Player Countdown: No. 9 RB Orville Reynolds

Hard to believe that we are in single digits in our BSD player countdown. After two more today we will have one player a day until we get to our No. 1 player next Thursday (AKA opening night). Running back Orville Reynolds is the number 9 player in the countdown, and he will need to be a good player for the Deacs if the running game is expected to be any better than last season.

As hard as it is to believe that the football season starts a week from tonight, it is almost harder to believe that Reynolds is a senior. It feels like only a year ago that we burned his redshirt against Notre Dame in week nine of 2011.

He hails from Coral Springs, FL, where he attended Stoneman Douglas High School. It bears noting that the official Wake Forest website has him running a 4.2 40 in high school. While I do not believe that for a second, he is a very speedy back.

Last year Reynolds played a bit of running back and receiver, where he caught 12 balls for 166 yards and two TD's. He ran 9 times for 36 yards. This year he will likely be expected to carry a lot more of the workload from the tailback position, although Dez Wortham, Tyler Henderson and Isaiah Robinson may ease that load a bit with what we have seen in practice.

At 5-9, 175 pounds, Reynolds brings a quick first step out of the backfield to the table. If Coach Clawson and staff can find a way to get him the ball in space then he can be very dangerous. It will be worth watching how, where, and when we get that done. I would expect a fair amount of swings/tosses to him to see if he can get to the outside, where he can avoid the big hits and showcase his wheels.