Rylan Robert Reed (born November 18, 1981 in

Dallas, TX Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wit ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played minor league baseball as a pitcher in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

organization from 2001 to 2005. After undergoing treatment for cancer, Reed enrolled at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

and played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

from 2005 to 2008. He was selected as a first-team All-American

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in 2008.

Early years and baseball

Born in

Clute, Texas Clute is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, within the Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city population was 10,604. The city gained some fame with the discovery of a fossilized mammoth named Asiel. There is now a restaur ...

, Reed attended Crossett High School in Crossett, AR. He was a three sport star in high school, playing a tight end and defensive end in football, Center in basketball, and as a pitcher with a 95-mile per hour fastball for the baseball team. He was drafted by the

in the 2000 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft and was also recruited by

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (19 ...

to play

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. The White Sox paid him a $550,000 signing bonus, and Reed opted for baseball. He spent four years from 2001 to 2004 playing minor league baseball as a pitcher in the White Sox organization. He compiled a 3-0 record and a 2.44

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 2002. During his minor league career, his fastball was clocked at 98 miles per hour. He was named the White Sox's "organizational pitcher of the year."

Brandon McCarthy Brandon Patrick McCarthy (born July 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and front office executive. He is the special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in M ...

, who played with Reed in 2002, recalled, "He would intimidate the hell out of you. He had muscles coming out of muscles. That was a sight.

Cancer and recovery

In 2003, Reed was diagnosed with

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight los ...

and underwent surgery to remove a tumor and three feet of his intestines. After several months of chemotherapy, Reed lost 30 pounds. When he recovered from the cancer treatment, his father was killed in an automobile accident. He returned to the White Sox in 2004, shortly after the death of his father, but his earned run average soared to 14.54 in five games for the

Great Falls White Sox Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

College football

After retiring from baseball in 2004, Reed enrolled at

, where he played

. He began as a tight end as a freshman in 2005, before being moved to

. After gaining 60 pounds, he became a starter for Texas Tech in 2007 and 2008. Reed set a Texas Tech record in 2008 with a 625-pound bench press. In 2008, Reed recalled having pitched to

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

during spring training in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. Bonds hit a fly ball to shallow right field for an out, prompting the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' to note: "That itself makes Reed arguably a one-man fraternity — possibly the only offensive lineman in college or pro football history able to claim an out against baseball's home run king." After the 2008 season, Reed was selected as a first-team All-American by both the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

and

SI.com ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

Awards and honors

*2007 All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

honorable mention *2008 All-Big 12 second team *2008

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All-Big 12 first team *2008

first-team All-America *2008

first-team All-America

References

External links

Texas Tech bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Rylan American football offensive tackles Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Baseball pitchers Arizona League White Sox players Bristol White Sox players Great Falls White Sox players Baseball players from Houston 1981 births Living people All-American college football players Players of American football from Houston People from Crossett, Arkansas