The injury was so inconspicuous.
If you watched the game live, it was almost impossible to tell that anything happened. But then, just over seven minutes into the 2023 season, the injury tent popped up on a warm Oregon night and coaches escorted Reed into athletic hell.
On the 10th play of the first game of the season, Reed’s knee just gave out on him. No contact. No collision. Just one stride his left knee didn’t like. His emotions spewed on the sideline. He was mad. Scratch that, he was furious. Not again, he thought.
He sat down in the tent, holding his hands together, swaying back and forth and hoping for the best. When the trainers came over to him with a mere bag of ice, his worst fears were confirmed. Reed was carted off the field minutes later.
The college career of Reed, now a redshirt senior, has not just been a bit of ill luck. It is the type of misfortune that only seems comprehensible if Reed shattered a glass mirror … while walking under a latter … as a black cat ran past him … on Friday the 13th. Even by the gruesome standards of football, few have been dealt a worse hand than Reed.
He got banged up during the 2020 COVID season and had to get shoulder surgery in the spring. In 2021, he started four games before tearing his right ACL in a game against Nevada. Then, just when he thought he had a fresh start, he blew out his other ACL in the Broncos’ season-opening loss to Oregon State.
“It’s been a long two years,” Reed said.
Now, it is 2023 and it is easy to get deja vu reading the headlines of “Finally healthy, Markel Reed is ready to shine.”
What is odd is not that Reed is optimistic about his future, it’s that his future includes football. If you keep getting bit by the same dog, logic would suggest you’d stop trying to pet that dog. But Reed is determined to keep at it, hoping it really was just poor luck.
“When I first got injured in Corvallis, I had a lot of emotions going through my head,” Reed said Thursday. “But it was an easy decision (to return to BSU) once I got past those emotions. It’s unfinished business. It’s going to take a lot for me to quit.”
It also might take a lot to keep him off the field. Even with minimal playing experience over the past two years, it still seems like Reed — who has had modified reps to start fall camp — is a favorite to start for the Broncos when they open the season next month at Washington.
“He’s proven that when he’s out there on the field, he can be a very productive player,” BSU head coach Andy Avalos said. “It’s been awesome to see Markel stack good day after good day and have that mental fortitude to come back.”
Added defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson: “You talk about a guy who shows up every day to work and really impacts the young guys in that room. (When) he was going through spring ball, he knew he wasn’t going to get a rep but he was still in there helping these guys see receiver releases. Not only is he keeping his game tight, but he’s helping the young guys.”
Boise State cornerback Markel Reed reaches to break up a pass during the 2021 season opener at UCF. (Photo by John Kelly/Boise State Athletics)
Some want to call Reed an inspiration. Perhaps that’s true. At Boise State, though, he can be an example.
The Broncos have already announced wide receiver Latrell Caples and defensive lineman JJ Talo will miss 2023 with injuries. At some point this season, too, a few others on the roster will likely lose their season to unfortunate luck because, well, football is a cruel game.
At least they will have someone in Reed to model themselves after. Someone who always saw the big picture, who rehabbed when no one was watching, who built his confidence through mental reps and who became Boise State’s biggest supporter from the sidelines (He and JL Skinner spent most of the Frisco Bowl as the BSU hype men, while simultaneously trash-talking the North Texas players).
“(The injuries) have helped me appreciate the game more, appreciate being alive ever single day,” Reed said. “Just having things taken away from you can really wake you up. … To be able to come back again, I’m really proud of myself.”
When asked what his goals were for the season, Reed didn’t need even a second to think.
“Staying healthy, that is my No. 1 goal,” he said. “Finish the season.”
