After some initial debate, it appears as if Watkins Memorial High School football player Reno Reda will be groomed to play offensive tackle at Kent State.

“They want me to be get big and get big fast,” the 6-foot-6, 250-pound senior said after signing his letter of intent during a ceremony in the school’s auditorium Feb. 1. “When I talked with their tight-end coach he wanted me to stay about the same (weight), but the offensive line coach and (head) coach (Darrell) Hazell want me to bulk up.”

Hazell, a former assistant at Ohio State, landed 25 players on national signing day. They included Pickerington Central defensive end Jake Kincaid, a former Watkins Memorial player, and DeSales wide receiver Charles Chandler. Reda is one of 20 players who were team captains in their final prep season.

“He’s very large with long arms,” Hazell said of Reda while talking with reporters in Kent. “He É could easily slip into the left-tackle spot because his feet are so good. He’s got such great leverage, strength, range and power.”

Playing left tackle at Watkins Memorial as well as defensive end and tight end, Reda helped spring junior running back Brenden Kemp to a 1,000-yard season last fall and 31 rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons. Reda made Division II third-team all-state and first-team all-district last fall, and he totaled 70 tackles with eight sacks as a junior.

The Golden Flashes finished 5-7 overall in 2011, but won four of their final five games.

“Today’s a great day for Kent State University,” Hazell, a second-year coach, said of a recruiting class that includes three other offensive linemen in 6-4, 260-pound Alex Nielson of Elyria Catholic, 6-4, 265-pound Tad France of Elyria and 6-5, 283-pound Jake Witucki of Natrona Heights, Pa. “These guys have impeccable character, and (they) can bring this university a championship team.”

Warriors coach Jeff Severino also pointed out that Reda, who has a 3.9 grade-point average, is more than just a football player.

“He has the skill set to be successful in whatever he does,” Severino said. “His goal is to be a doctor and go to medical school. I know one day we’ll be calling him, ‘Dr. Reda.’”

Aside from tackling a list of workouts assigned by the Kent State coaching staff in the coming weeks, Reda also will be preparing to play his final baseball season. A corner infielder, he turned down multiple Division I scholarship offers to play that sport.

“The Toledo and Akron coaches knew I was committed (to Kent State in football since December), but they tried to be persuasive,” Reda said with a laugh. “I will play baseball (in the spring). I’ve been playing baseball longer than football. It’s still a passion.”

Reda will play in the Ohio North-South Classic in April, and he said he also would participate in the Licking County-Muskingum Valley All-Star Football Game in July.

He is the first football player from Watkins Memorial to sign with an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) college since quarterback A.J. Sager in 1983. Sager played at Toledo from 1983-86 and baseball for the Rockets from 1987-88. He later spent five seasons as a pitcher in the major leagues during the 1990s.

Reda’s father, Sam, who lettered as an offensive line at Ohio University from 1981-83, pointed out during his son’s signing ceremony that such opportunities are possible if a student is willing to put in the time. He left the crowd of nearly 150 well-wishers, which included members of the school’s football and baseball teams, with a bit of advice.

“Have fun all of you out there,” Sam Reda said. “But when you’re at work, do it the right way.”