BOONE, N.C. – A career-best performance from tight end
Collin Reed didn't result in family bragging rights.
His father, Jon, watched Appalachian State play its 2017 home opener from the Kidd Brewer Stadium stands. Twenty-eight years ago, as a Western Carolina receiver, he finished with 235 yards in a loss to the Mountaineers.
Reed, his 6-foot-3, 248-pound son, recorded three catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns Saturday in a 54-7 victory against Savannah State. He scored on first-half receptions of 68 and 16 yards with his father, who spent time with the Houston Oilers, among the fans in attendance.
"He was at the game, so he was excited about it, but I've got a ways to go," Reed said with a laugh. "I've got to triple it to beat his best one. He had 325 in a (football) game. Hopefully I can get there, but I don't know about that from a tight end compared to a wide receiver."
A week after senior quarterback
Taylor Lamb threw for 128 yards at Georgia, App State's tight ends were part of a breakout performance for the passing game.
Lamb completed 12 of 15 passes for 327 yards and five touchdowns before sitting out the second half against Savannah State. Reed and fellow tight end
Levi Duffield, who had a 57-yard touchdown, accounted for four catches, 163 yards and three scores as the Tigers played their first game of 2017.
"We thought we'd have a shot just based off what they did last year," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "We thought we'd have an opportunity to maybe make some plays. Sometimes you go into games and you're thinking one thing and it just doesn't pan out. Tonight, it panned out for the tight ends.
"The three plays we scored on were three plays we had in specifically this week. We thought we had a chance to get a big play - it just happened that all three scored."
When Duffield reached the end zone in the first quarter, it was the longest reception by an App State tight end since Ben Jorden had a 58-yard catch against Presbyterian in 2008. Reed topped both of those yardage totals with his 68-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
Like Duffield, Reed made his catch near Savannah State's 35-yard line and sprinted the rest of the way. He ran down the seam and was open behind the secondary after the Tigers' defensive backs focused on other threats.
"The long touchdown, I knew it was there," said Reed, a redshirt sophomore from Boiling Springs, S.C. "I was like, 'Please throw me the ball, Taylor. I hope I can run it down, too.' I looked up and saw the safeties and was like, 'This could be a play right here.' I was just thinking, 'Don't get caught.' "
Reed added a sliding touchdown catch in the end zone late in the first half, helping Lamb tie App State's single-game record of five touchdown passes.
Reed entered Saturday's game with five catches for 26 yards and one touchdown in his brief college career. He made one start as a redshirt freshman last year, when he filled in for injured senior
Barrett Burns at Louisiana and scored during a four-catch, 27-yard outing.
With Duffield taking over as a starter this season and former defensive lineman
Devin Papenheim playing meaningful snaps at tight end against Georgia because of his blocking ability, Reed lost 1 yard on his one catch in the loss at Sanford Stadium.
The tight ends had many more chances to contribute to the passing game in the home opener.
"They went and got it today," Lamb said. "The game plan, we had some shots to our tight ends. When you're going through your reads, they were kind of forgetting the tight end, which seems to happen a lot because our guys were blocking a lot, so we slip out.
"They're very involved in our offense, and it was good to get them going."
