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<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Quinton Reese</FONT> </H1>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Defensive End</I></FONT></H3>

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<H3 ALIGN=CENTER>by Bob Grant</H3>
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<TD><IMG SRC="Reese1.jpg" ALT="Quinton Reese" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
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<P>As Quinton Reese grew up playing basketball on the old dusty court behind his house in the West End area of Birmingham, dreams of playing in the NBA filled his mind.
<P>"I would play basketball from sun-up 'til sun-down," Reese said of his childhood days. "I was thinking of the NBA long before thoughts of the NFL."
<P>Reese played both the wing position and forward during his years at West End High School. Standing 6-foot-3, he said he was able to keep his ground against the competition in Alabama, but it wasn't until a trip to North Carolina for the National AAU Tournament in the summer of 1994, that Reese realized his future might be better served on the gridiron, rather than the hardwood.
<P>While in North Carolina at the AAU tournament, the multi-sport athlete and his teammates received faxes of newspaper articles from Birmingham with scores from their basketball games.
<P>"I was looking through one of the articles when I saw a list of the state's top 12 college prospects for football," Reese said. "I saw that I was ranked second behind one of my teammates, Pernell Davis. I was shocked."
<P>After a summer of playing basketball against 6'3" point guards and 6'10" centers and learning that he was one of the state's top-rated wide receivers, Reese turned his focus towards scoring touchdowns instead of making jump shots.
<P>The youngest of four sons, Reese was named the 1995 Alabama Player of the Year by Deep South Football Recruiting Guide after catching 18 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns, while making 99 tackles and intercepting three passes as a linebacker in only seven games.
<P>The future looked bright for Reese, as he signed to play for Auburn in the spring of 1995.
"We recruited Quinton because he was a great athlete," Linebackers coach Joe Whitt said. "We felt he could play wide receiver, tight end or play inside or outside linebacker in our 3-4 scheme that we had at the time."
<P>The all-state performer said he chose to sign with Auburn because they were coming off a 21-1 stretch under then-head coach Terry Bowden and two of the Tigers top receivers, Frank Sanders and Thomas Bailey, were graduating.
<P>Reese's dreams of playing for the Tigers and in front of the large crowds at Jordan-Hare Stadium were abruptly put on hold though. During the summer of 1995 prior to his would be freshman year on the Plains, the 195-pound wide receiver was ruled academically ineligible due to not meeting <P>qualification standards.
"It was one math class that I didn't make the grade in," Reese said. "To my knowledge, I had done everything I was supposed to do to qualify. It came as a surprise."
<P>That fall, Reese re-took the math class which was a six-week night-course at West End.
"It wasn't hard as far as doing the problems and the homework. It was harder psychologically because I knew I should have been at Auburn playing football," he added.
<P>Reese was not allowed to report to Auburn until the next year's freshman class reported in the fall of 1996, so Reese spent the year building displays and filling cold boxes for a beverage company in Birmingham instead of catching footballs for the Tigers.
<P>During the year at home, Reese said he was determined to get back to Auburn, but he didn't know what to expect.
<P>"It was hard to put my trust in anyone," he added. "Who was to say it wouldn't happen again."
<P>The highly-recruited prep did qualify and has been an impact player for the Tigers during his tenure. His impact, however, didn't come on the offensive side of the ball, but on the defensive side as a linebacker.
<P>Reese added 55 pounds to his frame and played in all 12 of the Tigers' games in 1996, starting the last five.

<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
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<TD><IMG SRC="reese01.jpg" ALT="Quinton Reese" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
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<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
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<P>The 1997 season in which Reese started 11 of 13 games and recorded 63 tackles, also gave him his most memorable moment as a Tiger.
<P>"It was the 1997 game against Alabama," Reese said, "I recovered a fumble late in the game, then Jarrett Holmes kicked the game-winning field goal. We tore down the goal posts and earned a trip to the SEC Championship game. That was an awesome feeling."
<P>Reese patterns his game after the Minnesota Vikings All-Pro defensive lineman John Randle.
"I like his aggressiveness and mentality," Reese said. "He plays with a wreckless abandonment and that's how I want to play."
<P>Like all of the Tigers from the 1998 season, Reese had to keep his mentality in check as Auburn suffered through a 3-8 campaign in which he recorded 2.5 sacks and 43 tackles.
<P>"It was a tough year for all of us," Reese said of the '98 season. "Going through that just made us work harder this off season, so we can come out this year and get back to our winning ways."
<P>Hard work is one of the things taught to Reese by his parents, Shirley and Arthur, and a characteristic he exemplified during spring drills and the summer months.
<P>For his extra work in the weight room, Reese earned the off-season conditioning award from the Auburn coaching staff.
<P>"Quinton has come a long way," Whitt said. "This past summer was one of the first times he has not had to rehab an injury and that allowed us to see the full-side of what he can do. He is a leader on this team and he leads by his example."
<P>The driving force behind Reese's work ethic is the will to win and teammate and fellow defensive end Marcus Washington.
<P>"We are both seniors and we pushed each other to work hard during the off-season," Reese said. "We want to win some games and turn around the 3-8 season, so we can win our people back."
Individual goals don't concern Reese, team goals do.
<P>"If I do whatever I can to help the team win, then the stats will come," he said. "I just want to be the best leader for these young guys because I have been through the storms and I've been through the good times. I want to show them a positive side instead of a negative one."
<P>While the days of dreaming about the NBA are over for Reese, the days of dreaming about the NFL have arrived and and may come to reality with a solid senior season.

<P>&nbsp;
<P><B><H3>Up Close With Quinton Reese</h3></B>
<P>What is your favorite card game?
<BR><I>"Spades. Jeff Dunlap and I play all the time. We are on a 30 game win streak."</I>

<P>Who is your Super Hero?
<BR><I>"Superman."</I>

<P>What kind of music do you listen to before the game?
<BR><I>"Tu-Pac and Eight Ball."</I>

<P>If you could take five people to a deserted island who would it be?
<BR><I>"Nia Long, Halle Berry, Stacey Dash, Tu-Pac, and Deborah Cox."</I>

<P>What is your favorite basketball team and player?
<BR><I>"Seattle Super Sonics. Gary Payton."</I>

<P>Who is your favorite actor?
<BR><I> "Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson."</I>

<P>What is your favorite food?
<BR><I>"My mom's fried chicken wings and rice."</I>


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<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>&copy; 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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	<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=450><td>

	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Quinton Reese</FONT> </H1>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Defensive End</I></FONT></H3>

	<!--
	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER>by Bob Grant</H3>
	-->




	<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
	<TR>
	<TD><IMG SRC="Reese1.jpg" ALT="Quinton Reese" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>
	<P>


	<P>As Quinton Reese grew up playing basketball on the old dusty court behind his house in the West End area of Birmingham, dreams of playing in the NBA filled his mind.
	<P>"I would play basketball from sun-up 'til sun-down," Reese said of his childhood days. "I was thinking of the NBA long before thoughts of the NFL."
	<P>Reese played both the wing position and forward during his years at West End High School. Standing 6-foot-3, he said he was able to keep his ground against the competition in Alabama, but it wasn't until a trip to North Carolina for the National AAU Tournament in the summer of 1994, that Reese realized his future might be better served on the gridiron, rather than the hardwood.
	<P>While in North Carolina at the AAU tournament, the multi-sport athlete and his teammates received faxes of newspaper articles from Birmingham with scores from their basketball games.
	<P>"I was looking through one of the articles when I saw a list of the state's top 12 college prospects for football," Reese said. "I saw that I was ranked second behind one of my teammates, Pernell Davis. I was shocked."
	<P>After a summer of playing basketball against 6'3" point guards and 6'10" centers and learning that he was one of the state's top-rated wide receivers, Reese turned his focus towards scoring touchdowns instead of making jump shots.
	<P>The youngest of four sons, Reese was named the 1995 Alabama Player of the Year by Deep South Football Recruiting Guide after catching 18 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns, while making 99 tackles and intercepting three passes as a linebacker in only seven games.
	<P>The future looked bright for Reese, as he signed to play for Auburn in the spring of 1995.
	"We recruited Quinton because he was a great athlete," Linebackers coach Joe Whitt said. "We felt he could play wide receiver, tight end or play inside or outside linebacker in our 3-4 scheme that we had at the time."
	<P>The all-state performer said he chose to sign with Auburn because they were coming off a 21-1 stretch under then-head coach Terry Bowden and two of the Tigers top receivers, Frank Sanders and Thomas Bailey, were graduating.
	<P>Reese's dreams of playing for the Tigers and in front of the large crowds at Jordan-Hare Stadium were abruptly put on hold though. During the summer of 1995 prior to his would be freshman year on the Plains, the 195-pound wide receiver was ruled academically ineligible due to not meeting <P>qualification standards.
	"It was one math class that I didn't make the grade in," Reese said. "To my knowledge, I had done everything I was supposed to do to qualify. It came as a surprise."
	<P>That fall, Reese re-took the math class which was a six-week night-course at West End.
	"It wasn't hard as far as doing the problems and the homework. It was harder psychologically because I knew I should have been at Auburn playing football," he added.
	<P>Reese was not allowed to report to Auburn until the next year's freshman class reported in the fall of 1996, so Reese spent the year building displays and filling cold boxes for a beverage company in Birmingham instead of catching footballs for the Tigers.
	<P>During the year at home, Reese said he was determined to get back to Auburn, but he didn't know what to expect.
	<P>"It was hard to put my trust in anyone," he added. "Who was to say it wouldn't happen again."
	<P>The highly-recruited prep did qualify and has been an impact player for the Tigers during his tenure. His impact, however, didn't come on the offensive side of the ball, but on the defensive side as a linebacker.
	<P>Reese added 55 pounds to his frame and played in all 12 of the Tigers' games in 1996, starting the last five.

	<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
	<TR>
	<TD><IMG SRC="reese01.jpg" ALT="Quinton Reese" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>


	<P>The 1997 season in which Reese started 11 of 13 games and recorded 63 tackles, also gave him his most memorable moment as a Tiger.
	<P>"It was the 1997 game against Alabama," Reese said, "I recovered a fumble late in the game, then Jarrett Holmes kicked the game-winning field goal. We tore down the goal posts and earned a trip to the SEC Championship game. That was an awesome feeling."
	<P>Reese patterns his game after the Minnesota Vikings All-Pro defensive lineman John Randle.
	"I like his aggressiveness and mentality," Reese said. "He plays with a wreckless abandonment and that's how I want to play."
	<P>Like all of the Tigers from the 1998 season, Reese had to keep his mentality in check as Auburn suffered through a 3-8 campaign in which he recorded 2.5 sacks and 43 tackles.
	<P>"It was a tough year for all of us," Reese said of the '98 season. "Going through that just made us work harder this off season, so we can come out this year and get back to our winning ways."
	<P>Hard work is one of the things taught to Reese by his parents, Shirley and Arthur, and a characteristic he exemplified during spring drills and the summer months.
	<P>For his extra work in the weight room, Reese earned the off-season conditioning award from the Auburn coaching staff.
	<P>"Quinton has come a long way," Whitt said. "This past summer was one of the first times he has not had to rehab an injury and that allowed us to see the full-side of what he can do. He is a leader on this team and he leads by his example."
	<P>The driving force behind Reese's work ethic is the will to win and teammate and fellow defensive end Marcus Washington.
	<P>"We are both seniors and we pushed each other to work hard during the off-season," Reese said. "We want to win some games and turn around the 3-8 season, so we can win our people back."
	Individual goals don't concern Reese, team goals do.
	<P>"If I do whatever I can to help the team win, then the stats will come," he said. "I just want to be the best leader for these young guys because I have been through the storms and I've been through the good times. I want to show them a positive side instead of a negative one."
	<P>While the days of dreaming about the NBA are over for Reese, the days of dreaming about the NFL have arrived and and may come to reality with a solid senior season.

	<P>
	<P><B><H3>Up Close With Quinton Reese</h3></B>
	<P>What is your favorite card game?
	<BR><I>"Spades. Jeff Dunlap and I play all the time. We are on a 30 game win streak."</I>

	<P>Who is your Super Hero?
	<BR><I>"Superman."</I>

	<P>What kind of music do you listen to before the game?
	<BR><I>"Tu-Pac and Eight Ball."</I>

	<P>If you could take five people to a deserted island who would it be?
	<BR><I>"Nia Long, Halle Berry, Stacey Dash, Tu-Pac, and Deborah Cox."</I>

	<P>What is your favorite basketball team and player?
	<BR><I>"Seattle Super Sonics. Gary Payton."</I>

	<P>Who is your favorite actor?
	<BR><I> "Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson."</I>

	<P>What is your favorite food?
	<BR><I>"My mom's fried chicken wings and rice."</I>


	<CENTER><P><A HREF="./" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> \| <A HREF="../" target="_top">PROGRAM
	INDEX</A> \| <A HREF="../../index.html" target="_top">HOME</A></P></CENTER>

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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