STARKVILLE — Reggie Todd has changed from the man he was prior to his redshirt year with the Mississippi State football team.
This season, Todd hopes the changes he has made to his body will help him be a serious threat at wide receiver.
But there’s more to Todd than the physical transformation.
“I really noticed a change in his talk. He’s always been a positive kid. He’s just a lot more confident kid,” said Ben Holly, who coached Todd as a member of the Blount High School football team in Mobile, Alabama. “Everything seemed to be in the right place on the academic side, plus athletic side, social side, just very impressed with that.”
Holly developed a relationship with Todd after he transferred to Blount High from nearby Leflore High, a move that cost him his junior season. In Holly’s estimation, the redshirt year was the perfect thing for Todd because it allowed him to “surround himself with people that have the same goals.” As a result, he was happy to see Todd didn’t go home to Mobile very often.
Holly said it’s easy to trust Todd’s future at MSU because head coach Dan Mullen and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales have built a solid support system and “believe in him and want to help him achieve his goals.”
Mullen senses the impact Todd can make on a receiving corp that will look to fill the void left by the graduation of Fred Ross, who led the team with 72 catches, 917 receiving yards, and 12 touchdown catches.
“He’s probably gained 15-20 pounds,” Mullen said during spring practice. “Reggie is a guy that hasn’t played a lot of football, so he has an opportunity. He’s gotten a lot stronger. He’s never spent an offseason in the weight room, so you’re seeing a guy that’s become a lot stronger. He’s going to be able to come in and out of routes. He has great size so that creates mismatches on the field.”
Todd, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 204 pounds, feels his speed is his biggest improvement. After catching four passes for 51 yards in the Maroon & White Game, he said he felt his top-end speed is much improved from last year.
Holly said the experience Todd gained from the redshirt year should increase his chances to make an impact. Todd figures to compete with Jamal Couch, Deddrick Thomas, Malik Dear, and others for playing time.
“We have a lot of young guys with potential,” Mullen said. “The problem is that potential has to come to fruition (over the summer) in not a lot of time before we kick it off. We need those guys to become playmakers.”
If Mullen needs a playmaker, Holly has no doubts Todd can fill that role.
“There aren’t many out here that can do the things he can do with the ball in his hands,” he said. “I never think it was the athletic side. I think it was getting the organization side and learning the system.
“He has all the intangibles it takes to be successful at that level, but also to make his family a lot of money if he keeps his head on straight.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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