Reuland Catches On Quickly

It took months of pleading before Konrad Reuland of Mission Viejo finally received permission from his parents to try tackle football soon after his 16th birthday.

He was a 6-foot-6 basketball player going out for tight end. He didn’t know how to put on pads, let alone block.

“He didn’t know how to zip up his zipper,” assistant coach Marty Spalding said.

What a difference a year makes. Reuland has emerged as the No. 1 target for USC-bound quarterback Mark Sanchez, catching 34 passes for 619 yards and six touchdowns in helping Mission Viejo (13-0) reach the Southern Section Division II championship game against Valencia (12-1) at Angel Stadium on Saturday night.

If Sanchez had his way, he’d take the 233-pound Reuland with him to USC. Except he’s only a junior.

Reuland’s transformation is hardly complete, but this much is certain: He might be the No. 1 tight end in Southern California, if not the state, and come next season, he’ll be one of the most sought-after college football prospects.

He has gone from dreaming of playing against LeBron James to imagining himself catching passes like Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs.

“When I first came into high school, I never would have imagined it happening this way,” he said. “I was always thinking basketball was my ticket. I still think if I focused on basketball, I’d be all right, but my potential in football is a lot better.”

Reuland has made stunning improvement because of good coaching and his athleticism and intelligence.

The most important moment was the decision by Mission Viejo’s coaching staff to let him play on varsity as a sophomore despite no football experience.

“The coaches did a great job getting me up to par,” he said. “I learned so much. There were a lot of ups and downs.”

The toughest part for Reuland was learning how to block, with Spalding, the line coach, doing the teaching.

Said Spalding: “The game of football is foreign to the kid because he’s a basketball expert. It is a complicated game and having a little knowledge helps.”

Reuland played varsity basketball as a freshman at Santa Ana Mater Dei, then transferred to Mission Viejo in May 2003.

He was always lobbying his father, Ralf, a doctor, to let him play football, but his father wouldn’t budge.

“He was worried I was so big that I would be playing with kids three years older,” Reuland said.

Now, not only is Reuland a standout tight end, but his younger brother, Warren, was a 6-4 receiver for the freshman team. And Ralf has become their biggest fan.

“He said, ‘I’m glad I let you play,’ ” Reuland said. “When I get a college letter, he’s almost more excited than I am. He’s really loving it.”

Added Spalding: “Athletically, he’s head and shoulders above everyone else, and he’s a fast learner.”

Reuland, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, still plays basketball but knows there’s a different approach to football.

“If you go into a football game with a basketball mentality, people are going to push you around,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy. You have to get yourself so psyched up. You have so many more plays to remember and it’s so physical.”

Reuland’s rise in football has set him free from the pressures of basketball.

“The last two years, I’ve been so stressed out about basketball, worrying if I’m going to show people what I can do,” he said. “I’m going to play and have fun and enjoy it while it lasts.”

If Reuland acts mature for his age, it’s no surprise because he spent his eighth-grade year as a foreign-exchange student in Germany living with relatives.

“I had to learn a whole new language,” he said.

It was the year of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks , and Reuland had to deal with the shock far from home.

“I knew no German and I’m trying to fit in,” he said. “They had a moment of silence for America. The whole class is staring at me the whole time. Each person would come up and give me a hug. I didn’t know what to think. My mom wanted to bring me home.”

He stayed, became fluent in German, more independent and more confident in himself.

When he first started coming home from football practice with scrapes on his body, his mother asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

The answer has always been yes. After all, it was basketball where he had his four front teeth smashed. It was basketball where he tore ligaments in an ankle.

It’s scary to think what kind of football player Reuland will be once he really figures out the game and becomes a proficient blocker.

“I always believed I could do it,” he said.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.