Physically, Max Reese Already Had the Goods
A career-best helped EMU get past Jacksonville State, but that wasn't exactly the confidence boost Max Reese needed.
Was Saturday the beginning of Max Reese’s breakout season?
In Eastern Michigan’s 37-34 double overtime victory over Jacksonville State, the third-year tight end got people on their feet with the best performance of his career thus far: 4 catches for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Reese’s first touchdown of the night was a 34-yard grab and run over the middle, untouched for 15-or-so yards after the catch. The second was on the end of a pass from Terry Lockett Jr. on the ole receiver-pass trick play. Considering Reese was a school-record-setting wide receiver at Fenwick High School (Chicago, Ill.) with plenty of size and athleticism, the potential for him to make big plays downfield always seemed obvious.
But this coaching staff always knew they needed their redshirt-sophomore to be more than just a reliable pass catcher for this offense. They needed Reese, listed at 6’2”, 237 lbs., to grow into his body and be a true down-to-down tight end.
They also needed him to learn how to trust himself.
“He's taken that challenge to heart and showed serious improvement in the spring and spring ball, and has continued that through the summer,” head coach Chris Creighton said Monday. “Now you see him out there, and it's not just in passing game situations… He's got great hands. He knows how to run routes. He's very natural with that. But for him to be on the field the way he is right now, swipe blocking, being a part of the run game is really what has a chance to make him special.”
Against Jacksonville State, Reese got this first start of the season (second overall) was on the field for 87% of EMU’s offensive snaps. Jere Getzinger was listed as questionable and did not play against JSU, and Blake Daniels was on the field for just 8 plays in his first appearance of the season.
Not only did Reese have his best receiving game to date, but EMU’s offense saw success because of him. Both of Reese’s touchdown grabs came in the second quarter and gave EMU a 28-17 lead. Reese had the most touchdown grabs on the night, but Oran Singleton and Terry Lockett continued to be open for 17 combined catches for 150 yards.
Wasn’t a perfect day running the football for EMU without starting running back Dontae McMillan (or without an experienced O-line, that saw a lot of early changes when Broderick Roman cam out with injury on the first drive of the game), but Elijah Jackson-Anderson and Delbert Mimms III still finished with rushing averages of 3.6 and 3.5 yards.
In January, EMU’s coaching staff challenged Reese to reach new heights this season. As a tight end who’s asked to do more than just run routes and catch passes, he was challenged to be a bigger contributor in the run game and be reliable enough to stay on the field no matter the play call.
Having the skillsets to be a quality ‘H’ tight end is one thing. Having the durability and conditioning, Reese said during Monday’s player availability portion of the team press conference, is another.
“I never realized this until I got to the tight end room, how much your weight really matters. If I'm four pounds too light, I'll feel it Sunday, the next morning after one the games. ... But then I'm the right weight and, you know, kind of like, why where I'm at right now, I feel good after a (92-play) game. Like, I feel like I could go out and play another game tomorrow.”
In practices, Reese attributes fellow tight ends Getzinger and Daniels as two guys that’ve pushed him the most to elevate his game. Getzinger got his way on the field by being a consistent blocker and is second on the team with 16 total starts made at EMU. Daniels, a former quarterback for Division-II Davenport, is a third-year transfer who transitioned to being a quarterback’s best friend: a 6’6” receiving option.
Getzinger and Daniels have both played more football than Reese has and they’ve each given the up-and-comer some tips along the way. Physical, detailed advice is always helpful, but Reese said the biggest thing they’ve done for him along the way was help inspire confidence in him.
“As a college athlete, you have to be able to believe, or you have to be able to know that you can do something mentally before you can go do it on the field,” Reese explained. “There's a lot of people who [don’t] necessarily have that mental aspect of the game on lock and I feel like that gets exploited on Saturdays. So just, you know, having that mental and that extra confidence from your teammates when, whenever someone else sees something in yourself, that's always, that's always a blessing.”
In three games this season, Reese has caught 8 passes for 88 yards — a big step up from last year (2 catches, 8 yards). Of course, it’s not just Reese having a better season, this offense is making big strides this season in terms of simply picking up the football and moving it at will. Last year this offense ranked third-to-last nationally in offensive available yards percentage (by BCFToys.com), but so far this year the offense is ranked 24th in that category.
Over the summer, I wrote that if EMU’s offense was going to have success this season, then ‘it’s time for Reese to break out and start to become the weapon that this team has been hoping to see.’
Good news: that finally started happening Saturday.
Now comes the challenge of being a durable tight end: he’s got to believe that he can do it again next week, and then every week after that too.
I loved this piece, Alex...AA? A²? Double A like Arn Anderson? I need some guidance!