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Sports

West LA College Alumnus Now in NFL

David Reed is a second-year wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens.

As a National Football League rookie with the Baltimore Ravens last season, David Reed set a franchise record by returning a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown to open the second half of his team's 34-28 overtime victory over the Houston Texans.  

The play aired repeatedly on ESPN SportsCenter highlights and Reed earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors with six kick returns totaling 233 yards. Now, the West Los Angeles College graduate is competing for a first string wide receiver spot despite the lost practice time as a result of the NFL lockout.  

The 6-foot, 190-pounder was drafted in the fifth round (156th overall) by Baltimore in the 2010 NFL Draft and played in 13 games his rookie season, returning 21 kickoffs for 616 yards (an average of 29.3) and running a reverse for 15 yards and a first down in a 26-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

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Ravens Coach John Harbaugh admitted this summer's lockout was most detrimental to the first- and second-year players. 

"Those practices are really, really valuable for the second year guys—the guys who had a chance, like David Reed, and all those guys who were in that class last year," he said. "They would've been here through the whole offseason lifting weights, working with their coaches, then going through the OTA’s (Organized Team Activities). That really set those guys back from where they would've been.”

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After graduating from West LA, Reed played two seasons at the University of Utah and earned All-Mountain West Conference first team honors after setting school records for receptions (81) and receiving yards (1,188) in a season, including a 90-yard scoring catch against Air Force. Reed is perhaps best known for his 28-yard touchdown catch that helped the Utes upset Alabama 31-17 in the 2009 Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome.  

Before that, Reed set national junior college records with 111 catches and 1,661 yards receiving as a sophomore at Pasadena City College in 2007 when current West LA head coach Marguet Miller was still PCC's offensive coordinator. 

Before he could attend Utah and become eligible to play in the NCAA, Reed needed to graduate with an Associate of Arts degree and he followed Miller to West LA, where he attended the Weekend College and earned his AA degree in 2008.

"With all of the on-field accomplishments that David has achieved, I'm most proud of his academic achievements," Miller said. 

Reed, in turn, credits his coach for helping him achieve his dreams: "Without Coach Miller, I would have never experienced a BCS Bowl game."

Click here to watch footage of David Reed during the Ravens' practice Tuesday.

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