Tommy Reamon?

[Brad]

Relative guidance

Gloucester's Tommy Reamon Jr. got plenty of help from his father about how to make his college choice.

By DAVE FAIRBANK | 247-4637

    February 5, 2008

GLOUCESTER - Tommy Reamon had no way of knowing this when he first picked up a football, but the previous four decades prepared him for the past year.

All of the competition, the high school coaching, the camps and clinics all over the country, conversations with college coaches, the marquee players he nurtured, the home visits and campus trips, all were invaluable when it came time to counsel the most important person in his life.

Tommy Reamon Jr. had no way of knowing this when he first picked up a football, but the previous 10 years prepared him for the past year.

All of the coaching he received, from his father and others, tagging along on home visits and campus trips, the clinics and camps he attended, watching how marquee players conducted themselves and made decisions, all were invaluable as he approached the biggest moment in his young life.

"I've been around college campuses my whole life," Tommy Jr., said one morning last week, sitting in a gym at Gloucester High, "so not a lot surprises me any more. I look at myself as lucky, growing up around three great quarterbacks and seeing what they went through. I've learned from their situations, what to do and what not to do. My recruitment has been a summary of all three."

Reamon the younger is a quarterback, just as his boyhood idols and his father's pupils Aaron Brooks and brothers Michael and Marcus Vick.

Reamon plans to announce this evening where he will attend college, one day before the national signing period commences Wednesday.

"I'm anxious to hear where, but I already know the why," said Tommy Sr., who swore that he was unsure where his son would attend.

"What he's learned in all of this process," Reamon the elder continued, "is that it doesn't come down to facilities. It doesn't come down to who they play. It doesn't come down to who's on TV, because everybody's on TV now. What it comes down to is individual relationships. What I'm so proud of is that he's learned and listened."

Tommy Jr. has an unusual list of finalists: Missouri, South Florida, Buffalo and Old Dominion. Missouri and South Florida were top-10 programs playing in Bowl Championship Series leagues.

Buffalo is a middle-of-the-pack Mid-American Conference program that has made strides from a dismal recent past. Old Dominion is a Division I-AA — or Football Championship Subdivision, if you prefer — start-up that won't begin play until 2009 and won't compete as a full CAA member until 2011.

The Missouri connection is understandable. Tommy Reamon Sr. was a star for the Tigers as a player and remains a respected figure within the program. South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt, who built the Bulls' program from scratch, also is a Mizzou grad.

Buffalo, under former Nebraska star quarterback Turner Gill and quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett, runs a system that appeals to the Reamons. ODU intrigues Reamon Jr. because of the opportunity for family and friends to watch him play, for the chance to be part of a fledgling program, and because Monarchs coach Bobby Wilder is himself a former quarterback.

"I've seen big stadiums and big programs," Reamon Jr. said. "I was looking for a place where I can see myself as a student and an athlete. Football doesn't last forever — they say the NFL stands for 'Not For Long' — so you should go someplace where you can get a good education and have something to fall back on.

"As far as football goes, I want to go someplace where I can communicate with my coaches and I feel like I'll have an opportunity to get better."

Reamon, 6-foot-11/2 and 200 pounds, doesn't possess the physical gifts of Brooks or the Vicks. His high school stats were modest — 186-for-407 for 2,441 yards with 13 touchdowns and 36 interceptions — and Gloucester won only two games the past two seasons.

"I think it's really hard to judge what he can do, based on (video)tape because he didn't have a lot of pass protection," said Woodside High coach Danny Dodson, who praised Reamon's arm and elusiveness. "No quarterback is going to look good without pass protection."

"Our whole idea was to send a bunch of guys at him and pressure him," Dodson said. "I'm not sure how much you can tell about his ability. Even Michael Vick had a hard time when he had everybody and his brother chasing him."

Despite negligible high school statistics, Reamon is ranked among the top-25 so-called "dual-threat" quarterback prospects in the country by both Rivals.com and prep scout Tom Lemming.

That's largely because Reamon has done the summer-camp circuit, where many prospects work out and are often judged by evaluators on the basis of individual drills and workouts.

The elder Reamon's connections and track record with quarterbacks helped him get his son to various camps and gain some national exposure. Reamon Jr. attended camps in California, Pittsburgh, Missouri, Georgia, Alabama and Texas, among others.

When Tommy Jr. attends camps and visits campuses, officially and unofficially, his dad often lets him navigate the terrain himself.

"I give him space," Reamon Sr. said, "because he's had so many years of me talking. As it unfolds, I'm proud of the way he's talking to people and the way he processes information. I can sit back because he's been exposed to so much."

The two talk regularly about the recruiting process, father and son bouncing ideas off of each other. But Reamon Sr. emphasizes that the decision rests with his son, since he's the one who must live with it.

"I'm grateful for everything my dad's done for me," Tommy Jr. said. "Football has given me the chance to go places and see things I wouldn't get a chance to see.

"The recruiting and the travel have been pretty hectic at times, but I wouldn't trade any of it."

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[Bull Dozer]

Everything i have heard says hes been "off the board" for a while now and he never really was on it.  Hurdle was the only QB from up there that USF gave a serious look to. 

[BullyPulpit]

36 INTERCEPTIONS???? Ouch.

[redfisher78]

Doesnt seem worth pursuing