Since the day they first arrived on campus as Arizona Wildcats in 2006, Brooks Reed and Earl Mitchell were never too far apart.
They came in as prospects in coach Mike Stoops’ 2006 recruiting class as fullbacks, then both converted to defensive linemen.
The similarities don’t stop there. Reed and Mitchell were teammates with the NFL’s Houston Texans. Both played in — and lost — a Super Bowl. Both are now 34.
“I feel like if you were talking about Brooks and I without mentioning our names, you wouldn’t know who you were talking about,” Mitchell said. “You have a three-star fullback who comes to the U of A and then eventually switches to defense, gets drafted by the Houston Texans. Like, ‘Who are you talking about?’”
Reed and Mitchell were together again on Saturday afternoon, when they were inducted into the Arizona Stadium Ring of Honor during halftime of the Wildcats’ homecoming game against Cal. Both qualified by playing 10 seasons in the NFL.
“It’s crazy,” Reed said. “We’ve been kinda side-by-side our whole careers. … We’ve had very similar career paths — like, almost identical. We’ve played a lot of snaps on the same field together.”
Reed’s road to the Ring of Honor began at Sabino High School, where he was an All-Southern Arizona selection. During Reed’s recruiting trip to Arizona a junior, his father, Bob, east side of Arizona Stadium and scanned the names that sandwich the press box. Chuck Cecil. Ricky Hunley. Tedy Bruschi. John Fina. Michael Bates.
“He thought how cool would it be if my name was up there,” Reed said. “I planted that seed and always knew how hard I needed to work.”
Reed signed with the Wildcats as a fullback, but was given the option to switch to defense.
“‘Look, do you want to play linebacker or do you want to play fullback? You can play both, we watched your film playing both, so just tell us what you want,’” Reed said, quoting Stoops. “In my head I was like, ‘It’ll be cool to touch the ball, so put me at fullback and see what happens.’”
Reed’s first assignment in practice? Blocking five-star junior-college transfer Louis Holmes and All-Pac-10 linebackers Spencer Larsen and Ronnie Palmer.
“I’ve never seen a larger human being in my life,” Reed said of Holmes. “These were the biggest guys I’ve ever seen on a football field.”
Reed’s fullback counterpart was Mitchell, a Houston native from North Shore High School, who said Reed “was my introduction into competing with teammates.”
“He was big and fast and I was just like, ‘Damn, what am I going to do?’ There was always a competition between us, and I think that’s what made us such a good team,” Mitchell said.
Arizona’s Brooks Reed, right, helps take down ASU quarterback Samson Szakacy during the first quarter of the Wildcats’ 2009 rivalry game against the Sun Devils.
The respect was mutual.
“Earl came in and just amazed a lot of guys,” Reed said. “A freshman fullback? That’s unheard of, because it’s such a physical position. You put a young guy in and it’s hard for them to adapt, but he came in and was the most physical guy on the field by far and would hit people square in the face. His nose would be bleeding after every game and his facemask would be bent up. He was always ready for that challenge and was the ultimate competitor.
“It ended up making me a better player, and having guys like that on your team makes your entire team better.”
In two seasons as Arizona’s fullback, Mitchell was utilized mostly in the passing game, catching two touchdown passes. But whenever the Wildcats ran the ball, Reed said, Mitchell “he always flat-backed (defensive) ends.”
Reed evaluated Mitchell’s early production and thought, “‘If that’s the level I need to play at, then I have a lot of growing to do.’”
So Reed redshirted his freshman season at the UA. Strength coach Corey Edmond Reed “how to be a true defensive lineman,” he said.
Reed’s career as an edge rusher was born.
“That was more my style. I even grew out my hair and just embraced it,” Reed said.
Once the Wildcats shifted to an air-raid offense under former offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, fullback was essentially eliminated from the depth chart.
Mitchell. soon joined Reed on the defensive line, playing defensive tackle.
From 2008-09, Mitchell and Reed combined for 148 tackles and 18 sacks for an Arizona defense that helped the Wildcats to appearances in the Holiday Bowl and Alamo Bowl. Reed finished his Arizona career as an All-Pac-10 selection.
“My goal was to always play as hard as him. We got sacks together and it was just a lot of fun,” Reed said.
In 2010, Mitchell was drafted in the third round by the NFL’s Houston Texans. He went on to play for the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
He was joined in Houston by Reed, who had called his shot as a college senior. That year, Reed posted on Facebook: “I’m going to get drafted by the Texans and take Mario Williams’ spot.”
“And that’s exactly what happened. It’s not like I took Mario Williams’ spot, but I was drafted by the Texans in the second round, Mario tore his (pectoral muscle) and then all of a sudden I’m starting,” said Reed. “And that’s how it happened: Me and Earl were playing next to each other, just like we were at Arizona. It was so cool.”
Following the 2013 season, Reed and Mitchell went their separate ways. The idea of qualifying for the Ring of Honor didn’t hit Reed until a few years ago, when he signed with the Arizona Cardinals for one season before playing for the Titans in 2020.
“It was kind of on my mind later in my career. I missed out on winning a Super Bowl, I missed out on some other qualifications to get into the Ring of Honor,” he said. “My dad always told me, ‘You know if you play 10 years, you’ll get into the Ring of Honor, or if you win this’ — I just kept missing out on a lot of stuff, so my only chance was to play (in the NFL for) 10 years.
“That’s not the only reason why I played for 10 years, but it’s cool to have your family’s name in the stadium forever.”
Mitchell called Saturday “a huge honor” — something made sweeter because Reed was by his side. As always.
“We personified competition and we made each other better,” Mitchell said. “If Brooks didn’t go to the U of A, I don’t know how far I would’ve gone and the player I would be, and I think vice versa for him. We truly made each other better.”
