nice article from a few months ago:
Zach Reuter holds a handful of major school football records at Rock Bridge and is 17 yards shy of another.
He does not, however, hold one major college scholarship offer.
These things happen. Veteran Bruins Coach A.J. Ofodile has seen it before. But what makes Reuter's situation so befuddling is that this season he's outperforming teammate Alex Ofodile, a junior who has been offered 12 Division I scholarships.
"For one to be a national prospect and the other have no offers is crazy to me," A.J. Ofodile said. "That doesn't downgrade Alex. I think it highlights how big of a miss Zach is."
Reuter has the size — he's a sturdy 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds.
He has the strength — he can clean 300 pounds.
He has the athleticism, running a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and posting a 35-inch vertical jump during the summer camp circuit.
He has the grades — the aspiring engineer took a 4.0 GPA into his senior year.
And on top of all those numbers, he's got some prolific statistics.
In only two seasons as a varsity player, Reuter has set school marks for career receiving yards (2,032) and touchdowns (29).
Entering tomorrow night's Class 6 District 3 championship game at Fort Zumwalt West (8-3), he's caught 60 passes this season for 1,260 yards and 20 touchdowns. Reuter's TD total crushed the previous single-season school mark of 11, and he needs only 17 receiving yards to match Curt Bradley's school record of 1,277 set in 2002.
"There's a ton of guys all over the country that have production," A.J. Ofodile said. "I get when coaches tell me, 'I know he's productive, but this is high school and he doesn't have the measureables.' I get that part, but I don't get this. He has every measurable you could possible want."
Versatility, toughness and endurance are also in Reuter's repertoire. Besides his big-play receiving skills, Reuter also starts on defense — making him a rare two-way standout at the Class 6 level. Leading the secondary at safety, Reuter ranks fourth on the Bruins (6-5) with 58 tackles and is tied for the team lead with two interceptions.
Considering Reuter's value on both sides of the ball, Ofodile went so far as to call him the most indispensable player on his team.
"We don't have answers for him not being there," Ofodile said. "He's played probably 1,400 snaps this year, and that's the most incredible part about what he's doing offensively. At safety you have to go every play at full speed."
Reuter has been playing organized football since the third grade and came to Rock Bridge as a quarterback. Wanting to see early playing time on the junior varsity as a freshman, he moved to receiver and quickly caught onto the position.
Former blue-chip Rock Bridge recruit Logan Gray, in his first year as a Bruins assistant after spending time as a quarterback at Georgia and receiver at Colorado, has seen his share of Division I receivers.
Much like Ofodile, he's not sure what college coaches are waiting for.
"To me, he's a Division I guy without any question," Gray said. "I'm assuming after the year is over and some more colleges get to really reviewing film, they'll see that this guy is a big-time playmaker and should be playing at the Division I level."
Along with his obvious athletic skills, Reuter appears to have another less noticeable trait that has served him best during the recruiting process: patience. With a few high school goals still in front of him, he's not too worried about what lies ahead in college.
"I don't really let it bother me," Reuter said. "I just try to stay focused and do my best. As long as I'm performing, I feel like it will end up working out in the end."
