Reed rewarded for special performance

By rbrown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: September 9, 2025

FOOTNOTES

— University of New Hampshire sophomore Nick Reed was named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Week and the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week after he made each of his four field goal attempts in Saturday night’s 19-16 victory over Holy Cross.

Reed’s fourth field goal was from 40 yards away as time expired. He also made kicks from 50, 33 and 30 yards. Reed is in his first season with the Wildcats after transferring from Buffalo.

“We knew he had a big-time leg relying on who he was coming out of high school and then (by watching) some of the practice tape he had sent us,” UNH coach Rick Santos said. “We brought him up on an official (visit). We really liked his demeanor. We thought he had a calmness about him and a confidence. The way he carried himself we felt like he had the mental ability to be successful here. Physically we were going off tape. So far it’s worked out for us.”

— UNH (2-0) will play at Ball State (0-2) on Saturday. The Cardinals, who compete in the Mid-American Conference, opened the season with losses to Purdue (31-0) and Auburn (42-3).

“I know they’re going to be hungry and eager for this one, getting back home after playing two Power 4 opponents,” Santos said. “Offensively, the quarterback is very dynamic. They want to split you horizontally. They’re going to have an outside zone sceme going one way, with the QB run scheme going the other. They do that a ton.

“Defensively, based on their personnel, they can move seamlessly from a four-down to a three-down front.”

— Santos said the UNH offense has to be more efficient on first down to avoid so many third-and-long situations.

— Ball State coach Mike Uremovich on Saturday’s matchup: “(New Hampshire) knows how to win football games. They’ve got a quarterback (Kiael Kelly) who can throw and run. They’ve got eight sacks already this year, and they’ve blocked multiple kicks. They’re a very, very talented football team.”

— UNH has a 6-15 record against FBS opponents, and went 3-0 against FBS teams (Rutgers, Northwestern and Marshall) when Santos was playing quarterback at UNH. The Wildcats will be seeking their first FBS win since they beat Ball State 23-16 in 2009.

“I think you have to play free,” Santos said. “First of all you have to believe you belong on the field with those guys. You want to attack success and not be afraid to fail. Certainly it’s going to be a physical game. They’re going to make their plays. We have to make sure it’s a four-quarter game. The later it goes on in the game and it’s close in that mannerI think the pressure all gets flipped on them. If we can be close or up going into the second half, going into he fourth quarter I think it gives us a great opportunity to pull this one out.”