Huskies Receive Commitment from Mojave Desert Speedster
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Most people trek carefully through the desert, to keep from getting into trouble with the heat, to preserve energy.
Not Keith Reynolds.
For two football seasons now for Adelanto High School, this California kid has been running through the barren Mojave landscape without a care, just looking for the end zone.
He's come up with 77- and 80-yard punt returns for touchdowns. An 89-yard interception return for a score. And 77- and 94-yard runs from scrimmage for TDs.
And now, the 5-foot-9, 170-pound speedster, who might not even be that tall, revealed late Tuesday night that he's committed to the University of Washington as a wide receiver.
Reynolds gives Kalen DeBoer's staff its second player for the Class of 2023. The other is running back Tybo Tylin Rogers, another fairly swift player who plays just 125 miles up the road from Reynolds in Bakersfield.
If there's corresponding trait between these two high schoolers it's their exceptional speed, a must for DeBoer's high-octane offense. And his recruiters found them both within 200 miles of Fresno, his previous coaching stop, which means he had prior knowledge on them for some time.
A 3-star prospect, the diminutive Reynolds also held offers from Grambling State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Idaho State and Fresno State, but he was off the recruiting grid somewhat. For a couple of reasons.
Adelanto is located northeast of Los Angeles on the edge of the Mojave Desert and not easy to reach.
Also, Reynolds' football team finished a lackluster 1-9 — but the Desert Sky League still selected him as its Offensive Player of the Year. He drew their attention as a dual-threat quarterback who alternated at wide receiver. Wherever he lined up, no one could catch him.
He played 15 games over spring and fall seasons in 2021 because of the pandemic, with Adelanto compiling a much more competitive 3-2 record in March and April when he was a sophomore, and Reynolds was dazzling at all times.
Keith Reynolds visited Fresno State last November when Kalen DeBoer was coach.
Fresno State
Besides the aforementioned long runs, Reynolds ran for four touchdowns in a 44-24 spring victory over Granite Hills. Six months later against the same team in the fall, Reynolds rushed for 225 yards and 3 scores and the left-hander passed for 319 yards and 4 scores in a 68-56 defeat. That's 544 yards of total offense in the second outing alone.
DeBoer's recruiters, in fact, invited Reynolds up to Fresno State for a visit on the same November weekend that Husky coach Jimmy Lake got into trouble in Seattle and was eventually fired, ultimately bringing DeBoer north.
And now Reynolds is headed in the same direction.
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