J’Onre “Big General” Reed was all smiles and laughter in his first interaction with media covering USC spring football practice.
With enthusiasm, he shared the story behind his befitting moniker.
“[It] was cold, it was night, and it was quiet,” Reed said, eagerly retelling the story. “My receiver heard me making calls on the sideline. He ran up to me after he got off the field and was like, ‘Big General! Big General!’”
The nickname was inspired by Reed’s imposing 6-foot-3, 322-pound frame and commanding presence while calling out blocking assignments at Hutchinson Community College. During the game when he was first called “Big General,” Reed helped power Hutchinson’s 300-yard rushing performance.
Since then, the former junior college All-American has embraced the nickname, saying, “You know what? I am Big General.”
Reed is one of 12 transfers who joined the USC football program during the offseason. Reed said he had a wild ride in the transfer portal and “I had whatever I wanted” from schools.
Despite being a hot commodity, he never imagined a program with USC’s prestige would come calling.
“I ended up seeing USC in my Twitter DMs, [and] I said, ‘This can’t be who I think it is,’” Reed said with a chuckle while recalling the direct messages. “It ended up being who it was, and the next thing you know, it was like, ‘Hey, we need to get you on a visit.’”
After playing junior college football in the midwest and spending two chilly seasons playing at Syracuse, he was eager to move to Southern California.
After one visit in January, it felt like a perfect fit — Reed wanted to head west and USC needed help on its interior line.
A center for most of his collegiate career, Reed is vying for one of the three open spots on the offensive line. He could start at center, where he played 25 games at Syracuse, though he remains open to any opportunity.
“Whatever they want to do, wherever they want me at, they put me there, I’m gonna do it,” Reed said. “They hired me as an assassin — that’s what I’m gonna do.”
USC coach Lincoln Riley said he feels about the offensive line early in spring practice.
“There will be a lot of competition within the room,” Riley said. “We have probably more guys right now that can play multiple positions than what we’ve had, we probably have more depth than what we’ve had, we have a few more centers than what we’ve had. So I’m excited about the room, excited about the competition. The new guys that we’ve brought in, I think have brought some experience.”
Reed, who grew up in Houston, uses colorful phrases and acknowledges the hard work it took to reach this point in his career. And he offered an enthusiastic endorsement of the energy former Hutchinson and now-USC teammate Waymond Jordan Jr. is bringing to the Trojans this spring.
“He worked hard, you know, fought for everything he wanted,” Reed said of Jordan, whose nickname is the “The Junk Yard Dog.” “Fought down, stayed down, because he’s a dog. Man, is he out here running around like a dog, just off the leash.”