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Colby Reeder has emerged as one of the top linebacker prospects in the transfer portal, making the Delaware linebackers visit to Rutgers football over this weekend a significant one for the Scarlet Knights.
Having played for Delaware at Rutgers in Week 3, Reeder already had some background on the program. But he went into the weekend with what he says is a “business trip” mentality to understand the coaching staff and scheme at Rutgers to see how they can best prepare him for what he hopes will be one more season of college football before the NFL Draft.
“Rutgers is one of my top choices definitely being close to home and good coaches and good program. So, I figured I’d take the short trip up there this weekend, check out what they had to offer,” Reeder told ‘Rutgers Wire’ on Sunday.
“And I thought went well. I thought the coaches were really awesome. They spent a lot of time with me, got to have a few sit downs and film sessions. Give me a whole tour of the facility and everything and it went really well. And I was really pleased for what they had to offer and what they had to tell me and everything.”
In the mid-September game against Rutgers, Reeder had seven tackles and was flying all over the field, trying to make plays. He finished his season with 44 tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception and a pass defended in six games played.
Coming out of high school, Reeder chose Delaware due to proximity to his family. Now, he says, location and proximity are nice but not the most important factor.
At Rutgers, his primary recruiter is Joe Susan, with whom their relationship has several layers. Not only did Susan play his college football at Delaware, but when Reeder was in high school, it was Susan who as head coach at Bucknell gave him his first offer.
Reeder called Susan “an awesome guy.”
On the trip, the transfer portal linebacker got to quickly see Willie Tyler, an offensive lineman who made his official visit over this weekend as well. Tyler is another priority for Rutgers out of the transfer portal.
As for the rest of his schedule, Reeder is hoping to make his decision over the next couple of weeks. He plans to visit Iowa State this weekend and maybe do one other visit midweek before making his choice. The hope is to accelerate things, he says, so he can get into the playbook before January.
“It did take a jump off. Really just from the coaches’ standpoint, I knew that their facilities were going to be nice, better than I’m used to coming from an FCS school.
“I knew their stadium and their equipment were going to be much prettier than I’m used to but just the knowledge of the game really, really surprised me – of how knowledgeable and how much wisdom they have to offer. I was just generally impressed by what they had to say and what they thought I had to work on.”
On Saturday, Reeder had lunch with quarterback Noah Vedral. He found it funny considering that just a couple months ago, the two shared a field and Reeder “was trying to hit him.”