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football Edit

Stanford lands PA guard

Stanford picked up a pledge on Saturday afternoon. The East Coast prospect gave his commitment over offers from seven other schools including Cincinnati, Minnesota, NC State, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse.
"I committed on Saturday," Scranton (Pa.) Scranton Prep offensive guard Kevin Reihner said. "The coaches were excited. They talked to me and they said I'm in the mold of what they're trying to do on the offensive line. I'm a run blocker and academically I fit. They were excited and I was excited. I've had a feeling it was going to happen for awhile and I had some tough phone calls to make to other great schools, but I can only go to one place."
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Reihner went in-depth about his pledge.
"Really, it is just the perfect combination of what I'm looking for," he said. "Academically the only schools ranked ahead of it in college rankings don't have Division I-A football. They are a top level Pac-10 team and have an unbelievable coaching staff. I'm not naive to think all of the coaches are going to stay. I know they've got a good staff around and even the volunteers and interns could be position coaches elsewhere.
"I want to be apart of that. It was just a fit. It's the best of both worlds, a great university and there were other great schools, Northwestern and Pittsburgh were right up there. I knew I could have gone anywhere, but Stanford is just too much of an opportunity to pass up."
Academics were a bit factor for Reihner with his future goals.
"I've always wanted to be a surgeon and they have the No. 1 biology program in the country," he said. "Biology is the most common degree to go into medicine and I couldn't have done better for my major. Even if I want to switch to other things, they are No. 1 in those too. It's just great. Coach Harbaugh does a great job bringing in quality people and I have a reputation to uphold."
Of course, Harbaugh and his staff were major factors as well.
"I very much believe Coach Harbaugh is going to stay there for a long time," he said. "I understand the surrounding coaches may move on. They are talented and the position coaches should be coordinators, the coordinators should be head coaches. I selfishly want them to stay there, but it might happen. They have 113 years of NFL experience on the staff and are great people. They all have the same vision and came from different backgrounds, but picked Stanford because it's the greatest place in the country. They made it something special to be apart of."
As far as playing time, Reihner understands what is in mind.
"They see me as a guard and plan to redshirt me to add mass," he said. "They do have a lot of guys graduating, so from my redshirt freshman year on, there will be no reason I don't have an opportunity to get on the field if I can compete like they think I should."
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