The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Taking Time
08.20.2003 | Football
It took Reed Boyd over a day and a half to finally reach his dad on the phone after he was offered a scholarship to play football at Texas.
When the father and son finally connected during the summer before his senior year of high school, the son's message was that they needed to start looking for a new car.
Boyd's father, Gary, was in Corpus Christi on business when he got the call and right away he knew what it meant.
It marked only the second time Reed Boyd ever recalled his father holding back tears.
"I knew what he was talking about as soon as he told me I owed him a car," Gary Boyd said. "I made a deal with Reed, when he was either a freshman or a sophomore in high school, that if he got a scholarship for college that I would buy him a car."
True to his word, Gary Boyd helped Reed trade in his 1986 Chevy pick-up with 140,000 miles on it for a 1996 Ford Bronco, the same vehicle that Reed still drives to this day and vows to never sell.
Reed's phone call was even more of a surprise considering he had only switched from the safety position to linebacker three days before earning a scholarship. While filling out and maturing, Boyd began to grow out of the position he played his first three years of high school and initiated the transition to linebacker at the urging of his high school coach, Carl Gustafson. When he arrived at the UT summer football camp, Texas defensive coordinator Carl Reese was impressed by Boyd's work ethic and cover skills.
"We knew a lot about Reed before he even showed up at camp," Reese said. "I always liked his work ethic and dedication, plus it was evident that he had the ability to become a good linebacker on the college level. He's a smart kid who has studied the game and is a great asset for me because he knows our defense so well."
A few days after being offered a scholarship, Reed became UT's second commitment to the 1999 recruiting class, following in the footsteps of his close friend Robbie Doane. Matt Trissel would soon follow and then a snowball effect occurred as the likes of current NFL players Chris Simms, Rod Babers and Cory Redding jumped aboard in what became the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.
Once at Texas, Reed kept up with his father through phone calls. But with their hectic schedules, the connections often occurred fewer and further between than either would have liked. Gary would still tailgate at every home game with friends and family, but the demands of a collegiate athlete wouldn't always allow for significant time to catch up afterwards.
They continued to find time to talk, but more often than not their conversation tilted toward football. Gary, who played football at the University of Houston, coached his only son through most of his little league days and their relationship often took on a tone of coach and player.
Reed was a little too much like his dad for it to be any different. Unlike his mother, Amy, Reed confesses he follows in his dad's footsteps in the sense both are more than a little stubborn.
Then, on Feb. 26, 2001, everything changed. On that day, Reed made the other phone call that forced his father to fight back tears. He called to tell him that his friend and teammate Cole Pittman had passed away in an automobile accident.
Driving to Austin from Shreveport, La., on the morning spring football practice was to begin, Pittman's 1997 red Chevy pick-up veered into a guard rail, which flipped his truck into a brush-covered creek bed and took the life of the promising 6-foot-5 Texas defensive tackle.
Since then, the message from father to son and son to father has been very clear. There is always time for a phone call and the hectic pace of the life of a businessman and college athlete will never come between that.
"When I called my dad to tell him about Cole, that was one of the hardest things I've ever done," Reed Boyd said. "Cole was one of my dearest friends and I always admired how close he was to his dad. They taught me that grown men can hug and say 'I love you' to each other and they taught me how special a father-son relationship can be."
From that day forward, everything changed for the Boyd family. Football still comes up in conversation, but it's never the only focus.
Reed calls home every day now, even if it's just to chat for a moment or two. He still takes time to go weight fishing with his dad like always, but the trips have taken on a different meaning.
"Prior to Cole's death, we didn't talk everyday," Gary Boyd said. "(Cole and his teammates) were all so close that it has had a profound effect on all of them. Over the last couple of years, Reed has grown to be my best friend. We talk about everything. Nothing is taboo to talk about from football to school to girls. Anything he wants to talk about is always fine with me."
This is coming from a guy who values friendships and whose loyalty is considered his most admirable trait according to his son.
"I've always admired my dad's friendships because they have always been great relationships," Reed Boyd said. "For him to say I'm his best friend means the World to me. I consider it an honor for him to say that and I know how lucky I am to have someone like my father to lean on everyday."
Although their relationship now covers everything they can think to talk about, it still does come back to football on occasion. This summer, Boyd has leaned on his father for advice and encouragement as he switches positions on the football field once again. After posting a team-high 123 tackles last year from the middle linebacker spot, Reed will start out the 2003 campaign as the Longhorns strongside linebacker.
It's a position change that teammates and coaches have no reservations about. A Finance major who graduated in the top 10 percent of his prep senior class, Boyd is the most experienced of Texas' linebackers and his knowledge of the game has always been an asset. As has his versatility.
"Reed is the ultimate team player," sophomore linebacker Garnet Smith said. "He's a leader and he's going to look out for you, which is why he has earned so much respect from this team. By making a position change as a senior, he obviously has shown that the team comes first and I admire him for that."
How the position change and the football season progress is something Reed's dad is sure to hear about. That is of course after he and his son visit about fishing, hunting, friends, girls, college life or whatever comes up first.
