BY DALE GRDNIC
PITTSBURGH — Pitt sophomore cornerback Antwuan Reed might not have been a Boy Scout in his youth, but during his time with the Panthers he certainly has taken to heart their motto to always be prepared.
Reed primarily has been a special teams player during his two seasons at Pitt, but he was pressed into action in the base defense when senior Aaron Berry and redshirt junior Ricky Gary were injured in a short time against Notre Dame on Nov. 14.
Under normal circumstances, that would be a difficult task.
However, against the Irish, Pitt’s secondary had to deal with their dynamic wideout duo of Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.
“I think it was a learning experience for those guys to be on the field in that situation and playing against some great players,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said.
“Notre Dame, with Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, might have the best 1-2 receiver combination of anyone in the country.’’
That’s where always being prepared came into play for Reed. No matter how many reps he gets in practice during the week before a game, he has to take advantage of them as well as time spent in the classroom watching film.
“It was a pretty tough situation against Notre Dame, but I just tried to do what I was taught to do,” Reed said. “Things have
to come second nature in those situations, because you don’t want to be thinking too much
out there. I think I did OK, but I could’ve done better. I think I could have tackled a lot better. I definitely needed to wrap
up more. I needed to do a better job.
“So, I just went out there (last) week and worked even harder on it in practice. And I’ve had a pretty good week. You never know what can happen in a game, so you’ve just got to be ready when your number is called. (And) when we go to the extra DBs, I should get more time that way. I’ve been taking more reps in practice, so that should help me a lot.’’
Pitt secondary coach Jeff Hafley noted that Reed basically made some plays and missed some as well, but in the end he’ll benefit from the experience.
“Considering we were more than halfway through the game and he hasn’t really stepped onto the field other than special teams, and he had to play against one of the best receiving tandems in the country,” Hafley said. “But I think he did OK. It was pretty obvious that they were going to throw to his side.
“They probably hadn’t seen him on film, but figured he was our fourth guy, and they were going to go after him. He made a really nice play down the sideline against Floyd that really was a good throw, but he was in pretty good shape. Then, they came back, and threw a ball down the sideline that they scored on.
“He was right there, but he just didn’t make the tackle,” Hafley added. “But he’s a competitor. I don’t think he was nervous when he got in there. I think he was ready to, and I think that experience will help him. Going up against those guys was not an easy task, and hopefully that will help him in the future.’’
Hafley believed that Reed was as well-prepared as he could have been for the Notre Dame game, and he expects better performances in the future.
“It’s definitely something he can learn from,” Hafley said. “I tell all our guys before the game that they need to be prepared to come in at any time, so they better prepare that way during the week like anything could happen.
“Antwuan does that, but you need to have that type of mentality as a backup. And I believe he does. So, I was very confident when Antwuan stepped onto the field. I was confident in his ability, and I was confident that he’s a competitor.’’
Pitt used its bye week to rest up ahead of its Backyard Brawl game at West Virginia on Friday. Since Berry missed some practice time due to his shoulder injury and Gary is still a little banged up, Reed played much more in the base defense as well as when Pitt goes to packages with extra DBs.
“I think things are going all right, and when my time comes I’ll be ready,” Reed said. “I should eventually get my chance here, so I want to use these past two seasons as a learning experience. The more experience I get, special teams even helps out a lot, I can use that.
“Any time I can get on the field, that helps out and can carry over to next season. Also, getting mental reps, getting as much knowledge about this game, that really helps me, too. I’ve played both field and boundary corner this year, a little of both, so I can play either side.
“And I’m on all the special teams,” Reed added. “So, I’m getting on the field pretty much, but I hope to get even more these last two games. The way we prepare during the week, that really carries over into the game. That’s probably the biggest thing that I’ve learned. You have to be prepared for anything.’’
