08/05 at 01:05 AM

At some point, Cameron Newton might want to cut wide receiver Trovon Reed a key to his apartment just to eliminate the middleman.

Anytime there was a knock at his door this summer, Newton had favorable odds to guess that it would be Reed, one of Auburn’s highest regarded freshmen, standing on his welcome mat.

“Since the first day, Trovon has come in and pretty much kicked the door down with me seeing his talent,” Newton said. “Usually freshmen come in and try to do everything other than try to get better, but Trovon consistently (says), ‘Hey man let’s go throw. Hey man, let’s go do this. What’s this, what’s that?’”

He then called Reed “a gnat.”

This was a compliment.

“With that attitude,” Newton said, “a player like that will be great.“

Reed, considered the top recruit from Louisiana, was great as a quarterback for his final three years at Thibodoux High. Now, Auburn’s coaches want Reed to utilize his naturally gifted athletic ability as a wide receiver, do-it-all kind of player in Gus Malzahn’s high-powered offense.

Though understandably nervous before his first official practice, Reed said Wednesday he was up to the challenge, which could also include some dabbling on punt and kick returns. His work on the practice field and in the weight room has already allowed Reed to add some much-needed weight and even improve his speed.

“I feel like if God gives you a talent and he sees you trying to work at it, that’s when he’s going to reward you,” Reed said. “If he sees you slacking with the ability he gave you, that’s when he’s going to take it from you.”

That’s why Reed arrived at Auburn as soon as he could in the spring, midway through May, and endured a full summer semester of classes. All the while, he was training with strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall, who told Reed he needed to be “first in everything” because his speed was superior.

The road to his first practice Wednesday night didn’t come without a few hiccups.

“It’s different from high school,” Reed said. “My first day, I was waiting for the bell to ring. When I saw everyone walk up and get out, I was like ‘Where they going?’
“It was a big adjustment for me.“

Off the field, Reed said he might be better equipped than others to handle the homesickness that can strike a freshman, especially one that’s as far away from home as he is. Reed’s mother, Roszaina Johnson, died March 6, 2009, from stomach cancer, a life-changing event that has made him “used to being on (his) own.”

That made saying “No” to in-state LSU easier, too. Even though his high school coach, Dennis Lorio, blatantly disagreed with Reed’s decision at his own commitment ceremony, and even though he received endless hate mail from die-hard LSU fans, Reed never waffled.

“Auburn is not what I expected,” Reed said. “It’s better than what I expected.”

There’s no reason to doubt that Reed will be on the field in some way, shape or form when the Tigers open the season against Arkansas State.

Though Auburn is loaded with depth at wide receiver, there hasn’t been a player who has truly embraced the third receiver role behind Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery. Emory Blake and DeAngelo Benton both have loads of potential, but neither performed well enough during their respective freshman seasons to guarantee breakout sophomore campaigns.

Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor has shown he doesn’t play favorites. Those who perform well in practice typically see the field. Sparsely heard-of walk-on Jay Wisner was a prime example, as he caught a handful of passes and saw the field quite a bit last season.

Reed said he’s working at the second receiver spot behind Zachery.

“Mentally, I think I am (ready). Physically, I think I am,” Reed said. “It’s about you won’t know until game time. If you freeze up on game day, that’s it.”

Even if Reed doesn’t win the job right away, it will be tough to keep him off the field.

Auburn is in the market for a new punt returner and could also be scoping out its options at a Wildcat quarterback — two places Reed thrived at in high school.

“We know that he’s a very talented young man with the ball in his hands,” coach Gene Chizik said. “He can do a number of things. That’s why these two-a-days coming up, fall camp, is going to be extremely critical because we have young guys like Trovon that we have ideas of where he can fit and what he can do and what he can bring to the table.”

Whatever happens, Reed can take pride in the fact that he’s already putting the heat on one of Auburn’s entrenched starters.

“Trovon is putting a little pressure on me,” Zachery said. “I’ve got to step my game up.”

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