If you’ve never heard of Daryl Reynolds,
you probably didn’t see New Bern High School play football in 2005.
Because if you had seen the Bears play, you couldn’t have missed
Reynolds.The 6-foot-1,
185-pounder rarely left the field for a New Bern squad that finished
13-3 and reached the state 4-AA finals for the third time in four years.
Reynolds started at wide receiver on offense, cornerback on defense and
returned punts and kickoffs. About the only rest Reynolds got during a
game was when it was finished.
He’ll bring that versatility to
Greenville next fall after making a verbal commitment to ECU head coach
Skip Holtz last month.
Reynolds spent three seasons on the
varsity squad at New Bern coached by former ECU football letterman Chip
Williams. He was a reserve as a sophomore before moving into the
starting lineup at receiver the following season.
As a two-way senior starter, Reynolds'
18 pass deflections and six interceptions — returning two of them 50 or
more yards for touchdowns — on defense, and 34 receptions for 667 yards
and eight touchdowns heading into the state finals. He added a 27-yard
touchdown catch and a 65-yard interception return for a score in that
game.
The performance wasn’t surprising to
Williams, who has watched Reynolds develop from a raw, talented
sophomore through simple hard work.
“Most of the time now, especially in
4-A football, a lot of kids show up with talent,’’ Williams said. “But
if they don’t work on it and improve steadily, they get passed by.
“You could see Daryl has that talent
when he first came to us. But he’s worked hard at making the most of
that talent.’’
Williams said Reynolds also impressed
football scouts because of his talents in another sport, track, where he
excels as a hurdler. East Carolina was the only NCAA Division I-A school
to offer Reynolds, although many were interested.
“I think a lot of interest from some of
the schools came about because of track,’’ Williams said. “They knew he
was a pretty good skill player, but in this day and time it pays to have
another hook to get the interest of colleges. Track is usually one that
gets their interest.
“Daryl finished fifth in the (state)
high hurdles last year and I believe he was eighth in the 300. He had a
great indoor season. He also played basketball last year, but as soon as
basketball was over he went to the nationals in Baltimore and finished
12th.’’
Speed is one reason Williams expects
the Pirates to play Reynolds at cornerback.
“I was talking to the defensive backs
coach at East Carolina and he was saying the best corner he ever had was
also a hurdler, so the two play hand-in-hand,’’ Williams said. “He’s
also a great return man. I think maybe after ECU gets him where he needs
to be as a corner they may use him as a return man.
“We also thought he was a pretty good
wide receiver. In the state championship game against (Charlotte)
Independence, he made a great one-handed, over-the-shoulder catch that
was very impressive. He’s just an explosive athlete.’’
Reynolds is the second secondary
prospect committed to ECU’s recruiting Class of 2006. He joins
Dekota
Marshall from Southwest Onslow High in Jacksonville, who
could play safety or cornerback.
