Reynolds rapid recruitment ends with AM commitment

College coaches recruited Tyler Junior College wide receiver Joshua Reynolds with a heightened since of urgency. By the time Reynolds was discovered, he had less than a month to take in offers and decide by Dec. 18. As it turns out, Reynolds did not need anymore time. Thursday afternoon Reynolds committed to Texas A&M.

To the outside world it seemed like an easy decision for Reynolds. He has an A&M offer, family that lives in San Antonio and comes to his games and his roommate at Tyler is former Aggie quarterback Matt Davis.

Although A&M seemed like the obvious decision for the 6-foot-3, 185-pound prospect, by Wednesday evening it had come down to Oregon and Texas A&M.

"I feel like it was God that lead to A&M," Reynolds said. "I just got a good feeling last night during bible study with my team, so I'm going with it."

Both Oregon and Texas A&M had coaches travel to Tyler this week, but the Aggies sent some heavy hitters: receivers coach David Beaty and head coach Kevin Sumlin. Both schools went the extra mile compared to other programs and called Reynolds' mother, Michelle.

"He (Josh) texted me at midnight and said he had decided," Michelle Reynolds said. "Today at school we had trainers and staff waiting for the 'yessssir' and as soon as it happened they texted me."

Ms. Reynolds played college basketball and is now a basketball coach at John Jay High School in San Antonio, where Josh went to high school and was among the best at every sport he took up; basketball, track and football. As a coach Ms. Reynolds wanted to guide Josh on how to make a decision, and not make a decision for him. In doing so she left him with a variety of questions to think about.

"I asked questions like, could you see yourself living there for a couple of years and maybe even a lifetime? What are the facilities like? How important to you is the competition level? Do you feel comfortable with the coaches?" she said. "Oregon is not shy in promoting their Nike uniforms and facilities, so I asked him, 'Could you see yourself enjoying going to Oregon when you look past the cool uniforms and things like that?'"

Reynolds thought about the questions and felt comfortable choosing A&M as his home. Michelle Reynolds also felt comfortable with the Aggies, and said when she spoke with the coaches earlier this week the conversation was enjoyable and it felt like she had an instant bond with both Beaty and Sumlin.

"It was a relaxed and enjoyable conversation," said Ms. Reynolds. "They said they were very interested in my son, and I though it was neat when coach Sumlin told me about his kids. He is like every parent; we all want to talk about our kids. With both coaches the conversations were so relaxed, it was if I had known them my entire life."

Reynolds was a full qualifier out of high school, but decided to go the JUCO route in order to get more looks, a move that paid off. He will enroll at A&M in January and will be classified as a true sophomore. His mother and grandfather, who made it to all but two games at Tyler, will now travel to College Station for the next couple of years.

Reynolds will have four years to play three. Other programs to offer Reynolds included TCU and Boise State.