Tutan Reyes played left tackle for Ole Miss in the late 1990s.
As a teenager in the early 1990s, Tutan Reyes spent Saturdays watching SEC football on TV. He liked the powerhouse programs: Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss in particular.
He still clearly remembers watching speedy Ole Miss wide receiver Roell Preston dive into the end zone for the Rebs on one of the old Jefferson-Pilot broadcasts.
The then-aspiring football player, who had grown up in Queens, New York, but spent time in Georgia, was getting offers to play college football. Ole Miss was the right fit for him. It was the family atmosphere he felt while visiting with a high school teammate that convinced him to come to campus, he said.
He earned a degree in business management and minored in marketing. Coming to the South to a large university that attracts students from around the world was beneficial for him, he said.
“To go from being a kid from New York and also being from the inner city, going down to Oxford taught me how to deal with different demographics and how to understand people who were culturally different from me,” Reyes said. “It taught me a lot. I just love Ole Miss for what it did for me, and my connection with the school is still very strong.”
After being converted from a tight end to a left tackle, Reyes started 25 games at Ole Miss and was named second team All SEC his senior season. He was a major reason the Rebels had the SEC’s second-best rushing attack, as he helped clear running lanes for legendary Ole Miss running back Deuce McAllister each Saturday.
Tutan Reyes
The New Orleans Saints selected Reyes in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL draft, and he spent 10 seasons in the league including time with the Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and Houston Texans.
Today, Reyes lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, where he is a broadcaster for the Kennesaw State University football team and works in business development for the Atlanta Havoc arena football team. He is also founder and president of “Beyond the Boroughs,” which helps students across the country with their college tuition costs.
Reyes still comes to Ole Miss football games and visits with his former teammates, who include Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke and former Ole Miss and NFL players Todd Wade, Terrence Metcalf and Derrick Burgess, who still live in Oxford. He said he feels a strong bond with the former players and those he met on campus.
“It’s just the family vibe and the atmosphere there,” Reyes said. “There is that brotherhood because we took a shot at Ole Miss when Ole Miss was on probation, and we won games. That brotherhood is something I can’t help but appreciate.”
Ty Reyes. Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
His love for Ole Miss rubbed off on his son, Ty Reyes, who is playing football for Ole Miss now and just completed his freshman year. Taking his son to college 20 years after he came to Ole Miss was special for Tutan Reyes.
“It’s just amazing being in the stadium and seeing that Reyes name out there on a jersey,” Reyes said.
Ty Reyes knew on his visit in 2014 that Ole Miss would be the right place for him. He and D.K. Metcalf, a wide receiver on the team, whose father, Terrence Metcalf, played with Tutan Reyes, grew up being close friends.
He is enjoying the life of a college football player but is also very excited about learning the tools that will help him break into broadcasting like his father one day. At the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, he is learning to work both in front of and behind the camera. He is also minoring in Spanish.
“I love it here,” Ty Reyes said. “I like the fan base and all of the culture around Ole Miss like walking through the Grove. It’s just a great place to learn broadcasting. Education is first, and having the tools here to succeed is one of the main things I love about being at Ole Miss.”