign, Reed was named a finalist for the FootballScoop Coach of the Year Award.
Before hiring full-time, Reed was UB’s assistant wide receivers coach in 2018 and 2019. He helped develop three All-MAC receivers, including Anthony Johnson and KJ Osborn in 2018 and Antonio Nunn in 2019.
Before joining Buffalo, Reed was the running backs coach at Ohio Wesleyan University during the 2017 season. He coached running back AJ Jones, who averaged seven yards per carry as a true freshman, to lead the Bishops in rushing and finish 10th in the North Coast Atlantic Conference.
A native of Lehigh Acres, Fla., Reed began his coaching career at his alma mater Baldwin Wallace, where he served as assistant running backs coach during the 2016 season. He helped the trainer run back AustinSmith who rushed for 681 yards and 14 touchdowns en route to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors.
He was a four-year letterwinner at Baldwin Wallace, where he played running back and kick returner. As team captain, Reed was a 2015 All-Conference selection and a two-time winner of the Bob Packard Most Outstanding Offensive Back Award (2014 & 2015). As a three-year starter and four-year contributor, Reed rushed for 2,173 career yards in 378 attempts with 18 touchdowns, caught 22 passes for 141 yards and a TD, and returned 10 kickoffs for a 24.4-yard average.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from BW in 2016 and added a master’s degree in educational science from Buffalo in 2020.
Reed and his wife Nicole have one daughter, Bryelle.
