By Stephen London

Every so often, a football player is athletic enough to play multiple positions. Antwaan Randle El played quarterback for Indiana University, but wide receiver for the Washington Redskins. Anthony Reid, Stevenson University's sophomore quarterback, has shown during the last year that he has the athleticism to play two positions.

Although Reid did spend his high school years playing quarterback for West Catholic High School in Philadelphia, winning a state championship and receiving honorable mention for the All-State team, he came to Stevenson's campus as a freshman wide receiver.

"Anthony is a tremendous athlete," Mustangs coach Ed Hottle said. "We wanted to try and maximize [Reid's] abilities. We talked to him about playing wide receiver, and he jumped at the opportunity."

As a freshman, Reid showed his versatility by finishing third on the team with 727 all-purpose yards, 570 of those yards coming from kick returns. Reid also had a touchdown catch against Lycoming last year. But this year, Reid's speed will help the Mustangs in the rushing attack.

"I played wide receiver growing up before I tried quarterback," Reid said. "When I played wide receiver, I learned a lot more about the plays then I did as a backup quarterback."

It can be tough for a player to drop all of his preparation for a certain position in order to help his team succeed any way he can. In this case, Reid and the coaching staff recognized his raw athleticism, and put him in all types of packages on offense.

Hottle said Reid had taken on more of a leadership role this year, while offensive coordinator Jesse Correll called Reid a natural athlete.

"He's going to be a great player," Correll said. "He's a dual threat. He can run. He's got a strong arm. We can do just about anything with him."

With such a versatile athlete at their disposal, the Mustangs gain another dimension on offense. During the season opener, Reid rushed for 84 yards on 12 rushes, and completed 11 of 21 passing attempts for 121 yards, throwing a touchdown and an interception.

"I'm not the biggest quarterback," Reid said. "I'm not the strongest quarterback. But if you give [me] time, which I know my [offensive] line will, I'll be able to make plays."

With their first away game coming Sept. 8 against Albright, Reid and the Mustangs offense have another opportunity to get the season's first win, following a 26-16 loss to Shenandoah last week.

Posted Sept. 7, 2012