Gabe Reid has returned to the state of Utah — a place where he has longstanding family ties.
And he’s joined a program at the University of Utah that will allow him to chase opposing quarterbacks and a program that he is hoping to help capture another Pac-12 championship.
After spending the past four seasons at Stanford as a linebacker, the 6-foot, 247-pound senior is now a defensive end at Utah.
For his final season of college football, Reid joins his younger brother, Karene Reid, a linebacker, on the Ute defense.
“I would say it’s home. That’s the first thing, just being able to come home and play with my brother,” Gabe said of his transfer from Stanford to Utah. “But Utah as a program, I really love that they’re defensive-minded.
“They’re known for playing tough, gritty defense. Rushing the passer while getting after the quarterback is something that I pride myself on. That’s something I definitely want to showcase in my last year of college football.”
At Stanford, Gabe played in 42 games with 24 starts. He tallied 167 total tackles from 2018-21.
In 2021, he recorded a career-high 10 tackles against Arizona State and had his first career interception against Oregon. He was a Pac-12 All-Academic in 2018.
Gabe and Karene are the sons of Spencer and Marieta Reid. Spencer played at BYU, as did Gabe and Karene’s uncles Gabe and Adney. Meanwhile, their uncle Jared played at Utah State and another uncle, Gordon, played at Southern Utah.
Gabe, who hails from American Fork, played at Timpview High under Cary Whittingham, the brother of Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.
“Looking back at it, had I not committed to Stanford, I would have come here to Utah,” Gabe said. “It’s kind of cool that it’s been able to come full circle, to have myself end up back here and playing with my brother.”
Karene has been helpful in Gabe’s acclimation to Utah football.
“He’s been able to give me the inside scoop and the rundown of things,” Gabe said. “I wouldn’t say I came into it completely blind. That’s been nice.”
Gabe is adjusting to a somewhat new position on the defensive side.
“From the few practices that we’ve had from my exposure to the playbook, I think it’s a lot more playing fast,” he said.
“Defensive end compared to outside linebacker, there’s a lot more dropping and understanding route concepts. ... Here, dropping is more secondary to getting after the quarterback, which I’m excited about.”
For his final campaign of college football, Gabe is confident about what will happen with the Utes.
“From the season last year that this team had, the sky’s the limit,” he said. “I definitely see us repeating as Pac-12 champions and going on from there. I’m excited about it.”