Miami football talks Ed Reed impact on current program

When it comes to Miami Hurricane football legends, it’s tough to top Ed Reed. He’s widely known as one of the greatest safeties to ever play the game of football.

“I like to call him our culture coordinator.” Miami head coach Manny Diaz said. “Ed is a legend. Probably the best safety to play football at any level anywhere.”

Reed brings accountability and culture to the Hurricanes locker room in the form of a Hall-of-Fame mindset. When Ed Reed speaks, they listen, since he’s accomplished so much on the football field.

One area Diaz said Reed is particularly good at is reading the body language of players in practice.

“The way he can impact our practice by watching practice, reading the non-verbal of a player, and maybe go up and have a conversation with them,” Diaz said.

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A Miami Hurricanes legend. One of the greatest to ever play the game, @TwentyER 🙌

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One invaluable place Reed has helped the Hurricanes is on the recruiting trail. Being such a massive football legend, of course, his name is going to carry a lot of weight with recruits.

Head Coach Manny Diaz talked about the impact Reed has had in recruiting, since he was named Chief of Staff back in the early part of 2020.

“When we hired him, we didn’t know that we would have to go into a shelter in place due to the pandemic, but because we all became recruiters on the phone — it is not just the name Ed Reed. It is also who he is and his personality. He can be a great resource for them. It would be hard to mention our progress in recruiting without giving Ed some credit as well.”

Miami Hurricane Legend

Ed Reed was a member of the Hurricanes 2001 National Championship team, a roster that was one of the greatest teams in college football history. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in the 2000 season and a unanimous first-team All-American in the 2001 season. One of his most famous plays in college came against Boston College in 2001, when he took the football out of his teammates hands who had just intercepted it, and he raced 80 yards for a touchdown. He was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and he earned National Defensive Player of the Year honors from Football News.

Hall-of-Famer

Ed Reed was known for not only his remarkable ability to intercept passes but to return them for touchdowns.

In 174 career games that he played in the National Football League, Reed intercepted 64 passes which he returned for 1,590 yards and seven touchdowns. He also racked up 643 tackles, recorded six sacks,and made 13 fumble recoveries during his Hall-of-Fame NFL career.

He was a nine-time Pro Bowler and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. The Miami product was also named to the NFL All-Decade Team of the 2000s.

His best playing days in the NFL were with the Baltimore Ravens and he’s widely considered as one of the most accomplished safeties to ever play the game at any level.