GAMEDAY FEATURE: Becoming a Father Has Changed Albert Reid's Perspective on Life

Oct. 29, 2016

by Spencer Haynes

For as long as he can remember, football has been the biggest part of Albert Reid’s life.

“I’ve been playing football since I was 6, and before that I wanted to play football,” Reid said. “It was always football, football, football.”

As big a role as football plays in Reid’s life, he knows there are more important aspects of life, and the biggest came on May 30 with the birth of his son, Ayden.

“I don’t think there’s a better feeling than me playing football, other than now with my son being born and having him around,” Reid said. “I look forward to seeing him all the time.”

Since Ayden was born, Reid’s whole perspective on life has turned.

“Recently, somebody that gives me more drive is my son,” Reid said. “Of course when you have a son, things change and you grow up faster, and you have somebody that’s going to look up to you.”

Reid plans to pass along that attitude of perseverance to Ayden, making sure his son learns there will not be any challenge too big.

“Everything that you do, always give it all that you have,” Reid said. “[Life] is not going to go your way all the time. There’s always things that are going to go wrong in your life.

“It’s about how you recover from those things and how you get past them. There’s always going to be obstacles, but God isn’t going to give you anything you can’t handle.”

This newfound responsibility is not something that Reid sees as a challenge, but rather something that provides a release from the stresses of football.

“I like being around family and just having fun,” Reid said. “I always like being around people. I’m not a guy who just sits by himself.”

A big part of why Reid enjoys being around his family is because of how much his family has meant to him in the past, especially while he was growing up.

Reid’s mother, Janice Smith, profoundly impacted him.

“Being younger, and moving around a lot and things like that, she never gave up, and I always saw that,” Reid said. “She wanted to make life better for my brother and me.”

The sacrifices that Smith made are not lost on Reid. He understands that she did everything was for him.

“It was always her drive to strive for better, so she could take care of my brother and me,” Reid said. “She’s my biggest role model, and gave me the model to never give up.”

Because of all Smith did for him, Reid looks to give back to her and take care of her now. His academics are part of that.

“As far as going to school, I’ve already gotten my bachelor’s degree,” Reid said. “I feel like that’s part of giving back to her, showing her that I’m going to be successful.”

However, Reid has plans to take care of Smith even more in the future.

“Not only that [academics], but making her happy in general,” Reid said. “One day, hopefully, I can live a wealthy life and take care of her as she took care of me.”

Reid now finds himself in a stage where he will have to apply what he has learned from his mother in his own relationship with Ayden.

“Whatever I do, whenever he’s old enough to watch, he can learn from me as far as being a man and going about everyday life,” Reid said.

From his mother, Reid learned to be driven and to keep moving forward. It’s about to be his turn, and he appears likely to be successful. If he needs any help, he can just turn to Smith and the lessons she taught him.