Who is Sammis Reyes? What does he bring to the Washington Football Team's offense?
Sammis Reyes joins the likes of Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Mo Alie-Cox and Darren Fells as former Division I college basketball players who played tight end in the NFL.
Sammis Reyes was born and raised in Santiago, Chile before moving to Florida when he was 14 years old. Reyes attended North Broward Prep High School and played basketball. Sammis Reyes practiced with the schools football team for one week but decided that it wasn't for him. Reyes had 20-plus offers to play basketball in college.
Sammis Reyes NCAA Basketball Career
Sammis Reyes played high school basketball at North Broward Prep and was a stand-out star for the school. Reyes averaged 24.5 points per game, 13.2 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, 3.2 steals per game and 2.4 blocks per game in high school. He was also named the best athlete at his school two years in a row.
Sammis Reyes was originally recruited from Hawaii by head coach Gib Arnold, but before Reyes could fully commit to Hawaii, he had to be cleared by the NCAA. The reasoning behind Reyes needing to be cleared is most likely because he played for the Chile Junior National Team. After being cleared by the NCAA, Sammis Reyes committed to play basketball for Hawaii and during a preseason game he injured his toe.
He decided to leave the program after head coach Gib Arnold was fired. After giving it some thought, Reyes decided to return to Hawaii to play under new head coach Benjy Taylor. During practice in 2014, Sammis Reyes injured his hand and that kept him out the entire 2014-2015 season.
After injuring his hand he decided it was best if he left Hawaii. During an interview with Brian McInnis of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Reyes had this to say about his decision to leave Hawaii.
"I wanted to play, and then I got hurt, my toe first and now I hurt my hand, so now I can't play. If I'm sitting out, I'd much rather sit out at home in Florida, you know?"
This led Sammis Reyes to Palm Beach State Junior College. During the same interview, Reyes had this to say about his decision to join Palm Beach State.
"It's the best situation for me to get re-recruited and start the process all over again. Hopefully get some good looks down the road."
During his time at Palm Beach State Junior College, Sammis Reyes played in 32 games. He averaged 7.6 points per game, 5.9 rebounds be game and 1.8 assists per game. Reyes also had a field goal percentage of 48.4% and a free throw percentage of 56%.
His performance at Junior College landed him an offer to Tulane to play basketball. Sammis Reyes spent his sophomore and junior seasons at Tulane. Reyes appeared in 32 games over the course of two seasons with the Green Wave.
The former junior college forward averaged under eight minutes per game. Reyes averaged 0.8 points per game, 1.5 rebounds per game, and 0.3 assists per game. He shot 26% from the field and 26% from the charity stripe for the Green Wave over the two seasons.
Reyes decided to transfer from Tulane for his senior season and joined Loyola of New Orleans. There were no records of Sammis Reyes recording a single-game stat at Loyola during his senior year.
Sammis Reyes' body transformation for the NFL
Sammis Reyes has a bodybuilder-type physique. Reyes started working out with Justin Kavanaugh of the Sports and Speed Institute after deciding to pursue the NFL. The former Division I college basketball player had this to say about his workouts with Kavanaugh.
"After the first workout, coach Kavanaugh was like, Hey, man, you'll be in the league. Let's get you right. So I started working out with him, and it's every single day, we're training at least six hours a day. Sunday is the one day I take off."
"But whether it's speed work in the morning like linear speed, lateral speed, then running routes in the afternoon, always a heavy lifting session. My life for the past yeas has been living in the gym and running and getting in the shape of my life."
His hard work with Justin Kavanaugh has paid off. Reyes is 6-foot-6, 260 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds. When you look at him, he has made a huge transformation to get ready for a run at the NFL.
Sammis Reyes' Pro Day highlights
Sammis Reyes made the transition from college basketball to tight end in football. His first step was being one of 11 players that were battling for a spot in the 2021 International Player Pathway Program. This program gives players from countries around the world a chance to at least stick with a team's practice squad for a year.
Sammis Reyes also worked out during Florida Gators Pro Day in March. Take a look at the highlights from Reyes' performance at the Florida Pro Day and the 2021 International Player Pathway Program.
Sammis Reyes' International Player Pathway workout:
Sammis Reyes' University of Florida Pro Day workout:
Sammis Reyes recorded tremendous numbers at Florida Gators Pro Day in March.
-- 40-yard dash: 4.65 seconds
-- Vertical Jump: 40"
-- Broad Jump: 10'5"
-- 225lbs Bench Press: 31 reps
What does Sammis Reyes bring to the Washington Football Team's offense?
Washington signed Sammis Reyes before he completed the International Player Pathway Program. They did this because if Reyes were to complete the program, he could've been placed on any NFL practice squad. The terms of the contract have not yet been publicly broken, but he is a member of the team in hopes of making the 52-man roster.
Now the big question is, what does Sammis Reyes bring to the Washington Football Team's offense? This is a hard question to answer beings this is the first time he has played football. The Washington Football Team was in desperate need of a tight end and Reyes checked all the physical requirements to be a tight end in the NFL.
There's one thing that Washington can guarantee. Sammis Reyes will work hard and dedicate himself to making the roster. He has gone through a year-long transformation to make it to the NFL. Reyes has tasted failure during his college basketball career.
Not to mention he's a former basketball player so he most likely has soft hands and his 6-foot-6, 260 pound frame will help in the redzone. It's been mentioned that he has all the skills to be the next Antonio Gates or Jimmy Graham. Only time will tell with Reyes, but Washington had to take the risk and it could potentially pay off in the end.