Bodie Reeder: From Freshman Fumble to Hall of Fame Glory at Mahomet-Seymour
M-S 2024 Hall of Fame class
Bodie Reeder, Class of 2005
Tom Shallenberger, Class of 1978
Dick Watkins, Teacher 1973-2006
Induction date: Friday, Sept. 20 vs. Charleston
By FRED KRONER
Bodie Reeder knew his high school athletic career at Mahomet-Seymour had to end better than it started.
The very first varsity pass he attempted for the M-S football team was intercepted.
And returned for a touchdown by an Effingham player.
The fact that his very first pass was thrown during his freshman season provided an indication of his abilities and capabilities.
Reeder was not only a four-year starter in football, but also a four-year starter in baseball as well as a two-year basketball letterman.
He is part of a four-member group that will be enshrined in the Mahomet-Seymour Schools Foundation Hall of Fame as part of the homecoming ceremonies in September.
The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be the seventh one inducted by the district.
In between Reeder’s first varsity game, in August of 2001 with football and his final varsity contest, in May of 2005 in baseball, he made a name for himself in multiple sports.
By the time he graduated, Reeder owned every passing record at the school: career yards (6,295), career passing TDs (67), career completions (412), season passing yards (2,342), season passing TDs (20) and season completions (147).
His career passing yards ranked fifth on the all-time IHSA records’ list after his final high school game.
In baseball, Reeder was a three-time all-conference first-team selection and an All-Area first-teamer by The News-Gazette as a junior when he hit .404 and struck out 42 batters in 35 1/3 innings.
The Reeder family moved to Mahomet from Evansville, Ind., when Bodie was going into eighth grade.
He already had a well-established list of sporting priorities.
“Baseball was always my favorite, for as long as I can remember,” Reeder said. “Maybe because I played so much when I was younger, football kind of took over when I got to high school.”
Reeder earned 10 varsity letters for the Bulldogs. He said there was one reason why he was able to contribute so early in his prep career.
“Part of it is that I hit a growth spurt early and always was one of the bigger kids,” said Reeder. “I was big enough physically (as a freshman).”
He didn’t grow much physically during his time as a Bulldog and was 6-foot, 208 pounds as a senior.
“I’ve been the same height since seventh grade,” he said.
Having the early size gave Reeder the chance, but the true key was the athletes who were his teammates.
“The older guys were awesome,” Reeder said. “Guys like Casey Donovan, Dan McClughen, Joe Sapp and Nate Klinker allowed me to come in and play.
“They didn’t treat me as a freshman.”
Klinker’s acceptance, in particular, was paramount. He was also a quarterback and a senior when Reeder made his starting debut.
“He played all over the field and his value all over allowed me to play quarterback,” Reeder said.
He used an analogy to illustrate the difference between playing varsity football as a freshman and as a senior.
“Your first game as a starter, regardless of the level, is like stepping on an interstate with cars whizzing by,” Reeder said. “You’re trying to survive and make it across the road.
“As a senior, you can see the gaps and see your way across the road.”
In retrospect, Reeder evaluates his five years in Mahomet as an up-and-down time.
“I had a pretty live arm, and that gave me an advantage,” he said. “I was probably above average as an eighth-grader, but way below average as a freshman.
“By the time I was a senior, I was probably above average.”
Two games into his high school career, Reeder had more on his mind than the pick-six he threw in his varsity debut.
Terrorist attacks, that included the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, took place on Sept 11, 2001.
“I was in freshman study hall when we got news the attacks happened,” Reeder said. “That was before news flies around like it does now.
“Football became an afterthought. I was so scared. Were we going to war? Would this (the bombings) continue? It took you back to what was important, family.”
M-S assistant football coach Steve Kreps, who had 20-plus years in the Air Force, helped alleviate the concerns of Reeder and his teammates.
“He said that football can give us a sense of normalcy,” Reeder said, “that this is what we can worry about.”
Added Kreps: “We used it (football) as a platform to get through (the uncertainty).”
Kreps worked at Rich South High School when Reeder’s brother Duce played there prior to transferring to Evansville, Ind. Kreps and Jerry Reeder (the boys’ father) worked together at the UI, also.
Kreps got to know Bodie before he became a Bulldog.
“When they were down at Evansville, Bodie came up here for a basketball camp at Centennial,” Kreps said. “He didn’t have anything to do the rest of the day, so I gave him my garage door opener and he spent the afternoon at my house.
“We knew he was an athlete, but I knew him more as a baseball player first.”
Kreps was a football assistant at M-S for a quarter of a century and recalls what set Bodie Reeder apart from others as a ninth-grader.
“He knew the game,” Kreps said. “He and his dad did film work together. His dad taught him very well.
“He threw very well and was a pretty good leader as a freshman. He won the quarterback job and got better and better year after year.”
Unlike some high school superstars, Reeder was well-grounded.
“He never thought of himself as better than the rest,” Kreps said. “He was always very kind and didn’t forget people.”
Even when Reeder was a teen-ager, Kreps believed he saw a potential coach in the making.
“He worked our (summer) camps and was great with the younger kids,” Kreps said. “There was no doubt in my mind he could be a coach.”
M-S was 28-13 in football during Reeder’s four years under center. The varsity coach was Tom Shallenberger, who is also a member of the M-S Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
“Not many freshmen are physically ready, especially at quarterback,” Shallenberger said. “He was mature for his age and was physically and mentally ready.
“He comes from an athletic background and was very knowledgeable. He knows the game.”
Reeder spent the summer leading into his freshman year with the varsity athletes in football.
“Coach Shallenberger allowed me to lift, throw and practice with them during summer training,” Reeder said. “Coach Shallenberger is one of the best coaches I’ve been around.”
Even memories with his coach that weren’t pleasant were significant and provided lessons he carries with him to this day.
“I was starting quarterback as a freshman and thought I was on top of the world,” Reeder said. “He brought me down to Earth.
“I got sacked one time and went to say something to the offensive line. He grabbed me and said, ‘Don’t talk to the offensive linemen. They have their own battles.’
“He was good for me. He deserves this (Hall of Fame induction) a lot more than me. By my senior year, I knew how to approach guys.”
Reeder mostly remembers the joy and enjoyment from his years at M-S.
“I was truly blessed with the experiences I had,” Reeder said. “My teammates were phenomenal.
“We had a bunch of three-sport athletes and I played alongside some of my best friends. We had great athletes in my class. Kyle Schutte and Guy Williamson were tremendous football players. They made playing quarterback easy.”
Among the people who had an influence on Reeder was one of his eighth-grade basketball coaches, the late Terry Greene.
“He took me under his wing and was so awesome with young men,” Reeder said. “He was a good role model and knew a lot about a lot of different things, politics, sports and the world.
“My experience in junior high set the stage for my success in high school.
“When we moved to Mahomet, football was a big deal. I enjoyed the physicality and wearing the shoulder pads. I liked the pressure part of it.
“Football is the greatest team game because it takes all 11 at the same time. In basketball, if you have a dominant player, you have the opportunity to win and the same in baseball with a great pitcher.
“The team aspect appealed to me.”
Reeder missed basketball as a senior after suffering a broken thumb in the season-ending football loss to Quincy Notre Dame.
“I didn’t feel I could be back in time,” Reeder said. “I thought we would have a pretty good season in baseball. In basketball, there were three (returning) players who were all my position, Jason Seaman, Ben Davis and Jared Bosch, and they were all way better than me.
“A better decision was for me to get healthy (and ready for baseball).”
The irony is that Reeder will never forget the QND player who was involved with his injury.
“I hit my thumb on Trevor Frerichs’ helmet,” Reeder said. “We both (later) transferred to EIU, and he was in my wedding (in 2017).”
The Bulldogs finished the baseball season with a 29-6 record in Reeder’s senior year. He batted .390 and pounded seven home runs to go with 42 runs batted in.
The 29-win season stood as a school record in baseball for nearly two decades until the 2023 M-S squad registered 31 wins.
Reeder’s brother, Duce, played collegiate football as a quarterback at Vanderbilt and his father, Jerry, was a coach and athletic director at Reitz High School, in Evansville, Ind.
Whether he knew it or not at the time, Bodie Reeder was preparing for his future while in grade school.
“Some of my memories from elementary school were driving to watch him play in the SEC and taking in those environments,” Bodie Reeder said, “and talking about the game with my dad.
“That’s why coaching appealed to me. I enjoyed the schematic part, the X’s and O’s, as much as the running and jumping.”
After graduating from M-S, Bodie Reeder played football at both Wyoming and Eastern Illinois University. During 30 games at EIU between 2006-09, he passed for 3,741 yards (ninth all-time when he graduated) and 23 TDs. He started 21 games for the Panthers and completed 356 passes.
He immediately entered coaching at the collegiate level, spending the 2010 season as a graduate assistant at EIU.
In the 14 years that followed, Reeder has been an assistant coach at universities in eight different states.
–2011-13, offensive coordinator at Wisconsin Stout;
–2014-16, offensive quality control coach at Oklahoma State;
–2017-18, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Washington;
–2019, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and calling the plays at North Texas State;
–2020, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utah State;
–2021, offensive analyst at Auburn and interim quarterbacks coach for the bowl game;
–2022-23, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa;
–2024, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Middle Tennessee State.
Reeder has gained a reputation for his knowledge of the game.
“He is on the cutting edge of offensive football,” said Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
The key, Reeder said, is to study the game and understand what works and why it works. He tries to keep it simple.
“I view offense as close to basketball as you can get,” he said. “There are five eligible players on each snap, six with the quarterback.
“That creates a true balance. Spreading the ball around to eligible players creates a buy-in. The quarterback makes checks at the line of scrimmage. I study the NFL and implement it so college guys can understand.”
As he and his family (which includes his wife, Ashley, son Crew and daughter Vaeda) cris-cross the country for various coaching opportunities, there have been both highlights and lowlights, starting with the year at spent at EIU.
“Coach (Bob) Spoo asked me to stay on,” Reeder said. “I went to defense. You think you know a lot, but that was like learning all over again.
“That was my most formative year in coaching.”
His year at Utah State was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the death (and subsequent riots) of George Floyd.
“Coach (Gary) Andersen sent the guys home (in the fall of 2020),” Reeder said. “We didn’t know if we would play. He said you’ll be safer with your parents.
“Two weeks before our first game, the AD called us back. Three games into the season, the coach was fired (following an 0-3 start). I coached in three games.”
Reeder has repeatedly uprooted himself and his family as he tries to position himself for his long-term goal.
“I want to be a head coach,” he said. “I was the runner-up a couple of times. I thought I was close at EIU.
“The next step is to be a head coach.”
There is another first, besides seeking a head coaching job, which has yet to happen. Reeder has not yet recruited a player from his high school alma mater.
“For whatever reason, the places the job has taken me, Illinois is not an area we recruit heavily,” he said.
That likely won’t change while he is at Middle Tennessee State, in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
“In our location by Nashville (which is 35 miles away), we’re about three hours from Atlanta, Memphis and Birmingham,” Reeder said.
The most important part of the coaching journey is finding the perfect partner.
“You’ll be as successful as your wife allows you to be,” Reeder said. “It’s extremely taxing on her.”
The couple met when Bodie Reeder was at Wisconsin Stout. Ashley wasn’t big into football then, but now, “she’s a raving fan,” Bodie Reeder said.
When he is asked by his players about pursuing a career in coaching, Reeder makes sure they understand the big picture and what the job entails.
“I tell my players who want to get into coaching, they have to love it,” Reeder said. “It’s so time-consuming, it’s not something you can dip your toe into.
“You’re married to the game at times. There used to be designated dead periods for recruiting.
“Now if you’re not recruiting high school players, you’re recruiting the transfer portal or you’re recruiting your current players to stay. The recruiting part has taken off and there’s no stopping it.”
Reeder’s commitment to one phase of offensive football was in evidence when the middle name was chosen for his son, Crew.
“My son’s middle name is Pass,” said Reeder, who then noted the initials. “CPR.”
Reeder is hopeful – but uncertain – about attending the induction ceremony at Mahomet. Middle Tennessee State plays host to Duke for a Saturday night (Sept. 21) football game, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
“It’s a huge honor,” Reeder said.
His family moved to Ivesdale after he graduated from high school, and there haven’t been many opportunities for Bodie to get back to Mahomet.
“Unfortunately, life takes off and I haven’t really been back,” Reeder said. “Coaching takes you all over the country, but it doesn’t take you back home.”
He’s not totally out of touch with former classmates.
“There’s a lot on social media,” Reeder said. “I’ve watched people get married and have kids.
“I feel like I’ve stayed in touch, but it’s not the same.”
