Position switch has Pearson pumped for what he can do in '22
Reggie Pearson, in his first year on the Texas Tech football team, proved he was the same player he was before he reluctantly sat out the 2020 season at Wisconsin. Pearson averaged more snaps per game than any other Red Raider on defense, and when he missed a couple of games while injured, the effects were readily apparent to then-Tech defensive coordinator Keith Patterson.
Pearson's mere presence gave the back end of the defense confidence and cohesion, Patterson said, and when he was out, things went haywire. He missed the TCU and Oklahoma games, when Tech yielded 52 points apiece in blowout losses.
This year, Pearson expects to be even better because of a position shift. He'll be playing boundary safety for new coach Joey McGuire and new DC Tim DeRuyter.
"It suits me perfectly," said the 5-foot-11, 202-pound senior from River Rouge, Michigan. "I've played it before, so I kind of know the ins and outs and stuff like that. It allows me to cover as well as be in the box and tackling as well as be in the post. I'm kind of playing all around the field, so I feel like that best fits me, because I'm able to display everything."
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Pearson made 13 starts and 60 tackles for Wisconsin's 10-win Rose Bowl team in 2019, playing a position that's, in essence, the same as he's ticketed to play this year. He reluctantly left the Badgers program when team medical personnel wouldn't let him play after he was diagnosed in March 2020 with a brain cavernoma, an abnormal cluster of capillaries and tiny blood vessels. He'd never experienced symptoms; his showed up on scans during unrelated medical visits.
Pearson sat out the 2020 season, transferred to Tech and logged 54 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups last season. The Matt Wells' staff had Pearson playing a middle safety that often had him coordinating and covering for players around him.
"Pretty much I was like the help guy," he said. "If somebody would have messed up, I was going to have to fix it. Or I had to make sure everybody else around me was doing their job, and I kind of lost focus on what I needed to do to help my team."
His role in DeRuyter's defense, Pearson believes, will give him more structure. He's enthusiastic about the possibilities.
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"This is my comfort — allowing me to blitz and get after the ball," he said, "as well as showing my cover skills, as well as showing my range from the middle of the field. All around, I feel it was good for me and I'm kind of glad that they (the new staff) came here."
Tech has its first preseason scrimmage on Saturday, though it's fully closed to fans and media. The Red Raiders open the season with a Sept. 3 home game against Murray State.
Pearson is part of one of the most experienced position groups on the team. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson returns at free safety, and Marquis Waters returns from a season-ending injury to play Star, a hybrid position with safety, outside linebacker and slot cornerback responsibilities. Waters has 39 career college starts, Pearson 24 and Taylor-Demerson 12.
"Our safety room is ridiculous," Taylor-Demerson said. "We've got unbelievable talent and experience. ... Once we finally come together and it's all set in stone, it's going to be dangerous."
Pearson started 10 games last season, when he showed his health would not be an issue. He got back on the field, knocked off the rust and regained confidence. Facing Houston in the 2021 season opener, he said, was a challenge, coming after more than a year of down time and only two months' preparation in a new system.
"A lot of people can't do that," he said. "I'm glad that I experienced it and got the chance to knock that (rust) off.
"Now this year, having the confidence, having the mindset, as well as being in a defense that I praise, me personally, I'm looking for a good year."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football's Reggie Pearson pumped about position switch
