DALTON, Ga. – Reinaldo Torres loves a good challenge, but surely this is going a bit far.
The linemen are going at it in practice at Dalton High School, and on one side of this drill is the Catamounts’ massive offensive tackle, Watts Dantzler, a future Georgia Bulldog who is 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds. On the other side is Torres at 5-3, 162 pounds.
The two match up often during practice, and more times than one might believe, the dimunitive noseguard gets the upper hand. Anyone who’s watched a Dalton game this year already knows there are few linemen in the area who can handle Torres.
Dalton coach Matt Land takes it even further.
“We’ve not played a team this year where one guy can block him, and that’s probably the greatest compliment you can give a defensive lineman,” Land said of the junior. “He does not know his limitations, and we’re not going to tell him. I hate the word ‘overachiever’ because it’s almost like saying we weren’t expecting a lot out of him in the first place. This kid showed up and he just thought he was supposed to be doing what he’s doing right now.”
What he’s doing is ruining a lot of offensive game plans. When opposing coaches prepare for the Catamounts, they know the skill of ends Floyd Coffey (6-3, 220) and Alex Blackwell (6-1, 240) and tackle Stefan Bonaparte (6-3, 270). So when they see Torres lining up over center, the logical conclusion is to go right at him.
It’s a mistake more than one team has made this year.
“I could see how he could be overlooked, but not for long,” defensive line coach Charles Mitchell said. “He might be strong in stature, but he’s one of the strongest kids we’ve got. He does everything you ask him to do. He’s an asset for us. He’s somebody that has to be accounted for.
“He’s so quick off the line that he has to be double-teamed a lot of the time. Against Ridgeland he was constantly in the backfield and had like five tackles for loss and two or three sacks.”
Even Torres admits the double teams are a bit much, considering he already is giving up 100 or so pounds to nearly every lineman he faces. He just looks at it as another obstacle to conquer.
“It’s just a great challenge,” he smiles. “I can’t help my size, but I never quit going. The double teams get me, but I’m still working on it. It’s either work hard or get crushed.”
Part of Torres’ success is an attitude to prove everyone who doubts him wrong. He found out early in his prep career that he would have to let his play do the talking for him.
“Some of them laugh at me, especially my freshman and sophomore years,” he recalled. “But once I crossed them and got past them, they stopped laughing at me.”
Mitchell is also the school’s wrestling coach, and Torres is one of his stars. Unlike some people, Mitchell isn’t a bit surprised at what Torres has accomplished on the football field. In fact, Mitchell’s only regret is that he can’t find a way to instill Torres’ work ethic and instincts to the rest of his players.
“Reinaldo’s got a motor that’s nonstop,” Mitchell said. “He’s been that way since middle school. If you could take the effort he gives and the heart he gives and put it in everybody you’ve got, you would have something. He has an unbelievable heart and passion for the game.”