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Show Sporfstacular Pap 10 Thursday. November 1 . 1 979 Quietly but steadily, Weber States Stuart Reuter is making it big with the Weber State Wildcat football team. He may not ever play in the Blue Bonnett Bowl like his older brotherRay did back in 1969, but the Wildcat coaching staff is mighty glad that Stuart is on their ... side. Reuter has been a journeyman on the line seeing duty on both the defensive and offensive side of things. With the injuries that have crippled the Wildcat team the past few weeks, its nice to have someone to turn to that isnt going to let you down. And thats where Stuart fits in. Stuart, who never played in an organized football game until his freshmen year at College Park High School in California, hasnt done all that bad when considering the entire story. ; As a freshman at Weber, Stuart was credited with a dozen tackles while playing defense. Coaches have felt confident that Stuart adds strength and maturity wherever they decide to play him. It just appears that where ever Stuart goes, things only seem : to get gradually better. It all stems back to his high school career when varsity team won only one game when he was a sophomore. As a junior with the team, they won three games and finally as a senior, College Park was ranked as the top Bay Area team after going undefeated. "That had to be one of the highlights of my athletic career is the time we went undefeated, said Stuart. . "As a high school player, my coaches there, Tim Ryan, Albert Tado and the others treated the players like men. It was like playing college football in high school. Ill never forget those coaches and the experiences that we had, he said. Following his senior year, honors and awards streamlined their way toward Stuart including the opportunity to play in a special high school bowl game that featured many of Californias top players. It was Coach Pete Riehlman who made the visit to College Park High School to recruit Stuart "I remember after Coach Riehlman left that first day, I had to turn and ask one of my high school coaches where Weber State was again, said Stuart The recruiting war was on. Just before it was time to t, Stuart thought for sure hed sign a develop an ulcer worrying about where to play the sport he loved. My father died when I was in the fifth grade so I always looked toward my older brother Ray for advise. He told me that I could either play at a smaller college and have fun or go to a larger school and just be a number. "Coach Riehlman said it would be a challenge to come to Weber State, because the program was new. I liked what I saw in my recruiting trip and I liked the challenge Coach Riehlman talked about, so I decided to spend my college career at Weber State, he said. But oh how the bottom fell out once he got here. I dont think Ive ever had a worse year than my freshman year. Id never been away from home for more than two weeks at a time and Camp Williams was no easy place to start out, said Reuter who now sits back and laughs at his past, "Homesickness caused me to lose 25 pounds. It wasnt long before I was getting knocked around that I decided to do something about it. As a freshman, Stuart was to see action very sparingly at middle linebacker. Playing behind allconference selection, Tim Evans is not anyone's favorite place to be You can do a lot of watching from a place like that. As a sophomore Coach Reihlman approached Stuart about playing a down lineman position because of several key injuries. "Id never played a lineman position in my life. After talking to the coaches, my brother and gaining some extra weight, I made an attempt and I thought I did pretty good, he said. After his sophomore season at Weber, Stuart had to let his coaches know that defense was his position. Spring football was a trial to see how well he could adapt to a defensive line slot "J did alright but I had problems with positioning my feet and that wasnt pleasing to the coaches, said Stuart He went home that summer not as happy as in the past. It was time to make a decision whether to continue to play or not to play. I came back this bill and the coaches offered to send me to a smaller school But I told them my education here was more important and if I could help the team in anyway. I would like to stay, said Reuter. He did stick it out, thanks to the presence of Coach Rich Looez, who Stuart-creditas the one who has changed Ns college career around. "Coach Lopes honestly knows what he is doing md has given me confidence that 1 can do well again, he said. Against BYU earlier in the season, Reuter played well enough lo be recognized as one of the best Wildcat performers. My job is to continue to help this team in any way that I can. I wouldn't have it any other way, concluded Stuart. letter-of-inten- s WIXSS STATI COACH IS 1 979 grid season. Router are confident that Stuart Router provides them with solid depth to continue tho is from Ploosont Hill, Colifomia. |
