Player Spotlight: Greg Reid, CB, Florida State Seminoles

As we've done a couple of player spotlights in our first week here at Bleacher Report, we've now got the ball rolling and that means I've hid my passion long enough: Defensive backs get some love under the spotlight. Today Florida State's Greg Reid gets the star treatment as a player you need to know in 2012.

Florida State has got some guys I really like in the back end: Xavier Rhodes, LaMarcus Joyner and the kid who will hopefully crack the lineup soon—Karlos Williams. That said, the little man Greg Reid is just really my favorite on that roster. He's not big; if he weighs 185 tomorrow that'd be the first day in his life he's weighed 185. But Reid plays with this fearless tenaciousness and anger that I really just have the utmost respect for in football players.

Reid enters his senior year as one of the more feared return men in the nation, and that is certainly a skill that he's shown a knack for during his career. However, Reid draws the spotlight treatment because of his work and his growth as a defensive back through three seasons at Florida State. Starting out under Mickey Andrews, Reid was playing a lot of man-to-man schemes, and while he was making plays he was not tasked with nearly the responsibility that would come in the two years under Jimbo Fisher.

With Fisher came Mark Stoops and with Mark Stoops came zone concepts and with zone concepts came a steep learning curve. Greg Reid has handled it all well, with few mental lapses. Between the end of 2010 and the bulk of 2011, we saw the cornerback really turn the corner from understanding the concepts to mastering them.

Although that move to mastery has not manifested itself in the form of interceptions, which most fans count as proof of improvement, just a quick viewing of Greg Reid shows how far he has come. He has always been a fluid athlete and a guy capable of making the most complicated of moves seem easy. Through his comprehension of Stoops' zone coverages, Reid has made expert use of this fluidity to execute zone turns, break on passes in his area and flip his hips to get depth as he sinks into deeper coverages.

This year, as his third season in the scheme, look for Reid to be even more active. Not just in cloud, three or quarter but also against the run as the smallish rising senior has proven he is capable of making those fits at the edge. Year three means Stoops can also unroll more of his program to the guys who are mastering the concepts. That means more active zone blitzes, more mixed and disguised coverages and overall a higher ceiling for the senior Greg Reid and the Seminoles' defense as a whole.

Folks, Greg Reid is going to be fun to watch fly around this year. Whether it is knocking crossers out as they enter his zone or grabbing interceptions, the 2012 season will be a fun one to follow this defensive back. As you watch the kid, notice his feet and his footwork because that is part of what makes the 5'8" senior so great.

Got someone you'd like to see added to the spotlight? Drop me a line on the twitter: Tweet to @InTheBleachers