Isaiah Reese Makes History as First New Hampshire Player Selected for Under Armour All-America Game

Phillips Exeter's standout linebacker and Virginia commit showcases versatility and excellence, earning a spot among the nation's top high school football players
Phillips Exeter Academy's Isaiah Reese became the first New Hampshire football player selected to play in the Under Armour Football All-American game.
Phillips Exeter Academy's Isaiah Reese became the first New Hampshire football player selected to play in the Under Armour Football All-American game. / Roger Brown

Phillips Exeter Academy football coach Panos Voulgaris described Isaiah Reese as a unique athlete, and it’s an accurate description. In fact, in at least one regard, Reese is one of a kind.

Reese, a Gilford resident, found out earlier this month that he was chosen to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game, which will be played Jan. 2 in Deland, Fla. The event features many of the top high school football players in the nation, and Reese is the first player from New Hampshire ever selected. 

“He was very excited,” Voulgaris said. “He was honored to be grouped with the type of players that he’s going to be playing with and against in this game. He’s the type of kid who deflects a lot of personal attention and is the type of person who’s thankful for having great teammates and coaches to put him in this position. That’s who Isaiah is.”

Reese, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker, spent three years at Gilford High School, where he was a standout in both basketball and football. He transferred to Phillips Exeter for the 2023-24 season and repeated his junior year. He played both basketball and football for Phillips Exeter last year, but is not playing basketball this season.

“Going out there and getting to compete with the best players in the country, that’s all I needed to get excited,” Reese said. “Being from a small town in New Hampshire and being selected to play in this was absurd to me. I’m going to be sweating a lot. I’m not used to that Florida weather.”

Reese, who will turn 19 on Monday, has signed a national letter of intent to continue his football career at Virginia. He said he had more than 10 Division I scholarship offers and narrowed his choice to Boston College and Virginia before he made his decision. Virginia became his top choice, Reese said, soon after Jeff Hafley resigned as BC’s head coach to join the Green Bay Packers coaching staff.

“Once Coach Hafley (resigned)  they kind of stopped recruiting me,” Reese said. “They’re similar programs. I would rather go to a school that wanted me more and I had a better relationship with rather than just going somewhere because I’m closer. I really liked the culture at Virginia.

“Football has always been my passion. I grew up in a basketball family, though, so I didn’t know I wanted to play football in college until my sophomore year.”

Phillips Exeter finished with an 8-1 record last season, when it beat Avon Old Farms 56-28 in the NEPSACs Drew Gamere Bowl. Reese was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the 2024 season.

Ethan Reese - Phillips Exeter Academy
Ethan Reese will be in Florida on Jan. 2 to represent Phillips Exeter Academy as the first New Hampshire high school football player to ever play in the Under Armour All-American Game. / Roger Brown

Cody Szymansky (Salem), J.J. Bright (Amherst), Tav Fenderson (Hudson) and Amari Lewis (Nottingham) are among the other New Hampshire residents who were significant contributors for Phillips Exeter last season.

Voulgaris, who will be among the assistant coaches for this year’s UA All-America Game, said one of Reese’s strengths is his versatility.

“He can play all three levels on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “He’s played safety. He’s played outside linebacker. He’s played nickel. He’s played inside linebacker. He’s played the edge, defensive end. That’s what makes him so difficult to play against – you don’t know where he’s going to line up.

“And then offensively he lined up as a Wildcat quarterback. He’s lined up as a running back, as a tight end, as an H-Back, as a wide receiver, as a slot receiver. So he’s the type of athlete who can line up anywhere on the football field on either side of the ball.

“I’m fully confident he will fit in. He will do a great job. I’ve coached in the game for a number of years and Isaiah is right there with the level of athletes that are chosen to play in this game.”


Published
Roger Brown
ROGER BROWN

Roger Brown is a University of Maine graduate who has been a professional sportswriter since 1993. He has worked for several New Hampshire newspapers and has also covered high school sports for ESPN and MaxPreps. He publishes the New Hampshire Football Report and New Hampshire Hardball.