An Interview with Troy Reeder

Troy Reeder committed to Penn State back on February 26th. He's a 3-star recruit out of Salesianum in Wilmington, DE, according to 247Sports, and was recruited by Ron Vanderlinden. I was able to get in contact with him, so the interview series goes on! Here's what Troy had to say...

When your recruitment first started, was there anything specific you were looking for in a school? When it all first started, did you have any idea of where you first wanted to go?

I think for me, two of the main things were that I wanted to stay close to home, a 4 hour radius was kind of my aiming point, just because that's the easiest way for my parents to come see all of my games. I also want to get into the business school. I wanted to go to a school where I was going to get great academics, and even more specifically a good business school, which Penn State also has. I wanted a place where I felt comfortable and at Penn State, with the coaches, and the players, and everything in the organization, I don't think that there was a better place for my 4 years.

Are you looking to major in business, or are you looking at things like EBF as well?

When I took a visit up there I was looking at that. I don't know 100% what I want to do, but I'm hoping I can get into finance, and then from there go with whatever I feel like I like the most. My dad is in business now, he's a real estate broker, so I'll probably eventually get into business with him.

Was there a specific moment, or instance, or something that happened that made you choose Penn State?

I don't think it was any one thing that happened, or that I just knew I wanted to go there right away. It's always been a special place for me. Being from Delaware, there's no real premier, one A school, so Penn State is our hometown team for the most part. I've had some family go to school there, so it was definitely a neat experience the first time I got up there, got to see everything. It's obviously so historic, so well known throughout the country. As I continued to talk with the coaches, and I went up 3 more times after that, each time it just kept getting better and better. So I just finally thought, I'm not going to find a better place for me. It has everything I want, I get along great with the coaches, I know this is the place where I will be coached up the best. I talked it over with my family, and we all agreed it was the best spot for me.

Do you know any of the other commits in your class, or have you met any of them since then? You were one of the first commits in your class, so none of them probably really recruited you.

Yeah I was 3rd. I did get to meet a lot of them pretty recently. I know Chris Godwin probably the best, he's a Delaware guy. It's a small state, so we all know all the best players, our schools are rivals, all that. But I also have met Antoine White at the Junior Day. I met Troy Apke, Michael O'Connor, Noah Beh, and a few others at the Lasch Bash.

Do you know anyone on the team now? Is there anyone you're especially excited to meet and learn from?

I don't know many aside from just going up there and meeting a few people. I'm looking forward to making new friends, obviously all the linebackers up there are well trained with Coach Vanderlinden. So I'm sure the first few weeks I'll be learning from them and Coach Vanderlinden, and I'll be trying to pick up on all the little things that they've been taught over the years.

Now that the Ireland game is official, are you excited for that game?

Yeah I'm pretty excited. I didn't really have any idea about it until the day that it was decided, I wasn't given any heads up. I have a lot of Irish blood in me. It's pretty cool to get over there, and hopefully we get to see a little bit of the surrounding area along with playing the game and taking our skill outside of the country, and showing people what we can do. It's going to be a really cool venue.

What are you most looking forward to about coming to Penn State, in a football sense, and in a non-football sense?

I think one thing that covers both the football and the non-football is being a part of the tradition that Penn State carries. Both in the football part of things, and the academic part of things, it's a school with a lot of tradition; if you go there, your kids are Penn State fans, you're a Penn State fan for the rest of your life, no matter the sport. It's a great place to go to college, a great college town. I'm also excited to be a part of something a little bit new. Penn State's having a little bit of change compared to the past many years with Coach Paterno, they call it the Next Chapter, and I'm really looking forward to being a part of that.

As you're obviously aware, Penn State is Linebacker U. Does knowing that make it a positive for you, knowing that you're going to be part of the most storied position at one of the most storied universities in the country, or is it a little daunting knowing that if you want to make your name go down in Penn State history with names like Ham, Posluszny, Arrington, Mauti, that you'll really have to step your game up? I'm sure it's exciting, but is it a little scary at the same time knowing that?

It's a challenge that I knew going into it, and it's a challenge that I've accepted. I know I'm going to receive the best coaching in the country, and I know that I'll work hard enough to achieve everything that is expected of me. It's going to be exciting to be a part of that tradition, and hopefully I can carry it on well.

What is your favorite part of playing linebacker, and what do you think your greatest strength as a linebacker is?

My favorite part of being a linebacker is being able to be a part of every play. We play the run, we play the pass, we're always in the middle. What other way would you want to play the game, rather than having your head in every single play and making tackles? Whether it's receivers running over the middle, fullbacks, or sacking the quarterback, you kind of get to do it all. That's exciting and I like to be in the mix all the time. My greatest strength is probably my versatility. I've played a lot of different positions in high school. This past season I played outside linebacker, inside linebacker, defensive end, and safety. I've had a lot of experience at different positions, and I think it's made me a well-rounded, complete player. Once I get to college, I think that experience and understanding of all the different positions will really help me when I'm in the middle. Being the leader of the defense, I'm expected to know what every player is going to do, so I'd say that's my strength.

How important to you are uniforms? Would you rather do what Oregon does, running out in a new uniform every week, or do you like the traditional, never-changing look like what Penn State does?

I would rather do one cool uniform every week. Penn State's uniforms for me are great, they're cool, they're traditional. The only thing for me is I like the name on the back of the jerseys. I know they did it last year, but I'm not sure if they're planning on sticking with it or not. I like having my name on the back, but that's just about it.

Thanks for taking the time, Troy!

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