Darius Reynaud

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**Darius Reynaud**
National Football League debut
Darius Reynaud warming up before the 2007 Mississippi State game
Minnesota Vikings — No. 82
Receiver
Date of birth: December 29, 1985 (1985-12-29) (age 22)
Place of birth: Luling, Louisiana
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Weight: 201 lb (91 kg)
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
College: West Virginia
Undrafted in 2008
Teams: Minnesota Vikings (2008-present)
Current status: Active
Career highlights and awards

Darius Reynaud (born December 29, 1985 in Luling, Louisiana) is an American football receiver that plays for the Minnesota Vikings. He played collegiately for the West Virginia Mountaineers before being undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft.

1 Early life
2 College career
3 Professional career
4 Personal life
5 References

[edit] Early life

Darius Reynaud was born to Katrina and Michael Reynaud in Louisiana. Reynaud was awarded the St. Charles parish offensive MVP award in highschool after leading Hahnville High to an undefeated record and the state championship as a senior. Reynaud totaled 236 carries for 1,889 yards and 37 touchdowns as a senior runningback, with nine 100-yard rushing games. His stats earned him first-team all-state, all-district, all-6-5A and all-River Parish honors. Reynaud also was the Louisiana state long jump champion with a 24.5' jump.

Although he was an offensive star and long jump star in high school, Reynaud only received scholarship offers from Indiana and West Virginia. He eventually signed as one of the last recruits with the Mountaineers. ^[1]

[edit] College career

[edit] 2004-2005

Darius Reynaud enrolled at West Virginia University in 2004. Reynaud did not participate in any games his true freshman year due to grades, but was not redshirted.

During the 2005 campaign, Reynaud was accompanied with freshman-stars Pat White and Steve Slaton, and sophomore fullback Owen Schmitt. Reynaud was backup to redshirt-junior receiver Brandon Myles, but still recorded 297 yards on 30 catches. Reynaud had a career-first touchdown in the win against Wofford: a 27-yard grab from Adam Bednarik. Two reverse-runs gained 38-yards against Maryland, while he had a 15-yard touchdown catch against ECU from Bednarik. In the triple-overtime win against Louisville, Reynaud had 111 all-purpose yards. A 15-yard touchdown pass from Pat White against Cincinnati and a seven yard touchdown catch against South Florida. In the Sugar Bowl win against the Georgia Bulldogs, Reynaud scored in the first quarter with a three-yard reception and a 13-yard reverse-run, and totaled 48 yards receiving.

[edit] 2006

During the 2006 year, Reynaud's junior season, Darius started over then-senior Brandon Myles. Reynaud totaled a career-high 520 yards and a career-low 2 touchdowns off of 39 receptions. When Slaton was injured against Louisville, Reynaud filled in for him at running back, contributing to Reynaud's 221 yards rushing on 14 carries for the season. Reynaud had a career-best 110 yards on 5 catches with a touchdown against ECU, when the run offense wasn't productive. Reynaud had 78 yards receiving against Louisville as well. Another 62-yards were credited to him against University of Pittsburgh. Reynaud's highest rushing total was 67-yards in the loss against South Florida. In the Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech, Reynaud didn't have any receiving stats, but did have a run for 20 yards. Reynaud also broke out in special teams in '06, when he tallied 813 yards on kick returns and a touchdown. The touchdown came against Maryland, when Reynaud bobbled the ball upon catching it. He then picked it up and ran 96-yards for the score, which was the ESPN Play of the Week. Reynaud was named to the second-team all-Big East squad at the season's end, along with tackle Ryan Stanchek and returner Vaughn Rivers, who were both named to the second-team squad. Reynaud had an impressive 1,554 all-purpose yards on the season, which is the sixth most in a season by a Mountaineer in school history.

[edit] 2007

In the 2007 season, Reynaud was the main receiver for star quarterback Pat White. In the season opener against Western Michigan, Reynaud helped the Mountaineers to a 62-24 win with 5 receptions for 92 yards. He also had a run for two yards. In the next game against Marshall, Reynaud scored the first two touchdowns of the game and finished with 8 receptions for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 48-23 win, all three categories being career-highs for Reynaud. Against ECU, Reynaud played with an injured shoulder. Even with the injury, he totaled 5 receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns and also had a 64-yard run. Through the first four games of the season, Reynaud was 35th in the nation with 335 receiving yards and tied for 11th with 4 touchdowns. In the 21-13 loss to USF, Reynaud had 47 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions. The next week in the 55-14 win over Syracuse, Reynaud had 48 yards and a touchdown on 6 receptions and 15 yards on two rushes. Against Mississippi State for homecoming, Reynaud flashed with three catches for 30 yards and two touchdowns in the 38-13 romp. In the 38-31 dramatic win against Louisville, Reynaud had 6 receptions for 79 yards and the first two touchdowns for the Mountaineers. He also had two kick returns for 56 yards. In the 66-21 victory over #20 Connecticut to clinch the Big East Championship, Reynaud had 5 receptions for 76 yards and a score. Reynaud earned second-team all-Big East honors after the regular season ended and earned the team's Coaches Contribution Award. In the 48-28 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, Reynaud totaled five receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns and also had a 30-yard run for a touchdown. Reynaud's touchdowns tied him with Chris Henry for most in a single-season in school history and moved him to third all-time in school history while his 64 receptions on the season was fourth most in school history.

Darius Reynaud finished his career 12th in the all-time school career receiving yardage list, 5th most receptions and 3rd most receiving touchdowns.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Pre-NFL Draft

On January 10, 2008, Reynaud announced he would forego his senior year (regained due to being a prop player) and enter the 2008 NFL Draft.^[2]

Scott Wright, owner of NFL Draft Countdown, ranked Reynaud as #29 in the wide receiver class.^[3] He was also invited to the NFL Combine.^[4] Reynaud's 34.5 vertical jump was the 11th best by a receiver, while his 3-cone drill time of 6.88 was the 9th best, his 20 bench reps were third, and his broad jump was also third best for a receiver.^[5]

Reynaud reported that he met with the New England Patriots at the NFL Combine.^[6] At West Virginia's Pro Day, Reynaud ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, with a 37" vertical jump. He also improved his broad jump from 10'7" to 10'10".^[7] Reynaud also ran a 1.47 10-yard dash time, which was one of the best for any Draft prospect at their respective Pro Days.^[8]

In April, USA Today ranked Reynaud as the #18 receiver in the class and as a 4th round selection in the Draft.^[9]

Wt	40 yd	60 ss	3-cone	Vert	BP	Broad Jump
Pre-draft measureables
*201 lb	*4.47s^[10]	*11.47	*6.88	37"	*20	*10'7"

(* represents NFL Combine)

[edit] NFL Draft

Reynaud ended up being unselected in the 2008 NFL Draft, becoming an undrafted free agent.

[edit] Minnesota Vikings

Reynaud was signed after being declared an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings.

[edit] Personal life

Reynaud's favorite NFL player is Warrick Dunn. His favorite musical artists are LL Cool J, Lil Boosie, Lil Wayne, Lil John, and Lil Scrappy, but Lil Boosie over Lil Wayne.^[11]

Reynaud has a daughter, Darion Davis.^[12]

[edit] References