Successful conversion: Rose-Hulman's Reives arrived in Terre Haute as track/soccer athlete

By Dennis Clark
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE September 28, 2007 12:01 am

— Most recruiting by college football coaches occurs when prospective student-athletes are attending high school.
But that was not the case with Rose-Hulman’s versatile “secret weapon” in now-senior wide receiver, kickoff returner, punter and occasional passer Thomas Reives.
Reives matriculated to Rose after a prep career as a soccer player and track standout at Indianapolis Arsenal Tech High School. His only prep football experience was as Tech’s punter.
“I coached Thomas in high jump when I was an assistant track coach his freshman year,” recalled Rose football coach Steve Englehart. “I talked him into coming out for football as a sophomore.”
“[Englehart] came out and talked to me at a couple of my track meets [as a freshman] kind of hung out with me, supported me,” was Reives’ recollection. “We’d talked about football. At the time I wasn’t playing all that much with soccer so he said come give football a try. He thought I had some good potential. I came out [for football] the fall after that.”
While it would be very Hollywood to say Reives was an instant success, that was not the case.
“I was learning to play wide receiver my sophomore year … didn’t play that much that year at all,” he chuckled. Reives didn’t punt that year either due to an incumbent ahead of him.
But when the regular punter graduated after Reives’ sophomore season, he reminded Englehart he punted in high school. So as a junior, he assumed the full-time role as the Engineers’ punter. Reives averaged 34.2 yards a punt last year, a long of 59, including three touchbacks, 11 fair catches, a dozen inside the 20 and none blocked. He was also twice named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference special teams player of the week.
As a wide receiver, he didn’t play much except for being a deep threat — using his sprinter’s speed. He caught just five passes, but averaged over 30 yards a catch including his only touchdown, a scoring play covering 70 yards.
Reives said of his junior season, “I was punting full time. Trying to work my way in [at wide receiver] watching some of the guys out there that had been playing wide receiver and were good at it.”
But Reives is enjoying a breakout season thus far as a senior. He has already doubled his receptions (10), good for 228 yards and a pair of long touchdown pass receptions (67 and 50 yards) — both against North Park on Saturday. Reives has also assumed the kickoff return duties for Rose this year, including a 98-yard touchdown return at Mount St. Joseph on Sept. 8. He also completed a 20-yard pass to running back Tim Schrock in the MSJ game.
As a punter, Reives is averaging 35.8 yards a punt this season. He did not punt due to an ankle injury against North Park, but was hopeful of resuming that duty in their homecoming game against Hanover on Saturday.
Englehart — who admitted he probably erred in not allowing Reives to be more than a just a long-ball threat as a junior — added, “He has really come on this year, really worked on being more than a deep threat. He has expanded his game and runs all the routes we ask.”
“I want to be a receiver,” Reives echoed. “Not just someone that will get out there to get a couple of shots a game and if you didn’t catch it then they thought the world was over.”
Playing a more complete receiver role this year has also brought on more physical contact for the slender Reives (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) to absorb, adding, “I worked out with my cousin all summer, got a lot stronger in the weight room. Haven’t put on a lot of weight, but mentally I’m more prepared and physically I’m able to take a lot more hits than I was.”
Reives has been extremely versatile in track and field for Rose as well, competing in the triple jump (first place, 42-feet, 11-inches), high jump (second, 6-4), 100 (fifth, 11.43 seconds) and the third leg of the 4x100 relay (second) at the HCAC championships during the spring. He also earned the high jump title in 2006 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
He also leaped a career-best 6-7 1/2 in the high jump, placing 13th nationally at last year’s NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, just missing the qualifying standard for the indoor nationals by less than 1/2 inch. He also holds the indoor school mark in the 60-meter dash (7.20 seconds).
“I don’t work on track when I work on football,” Reives stated. “Football is a good conditioning sport for me. I probably get in better shape [for track] than I would over the summer by playing football.”
Last but not least, Reives is outstanding and versatile as well in the classroom with a 3.97 grade point average in mechanical engineering.
“I had a B-plus in Calc[ulus] I and also in Intro to Design … two hardest courses here at Rose-Hulman. Both in my freshman year,” he laughed about his only two classes not being an A.
As for his future, Reives said, “After this year I think I’ll be done with athletics unless I play pickup games with friends or get involved in a men’s league at work or something like that. It’s been a great time, but I think this is the end of the road for me. It’s kind of sad I guess.
“I’ve received a couple of [job] offers from different companies. I plan on going to work when I graduate in May. And then at some point going back and getting my MBA.”

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