Muir’s Reser Is Master of the Big Hit : Preps: Defensive back, who is a three-year starter for Mustangs, is known for his crunching tackles.

From the first time he started for the varsity football team, defensive back Reggie Reser has been the center of attention at Muir High.

He began receiving attention when he became one of the few sophomores to start for the talent-rich Mustangs.

But it was in his fifth game as a sophomore when Reser left what is perhaps his biggest impression.

The Mustangs were playing Crespi and its All-American tailback Russell White. White had already scored two touchdowns to give Crespi a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Then Reser introduced himself to White in a manner that he wasn’t soon to forget.

“He was running with the ball and I just hit him real hard,” Reser said. “We just rammed our heads together and he got a concussion and never came back in the game.”

The Mustangs went on to win the game and Reser began to establish a reputation as one of the fiercest hitting defensive backs in Southern California.

During the season former Muir quarterback Darick Holmes nicknamed the defensive back “The Enforcer.” It is a reputation that Reser doesn’t back away from.

“Even in Pop Warner ball, I had a reputation as a guy who liked to make contact,” said Reser, now a senior. “The main reason I started playing was because of the contact.”

At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, Reser’s penchant for aggressiveness on the field is one of the biggest reasons why he is regarded as one of the top college defensive back prospects in the state. It also helps to have 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash.

“He’s being recruited heavily because he’s a hitter and he’s got speed,” Muir Coach John Tyree said. “He’s very aggressive and he likes to mix it up.”

In fact, Reser, 17, said he has received hundreds of letters from NCAA Division I colleges including most schools in the Pacific 10, Big 10, Big 8 and Western Athletic Conferences.

“From the end of (last) season to right now, I think I’ve received from 300 to 400 letters,” he said. “It seemed like they all started coming at once, too. It was in the summer, around June and July, when I got the most. I got at least four or five letters or mailings from schools every day.”

Reser said he is a long way from deciding which school to attend, although he has enlisted advice from a handful of former Muir standouts to help him in his decision.

“It’s going to be real difficult to decide,” he said. “I really don’t know how I’m going to do it. I’m trying to get all the advice I can from guys like Ricky Ervins (USC), Tony Crutchfield (Brigham Young), Elic Mahone (USC) and Sam Williford (San Diego State) and some of the other guys who have been here and gone on to colleges. I try to talk to them and ask how it was for them, but you really don’t know until you’ve done it.”

With more attention from recruiters and being named to several preseason All-American teams, Reser said it has placed more pressure on him to succeed this season.

For the most part, though, Reser said he has been able to concentrate on football and block out the distractions.

“I think I’ve been able to keep my mind on football because that’s what I’ve been doing all my life,” he said. “I’ve been playing football since I was 8 years old, so my mind has always been on football.”

Well, his mind hasn’t always been on football.

When he arrived at Muir, Reser considered basketball as his favorite sport.

“I almost wanted to play basketball more than football,” he said. “When I first went into high school I thought I’d play basketball. But once I talked to (track) Coach (Clyde) Turner and Demetrice Martin (another Muir defensive back), they got me out on the football field and I found that it wasn’t too much of a change from Pop Warner.”

Reser did play on the freshmen-sophomore basketball team as a freshman, but dropped the sport to concentrate on football after the season. He also competes on the Muir track team and has run the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 39.8 seconds.

In his first two seasons with the Mustangs, Reser was one of the team’s leaders in interceptions. He had eight interceptions as a sophomore and four as a junior when Muir tied for the CIF Division II championship with Santa Barbara.

But with his future in football in mind, he set out especially hard to improve his game for this season.

“I wanted to make this the best year I’ve ever had,” he said. “So I think in the off-season I worked harder than I ever have. I worked out with Tony Crutchfield, Ricky Ervins and Demetrice Martin and I think they helped me with the mental as well as the physical aspects of the game. I was in good shape and I was quicker and faster than before.”

So far this season, Reser doesn’t have an interception, but he is one of his team’s leading tacklers. Tyree said that is partly because of his role at safety.

“He’s kind of the hit man in the coverage we play,” Tyree said. “He’s not only our deep support, he also helps on our run support. It’s almost like he’s a linebacker instead of a safety because he’s in on every tackle.”

Added Reser: “I feel that I can cheat and help out on the run and not have to worry as much (about the pass) because our guys back there are real good. It kind of lets me roam more, sort of like an extra linebacker. I know a lot of people say that shouldn’t be the way it is, but our defense is designed for me to make a lot of tackles.”

Reser has also seen more playing time at running back this season than he did in his first two seasons on the team.

“Before I played a little offense at the end of games but this is the first year where I feel I can really help the team on offense,” he said.

Tyree said that Reser might see even more time at running back before the season is over.

But Reser said his future in football is in the defensive secondary.

“I like playing on the offensive side of the ball but ever since I came up I knew it would be easier for me to get a scholarship as a cornerback,” he said.

As a defensive back, Reser has been used primarily as a safety although he expects to play cornerback in college.

“In my first four games as a sophomore I played cornerback and then after that I’ve played safety the rest of my career,” he said. “But for college I want to play cornerback. That’s where I feel I can make the most impact.”

An only child, Reser lives with his mother, Brenda Williams, in Pasadena. He said the close bond between him and his mother helps motivate him to succeed on the football field.

“We’re just real close,” Reser said. “Over the years she’s provided just about everything that I need and everything that I want and hopefully one day I can return all the favors that she’s done for me.”

He is hoping that his future will include a career in pro football, although he said it is not his top priority.

“I’d like to go to the pros but the main thing is to go to college and get a degree,” he said. “Then if I don’t make it in the pros, it won’t matter because I’ll have something to fall back on.”

But for the moment, that doesn’t appear to be a concern for Reser. As a defensive back, he has already been a pretty big hit.