Leon Reed (born January 22, 1967) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who played two seasons in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) with the

Maryland Commandos Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and Denver Dynamite. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Northwest Mississippi Junior College and the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee, United States. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outsi ...

Early life

Leon Reed was born on January 22, 1967. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Senatobia High School in

Senatobia, Mississippi Senatobia is a city in and the county seat of Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 16th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census. Senatobia is home to Northwest Mississippi ...

. He earned first-team all-conference honors his senior year in 1984.

College career

Reed first played

at Northwest Mississippi Junior College from 1985 to 1986. He threw for 1,234 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman in 1985. He was named first-team all-state in 1986. Reed then transferred to play for the Tennessee–Martin Pacers of the

, where he was a two-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1987 to 1988. Despite only starting the final six games of the 1987 season, Reed broke the school record for total offense with 2,106 yards and earned second-team All-

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

(GSC) honors. In 1988, he garnered GSC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-GSC recognition. During his college career, Reed completed 402 of 697 passes for 4,842 yards and 30 touchdowns while also rushing for 12 touchdowns. He had 5,333 yards of total offense. He wore jersey number 1 while at Tennessee–Martin. Reed was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame in 1997.

Professional career

On April 4, 1989, it was reported that the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) had made a contract offer to Reed. Later that month, Reed went undrafted in the

1989 NFL draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...

. He signed with the Blue Bombers on June 1, 1989. He was released on July 1, signed to the practice roster on July 15, and released again on July 19. Reed then signed with the

of the

(AFL). He started the final game of the 1989 season for the Commandos. Overall, he played in two games, starting one, in 1989, completing 16 of 37 passes (43.2%) for 180 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions while also rushing ten times for 21 yards. Reed played in one game for the Denver Dynamite of the AFL in 1990 but did not record any statistics.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Leon 1967 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football quarterbacks Northwest Mississippi Rangers football players UT Martin Skyhawks football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Maryland Commandos players Denver Dynamite (arena football) players 20th-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Mississippi People from Senatobia, Mississippi