The end of last Saturday's Cincinnati-Toledo game brought an outpouring of emotion -- and an outpouring of Toledo students from the student section to the field to celebrate the Rockets' 29-23 victory.
By the time Toledo wide receiver and kick returner extraordinaire Bernard Reedy made it out of the pile of people and towards the Toledo locker room, he really couldn't hear much. And, at first, he had no idea who had grabbed his shoulder pad to get his attention.
It was Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones, who wanted offer Reedy a word of congratulations and good luck going forward.
For one night anyway, sportsmanship lived.
"I didn't know who it was at first," Reedy said. "There was too much going on. I was too amped. I was out of breath and just trying to get back to the locker room.
"We just talked for a few seconds. He just told me to keep up the good work and to keep leading, that we had a good team with a chance to win a bunch more games this season."
Toledo Coach Matt Campbell wasn't surprised when he found out Sunday that Jones had sought out Reedy after the game.
"Coach Jones is somebody that contacted me when I first got the job to offer congratulations and let me know to call him with any questions," Campbell said "Everything I've known or heard about his program is first class. For him to do that says a lot to me about the Cincinnati program. We have the utmost respect for them."
Reedy's 91-yard kickoff return in the third quarter made Cincinnati's only lead of the night a short-lived one. On Monday, Reedy was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for the third consecutive week.
"I think he's a great player," Jones said. "He's very explosive. He reminds me of Antonio Brown, who we had at Central Michigan. He can change the complexion of a game in a hurry and that's what he did to us."
What Jones did after the game resonated with Reedy.
"It was a class move," Reedy said. "And I appreciated it. I won't forget it."
