CBA's Khendra Reid inks NLI with WSSU

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on February 10, 2009 1:46 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- On the field Khendra Reid possesses the size, speed and football IQ college coaches search long and hard for on recruiting trips.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Charles B. Aycock linebacker runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. He led the Golden Falcons with 84 tackles, 64 of which were solo stops, and also added an interception during his senior season.

However, Reid's most attractive attribute doesn't show up on game film.

"You don't often get the combination of speed and size to go together on the high school level," said Aycock head coach Randy Pinkowski. "On top of that, he's an outstanding student and an outstanding young man. He's a 'yes sir, no sir,' type of guy which I like working with.

"More than anything else he's worked hard. Khendra has always had the foresight to understand that he's not working to be good on this level, he's working to be good on the next level."

That mix of character, integrity and on-field talent made Reid highly valuable in the eyes of Winston-Salem State University where Reid will begin his college career in the fall.

"I just asked my family and prayed about it," said Reid of his decision to attend WSSU over Elon, William and Mary and the Citadel. "They have a really nice campus and they just remodeled their facilities. I can tell they're really making a commitment to their football program."

Pinkowski first knew he had a potential defensive star on his hands when watching Reid drop a pair of sure touchdown passes in a JV game his sophomore year.

"The first time I realized I really had something different he dropped two fade passes against Eastern Wayne his sophomore year," said Pinkowski. "He had run past everybody on the field and dropped two sure touchdowns. I knew at that time just watching him run and his development that he was going to be a special player."

Reid's willingness to put in countless hours in the weight room and in offseason workouts left a lasting impression on Pinkowski and is one reason Reid's former head coach is certain he'll succeed in college.

"Khendra has always been willing to work hard in the weight room and that will carry over to the next level," said Pinkowski. "The thing that separates the great players on the next level is those that work and those that don't. When you've got a guy that will come in and do that hard work, when he sits down and has to study for a test that's easy."

Reid demonstrated a willingness to be coachable while exuding an understanding for the game when asked to transition from defensive end to linebacker following his junior season.

The son of Evan and Sharon Reid, Khendra became involved in athletics at an early age. Sports became an instrument to keep Khendra occupied while teaching him discipline.

"Sports have been a big part of Khendra's life," said Evan Reid. "Sports have kept him out of trouble. It managed his time to where not only did he not have time to get in trouble, he didn't want to get in trouble because he would have to deal with me. He's stayed real focused."

Khendra never experienced a deep playoff run, a conference title or an abundance of notoriety during his high school career. Instead, he learned the importance of perseverance, hard work and playing to the whistle.

"You never give up," he said. "You always have to go hard and in any moment a game can change. You always have to go hard. Your mind tells you to stop but your body tells you to keep going.

"Practice is where you put in the hard work but the game is where it all comes together."