Gabe Reid - Stanford Football
“My dad played for the Colts with Peyton Manning when I was young. My grandparents tell me that we’d play football in the backyard and say, ‘I’ll be Peyton Manning, you be Dad.’ Then someone else would say ‘No you be dad and I’ll be Peyton Manning’. I always wanted to play at the highest level since I was little.”
“I definitely have felt pressure to perform because there are expectations, but at the same time, that pressure has been one of the driving factors that has pushed me to be where I am. I think it’s how you take it and manage it. There’s always been pressure, but it’s been a positive and motivating force in my career.”
“I chose Stanford because it is a great school academically and has a great football program as well. Stanford provided me with a chance to pave my own path. I’ve had the chance to learn from people that are excelling at everything they’re doing and that’s pushed me to be better. It’s made me a better football player but also a better individual.”
“It’s definitely been a challenge to not be together as a team at this time. Spring ball is a time for younger players to start to get experience, but it’s also a time for older guys to improve and hone their skills. The biggest impact has been not being able to grow together as a team. I think the offseason is a big time to mold our team and form leaders. We’re working to still do those things even though we’re not physically together.”
“I think in some ways serving an LDS mission prepared me for staying disciplined in this Pandemic. Serving in Samoa for two years was an amazing experience but I didn’t have access to training equipment. It was essentially two years off, training only with body weight. When I was working out, it was with heavy rocks or coconuts that I could find. Now I have Stanford giving me a program to follow, but at the end of the day it is like the mission – you’ve got to wake up and decide ‘Am I going to push me self and go hard, or am I just going to do a few push-ups and call it good?’”
“It’s been cool and humbling to see how everyone is coping with this situation. Over the past few weeks I’ve gone to a few local high schools to do some field work, and it’s been inspiring to see kids at all levels getting their work in. Even though things are all on hold, that’s not going to stop us as athletes. We’re going to continue to work and get better and stronger. We're all in this together.”
