Stanford Football: Justin Reid is 2017 defensive MVP for Cardinal

It was an easy pick for the most valuable player along the defense for Stanford football through the 2017 regular season, junior Justin Reid.

Stanford football enters bowl season with a heartbreaking loss in the PAC-12 Championship Game, to the USC Trojans, fresh on the mind. However, the Cardinal have a few leaders the team can turn to before facing the TCU Horned Frogs in the 2017 Alamo Bowl. One of those leaders is junior safety Justin Reid, who was the best player along this defense the entire year.

Reid set a career mark during the regular season in interceptions, with five. It was a major improvement compared to his previous mark, which was one pick during his freshman campaign. In fact, heading into the 2017 campaign, Reid had just one interception total.

Aside from interceptions, Reid also set career highs in total tackles, tackles for loss, fumble recoveries, and sacks. His 92 total tackles lead the team, ahead of Harrison Phillips and Bobby Okereke. It’s saying a lot that Reid was able to have such a positive impact on the defense with other talented players surrounding him.

Stanford had to deal with quite a few tough passing games this year. The Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, UCLA Bruins, Oregon Ducks (when Justin Herbert was healthy), and the Trojans twice were all tough tests for the Cardinal secondary.

Reid helped power Stanford to huge wins over the Huskies, Ducks, Bruins, and long-time rival Notre Dame Fighting Irish. One of his best games of the season was a huge effort in the Nov. 25 win over Notre Dame. He notched nine total tackles, one sack, and one pass deflection in that matchup.

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The Cardinal needs one more big performance from the defense, and Reid, to cap off another double-digit win season. Head coach David Shaw also did a great job in putting together a competitive Cardinal squad on both sides of the ball. In effect, Reid could be a first round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.