Steelers Tempted by Reid's Speed

Team likes potential of WR/kick returner

Monday, May 01, 2006
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It wasn't as if the Steelers were looking for a punt returner to replace Antwaan Randle El, especially after they traded up in the first round of the NFL draft to take Ohio State wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

With Holmes, the Steelers found the perfect answer for Randle El's departure in free agency -- a receiver with the speed (4.38) to stretch defenses and a punt returner who was among the best in college football.

But, after trading with the Minnesota Vikings to get two third-round picks, the Steelers couldn't pass up the opportunity to draft another punt returner in the third round -- one who might be better than Holmes.

That's why they couldn't resist snatching Florida State wide receiver Willie Reid, a player Penn State coach Joe Paterno referred to as "terrifying" just two weeks ago.

Paterno should know. The memory of Reid returning seven punts for 180 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown, against the Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl is still fresh in his mind. Reid's performance was a record for any bowl game.

"When coach Paterno would ask [special teams coach] Larry Johnson every day about Willie Reid, you know he was on coach Paterno's mind," Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "But what [Reid] did to us in the Orange Bowl is nothing he didn't do to other people."

That's why the Steelers took another receiver, another punt returner, with the 95th pick overall.

And they did it with an extra pick in the third round, just as they were hoping.

"To get a guy like Willie Reid was really a bonus," said Kevin Colbert, director of football operations.

"He was a guy who intrigued us," coach Bill Cowher said. "Santonio was more impressive as a kick returner and Willie was more impressive as a punt returner."

Indeed, Reid's numbers as a punt returner are staggering. He averaged 17.5 yards on 31 returns last season with the Seminoles, returning three for touchdowns.

One of those was in the Orange Bowl loss to Penn State. Another came in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game upset against Virginia Tech, an 83-yard return that helped Reid win game MVP honors. Those returns helped elevate Reid's draft stock.

"It was a pretty big game for me," Reid said. "It followed the ACC championship game that I performed well in, and I did well in the Orange Bowl, as well. I think that helped put me in the position I am in today. It was a great bowl game overall."

OK, imagine the possibilities.

Holmes and Reid, two of the best punt returners in college football, each going back to return punts for the Steelers. Dual safeties -- reverses, fake reverses. The possibilities are endless.

"I don't know if I would have done that before," Cowher said, when asked about using two safeties on punt returns, "but it certainly was a thought going through my mind [Saturday] night after we picked Willie Reid."

If nothing else, the addition of Holmes and Reid might allow special teams coach Kevin Spencer to be creative and start designing plays as if he's an offensive coordinator.

"He needs to be," Cowher said, smiling.

Reid has the look of a Steelers player. At Florida State, he was recruited as a running back because of his 4.35 speed, but was switched to wide receiver before his redshirt freshman season. He was moved back to tailback as a sophomore because of injuries and didn't become a full-time starter until last season. In 45 career games with the Seminoles, he started only 15 times -- and never complained about his role.

That's something Cowher has asked of his players -- buy into the system and accept their roles, however diminished.

"The things Reid has done for our team during his career, you can't measure," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said last month. "He's one of the most unselfish players I've ever been around."

The Steelers think Reid is still developing as a wide receiver. He had 50 catches for 634 yards and one touchdown last season and 15 receptions for 186 yards as a junior. In three seasons, he caught only three touchdowns.

"He is a little bit of a project," wide receivers coach Bruce Arians said. "[But] I think he is ready to play there. He has excellent hands, big-time speed and a great run-after-the-catch guy with his return ability."

In the end, the Steelers might have managed to replace Randle El, the only player to return two punts for touchdowns in 2005, with two players who are just as explosive.

"It's interesting because you never got a shot at Randle El, either," said Bradley, who coached against Randle El when he was a quarterback at Indiana. "This kid is the same way. It's hard to get a shot at him. He has exceptional speed and great vision. That's what separates him."
Then Bradley paused.

"Let it be someone else's problem," he said.

That's what the Steelers are hoping.

"It's going to be a real honor to be in the same locker room with Santonio," Reid said. "He's a great athlete. We just happen to be on the same team right now. I think we'll cause a lot of defenses havoc."

And why the Steelers couldn't resist.

(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466. )