Editor’s Note: Next in line for the THN new player profiles, is safety Reed Doughty.
College: Northern Colorado
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 210
Born: 11-04-82
Experience: R
Drafted / Acquired: 6th Round (173 overall) – ‘06
Number: 23
Next up in THN’s player profiles is a player who as a rookie was the only defensive player singled out in his first mini-camp by Coach Greg Williams. “He can’t stand to make a mistake. He has been an over-achiever his whole life.” Doughty was the nation’s top vote getter for first-team Academic All-America honors and one of 16 finalists for the Draddy Trophy, known as the “Academic Heisman.” “He is very bright and he is extremely prideful”, Williams told Gary Fitzgerald in a Redskins.com article. Doughty is the first-ever three-time Academic All-American at Northern Colorado with a perfect 4.0 in sport and exercise science. Think he and Archuleta will get along?
In that same article, Williams continued, “The thing he is going to have to do in training camp, because he has really impressed us, is slow his heartbeat down. He wants it so bad that sometimes he gets paralysis of over-analyzing things. I will tell you this – in the last 7-10 days he has made great strides. Once the pads go on, I see him as a DB who will be better than he is without the pads.”
That’s some praise coming from Coach Williams. It’s the Redskin fan’s heartbeats that are going to have to be slowed down when they consider adding this smart and solid coverage safety under-study to an already premier defensive backfield and improving special teams units. Besides the coaching benefits of Williams and Jerry Gray, consider the benefit of training and playing in a secondary that includes the likes of a Springs, Archuleta, Taylor and Rogers.
Doughty attended Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, Colorado. After redshirting the 2001 season at the University of Northern Colorado, he went on to start 13 of 14 games in 2002 and led his team in tackles with 104 (53 solo) and interceptions (four). His sophomore and junior campaigns were just as stellar. During his senior season (2005), Reed led all Division 1-AA players with 159 tackles (76 solo) and recorded 10 or more tackles in 10 of 11 games. He finished the season with four picks, eight deflections, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Just to prove how smart he is, Reed went out and chose Hog lineage in Dave Butz II as his agent.
– Frank Hastings
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Frank Hastings