Transfer Edge David Reese Making a Name for Himself at Cal

Introducing the one and only David Reese.

That’s significant for the Cal newcomer, because when he was at Florida he wasn’t the one and only David Reese on the Gators’ roster for two years.

“It was kind of weird at first,” said Cal’s David Reese of having another David Reese on the team.

It was particularly weird when the elder David Reese (the other Florida player) was the host for David Reese (the current Cal player) when Reese (the Cal player) took a recruiting visit to Gainesville, Fla., while at Vero Beach (Fla.) High School.

The big David Reese, as he was called by Florida coaches, took little David Reese, as he was known, under his wing, like a big brother.

“It was kind of fun,” Cal’s Reese said. “We had a Spiderman meme, ‘My name David Reese, your name David Reese.’”

---Cal begins the second portion of its spring workouts on April 5---

After transferring to Cal in the offseason, he had no name confusion issues, although Cal was familiar with that kind of name issue. Cal currently has a safety named Miles Williams and an outside linebacker named Myles Williams, pronounced the same with the Y in the latter being only distinguishing factor.

Reese looks like he might make a name for himself at Cal. He worked with the first-team defense at one outside linebacker spot during the first part of the Bears’ spring workouts, although returning starter Xavier Carlton is sitting out spring ball with an injury.

“He’s a versatile edge player,” Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said of Reese. “He’s strong at the point of attack and around the quarterback a lot.”

Cal could certainly use a pass-rusher since the Bears recorded just 19 sacks in 2022. But Reese says his biggest contribution might come off the field.

“When people ask me a question like that, it’s easy to talk about on the field, but I feel like it’s more what you do off the field that translates on the field," he said. "If you have a group of guys who don’t really know anything about each other, don’t have any kind of relationship, it’s hard to play with someone on the field, it’s hard to be one unit on the field.”

Reese says his contribution is “genuine love.”

Reese played in just 20 games, with no starts, in his five injury-impacted seasons at Florida. He missed the 2019 season because of an Achilles injury and sat out the 2021 season because of an injury sustained in 2021 spring drills. He says he’s 100% healthy now, and despite being a freshman in 2018, he has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Reese will see how things play out before deciding whether he will play at Cal in 2024.

“Would I love to achieve my goal of playing at the next level? Yes sir, but I’m not in a rush,” he said.

And he seems perfectly comfortable in Berkeley, thousands of miles from his home in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Cal seldom gets players from the state of Florida, but the transfer portal has altered the regional aspect of recruiting.

“Once these players come through the portal, it’s about opportunity and the right fit,” Sirmon said. “The regionalness or kind of where you’re at, I think at that point, you understand what’s important to you, and sometimes it’s not what was important to you the first go-round.”

After Reese was contacted by Cal, he and his mother came out to Berkeley for a visit, and both loved it.

“I’m old enough to know what to do with my own life,” he said.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport