Toledo’s star wide receiver Bernard Reedy has been burning opposing defenses this season.
But Ball State senior cornerback Jeffery Garrett said he feels he has an advantage over the senior slot receiver.
“Watching Jamill Smith reminds me of Reedy,” Garrett said. “They’re the same player type. ... They’re both small. They’re both quick. They’re both elusive.”
Although Reedy is a small, slot-style receiver, he isn’t quite as small as Smith.
Reedy has one inch and 35 pounds on Smith’s 5-foot-8, 140-pound frame.
“It helps me a lot against smaller receivers,” Garrett said. “We go at it every day at practice. We compete.”
This season, Reedy has 26 catches for 291 yards and a touchdown. He had a season-high eight catches in Toledo’s conference opener against Central Michigan on Saturday. Reedy is on pace for 78 catches and 873 yards this season.
Over the last three years, Mid-American Conference teams have had trouble stopping Reedy.
Reedy has 91 receptions for 1,297 yards receiving against conference opponents during that span.
In last season’s Ball State game at Toledo, Reedy had seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. He caught the score on a 24-yard play in the first quarter. But, as Garrett said, his stat line could’ve been higher.
“Last year when we played against Toledo, it was like third and four on the goal line and [Jarrett] Swaby knocked the ball down,” Garrett said. “Reedy had it in his hands, but Swaby knocked it down.”
On Saturday, Toledo will move Reedy around on the field to try to get him opportunities to get the football.
“You have to be zeroed in on where he’s at and what he can do from where he’s at,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “They do a nice job adding some different wrinkles every week for him. Last week, he’s back in the single-wing wildcat running the ball. They’re going to motion him on jet sweeps.”
But where does Reedy rank in the list of receivers Garrett has played against?
“He’s up there,” Garrett said. “He’s a very good player. We respect that. He’s one of the best I’ve played against.”
The Mid-American Conference isn’t known for its defense, but Reedy has shown he can play with the best opponents in the conference.
He burned eventual MAC Champion Northern Illinois for 10 catches and 131 yards last season, making his case to be one of the best wide receivers in the MAC.
“His stats prove it,” Garrett said.
Ball State may be a man short Saturday as it takes on Reedy. Starting freshman safety Martez Hester is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Freshman Dae’Shaun Hurley is listed as a starter in Hester’s place. Hurley has played in every game this season and has 15 tackles in 2013.
“You have to plan for the best athletes,” freshman linebacker Ben Ingle said. “We know who their best players are.”
