There are 521 users in the forums
Originally posted by Overkill:
I watched him a lot in college. I leave the scouting reports to others, but I always loved the kid's attitude. He epitomizes "all gas no brakes".
Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Originally posted by mayo49:
Originally posted by NorthernLights:
I had Williams as a shock trade/cut candidate if this kid balled out in the pre season. This could help that happen, loving the youth movement from our FO, it's refreshing
I'd do the trade/cut thing and give the slot to DJ.
Ward as the only depth at nickle? No thanks
Originally posted by StubbyNBY:Interesting that Reed (not Ward) is listed as the primary backup at FS on the 49ers first official depth chart
Originally posted by mojave45:
Originally posted by StubbyNBY:
Interesting that Reed (not Ward) is listed as the primary backup at FS on the 49ers first official depth chart
Meh. It's a TC depth chart. I don't read anything much into it yet.
Originally posted by StubbyNBY:
Interesting that Reed (not Ward) is listed as the primary backup at FS on the 49ers first official depth chart
Originally posted by 9moon:even if you throw in eli i think the best we can do in return are maybe some gift cards from taco bell
Aweak Armhurt, Ward, and a 2019 3rd rounder for the Patriots' 2nd?
Originally posted by Bluesbro:
Originally posted by mojave45:
Originally posted by StubbyNBY:
Interesting that Reed (not Ward) is listed as the primary backup at FS on the 49ers first official depth chart
Meh. It's a TC depth chart. I don't read anything much into it yet.
So much this. As worthless as preseason power rankings ... lol.
Less than three years ago, before 49ers rookie defensive back D.J. Reed was living out his dream, he was living in a two-bedroom apartment he shared with seven Cerritos College teammates in Norwalk.
He'd landed at the junior college, located about 13 miles from Disneyland, because his mom, Linda, couldn't afford a second year at Fresno State. And he'd gone to Fresno State as a full-tuition-paying walk-on because no colleges, not even Division II schools, had offered him a scholarship after his senior season at Independence-Bakersfield.
Reed, the cash-strapped Division I reject, slept on the floor of that crammed apartment because he didn't pay rent, and got by on a diet heavy on $5 pepperoni pizzas from the nearby 7-Eleven.
At least he did on good days.
"Before we played Hancock (College), I didn't eat," Reed said. "It was like a four-hour drive over there and I didn't have anything for breakfast. I don't think I played terrible, but I just remember having no energy. It was all very humbling."
Reed has overcome astounding odds, becoming an All-American at Kansas State and a fifth-round draft pick, because he's stayed hungry.
On Thursday, Reed made his NFL exhibition debut by lining up as the 49ers' first-string nickel cornerback (a fifth defensive back) in their 24-21 win over the Cowboys at Levi's Stadium. Reed started because of an injury to K'Waun Williams, but the late-round pick — who also is playing free safety — has made it clear a lack of size (5-foot-9, 188 pounds) or blistering speed won't prevent him from making the 53-man roster.
In 2008, when D.J. was in seventh grade, Linda Reed learned she had congenital heart disease. Six months later, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. During this time, she divorced her husband, Dennis, who now lives in Waterloo, Iowa.
When told of her heart condition, Linda says she calmly explained to doctors that she couldn't be hospitalized because she had kids to raise. And when she was enduring chemotherapy, she would drag herself out of bed in the late afternoon, just before her children got home, and hope her smile and false energy would allay their fears. D.J. has an older sister, Flo, 34, and younger brother, Tyson, 20.
"They would always say, 'Mom, you don't look so good; why don't you lay down?'" Linda said, laughing, "I'd say, 'OK, I think I will.' They had no idea I had just gotten up after spending all day in bed."
Linda was declared cancer-free after seven months of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation. She now visits a cardiologist every six months and an oncologist yearly. In addition to working as a program coordinator for Kern County for 31 years, she has worked for Macy's and Big Lots, and as a manicurist and car saleswoman to make ends meet.
"Life is going to be what it is," she said. "You will have highs and you will have lows, but what separates people is the determination to survive and get through it. And that's what we've done. We've been survivors all our lives, and our faith in God is our foundation: We believe."
His mom's work ethic inspired her middle child. In high school, D.J., desperate to bulk up his slight frame, would sometimes get up in the middle of the night to work out. He'd attack the chin-up bar in his room and hit the floor for push-ups and sit-ups before returning to bed.
And his mom's faith in the midst of her successful cancer fight gave him the belief that has helped him bust through a series of shut doors. D.J. recalls his mom praising God and clutching her Bible in her lowest moments.
Part of Reed's Twitter bio reads "God first #induetime."
"It all came from watching her and praying for her," Reed said. "When she was diagnosed, I constantly prayed for her to live and, when she made it, it gave me the mind-set God is real. That showed me from an early age that God hears me."
Reed ignored those who advised him to play at Bakersfield College after high school, because he believed he was Division I material. He was confident Fresno State coaches would recognize his ability after a redshirt walk-on season.
But no scholarship materialized. Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter, now Cal's defensive coordinator, was taken by Reed's intangibles, but the height-challenged cornerback arrived on campus weighing about 160 pounds and had average speed.
In a meeting after Reed's first season, DeRuyter told him he eventually would earn a scholarship, but an offer wasn't imminent. Reed knew his mom had taken out a significant loan for him to attend Fresno State, and couldn't afford a another year. He was forced to leave.
"You see so many of these guys that are similar to him that try to play over their ability and it's rare that a guy like D.J. actually makes it to the NFL," DeRuyter said. "For most of those guys, it doesn't pan out. They get to that level to where their ability tops out and they can't overcome that lack of size, that lack of speed, to be able to compete at that elite level.
"He's one of those rare guys that made it. ... It's just a great testament to him that he was able to get drafted in the fifth round because of who he is, and not necessarily what he measures at."
Originally posted by NCommand:
^ Wow Phoenix49ers, thanks for that. It makes me pull for him even more!