Sinnett starts senior year

Quarterback Reid Sinnett earns his second PFL Offensive Player of the Week honor 

Chris Spiering / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

Growing up in the small town of Johnston, Iowa, Reid Sinnett was the only high school senior in the entire state to start in three varsity sports: football, baseball, and basketball. 

Though it seems as if football was Sinnett’s best sport, it was actually baseball that grabbed a lot of attention from colleges, including the University of Iowa. 

“I was better at baseball in high school,” Sinnett said. “And I actually had offers to play baseball, but I decided I wanted to come play football here (at USD).” 

Sinnett knows football is his real passion. The reasons that led to Sinnett choosing USD as his home were simple. He had opportunities to play at a few Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale, but because of some coaching changes at the respective schools, Reid saw better opportunities elsewhere. 

The process that helped Sinnett get to USD took patience, something that he has a lot of.  

“They told me to call Tanner Ingstred, who was the offensive coordinator here at the time,” Sinnett said. “I called him like four or five times and he never picked up. My dad told me to call him one more time and I felt like it was embarrassing and that he clearly doesn’t want me there. But he finally picked up and he said he loved my film, so I then went on an official visit, and then San Diego sold itself.” 

Sinnett waited his turn for four years as the backup quarterback to former Torero Anthony Lawrence, who is USD’s and the PFL’s all-time passing leader with 12,628 yards. It’s rare to see someone stay a backup for that long knowing he could have had a chance to transfer to another school to give himself a better opportunity to play. But when Sinnett’s redshirt senior year came around, he was announced the starting quarterback for the 2019 season. 

“Four years of a lot of waiting for an opportunity,” Sinnett said. “It didn’t come until now and Anthony (Lawrence) did such a good job, so that’s kinda how it worked. I’ll never complain about that, but I wish the opportunity came earlier.” 

Even though he was the backup for all that time, he still was able to earn some playing time, and was part of four Pioneer Football League (PFL) Championships. 

“I got four championship rings,” Sinnett said. “And hopefully a fifth if we keep doing what we are doing right now.” 

The Toreros, now 4-2 (3-0 PFL), lost their first two games of the season this year, but have bounced back and have won their last four games — including wins over Harvard and Davidson. Sinnett earned his second PFL Offensive Player of the Week honor this season after throwing for 358 yards and five touchdown passes in the win over Davidson on the road last Saturday. He had a stellar 84 percent completion rate as he threw just five incomplete passes all game. It’s safe to say that Sinnett had his best game of his career yet. 

Earning an honor like that can boost a player’s confidence, but to Sinnett, it’s more than just an individual award. 

“It’s a product of how we prepare throughout the week,” Sinnett said. “The coaches put us in really good positions and last week it just so happened that we were going to beat Davidson with a passing attack. Our receivers are making plays and it makes my stats look good. I threw a four-yard pass to Dalton (Kincaid) who took it 75 yards for a touchdown. So that is what makes the stats and everything play out.” 

Sinnett is currently only taking one class this semester as he is preparing to graduate. But that gives him more time to study film and prepare for Saturdays. 

“Week to week it’s winning,” Sinnett says. “Coaches put us in a great spot, everyone is focused and we prepare very well. All of those things become byproducts of how we prepare, and all of the other stuff kind of takes care of itself.” 

The role of the quarterback in the Torero offense is more than just throwing a football and handing it off to the running back. The quarterback needs to know everyone’s role inside and out, always communicates with his teammates, and makes sure everyone is doing their job correctly. The backup quarterbacks also have an important role in the play calling because they give out the signals to the starter. It sometimes takes too long for the coaches to explain the call before each play, so the Toreros use signals to the offense to speed up the play calling. 

To Sinnett, the role of the quarterback is the most important role in the game of football. Even the coaches give them some leniency to allow them to change the play call and do what they need to do. 

“The quarterback in our offense specifically is reading the defense and making sure the offense is in the right play,” Sinnett said. “So a lot of the time we call two plays in the huddle so that it allows us to change the call if we need to.” 

Earlier in the year against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Sinnett threw a pass that was deflected right back into his hands, and he ran with it for 30 yards for a TD. 

Sinnett stands at six-feet-four inches tall and weighs roughly 225 pounds. His style of play isn’t to tuck the ball and run for a ton of yards, but he is more than capable of doing so. He has 55 rushing yards on the season so far on 26 attempts.

“I always think that (describing my style of play) is an interesting question,” Sinnett said. “I’m a big guy so I’m willing to stand in the pocket a little bit more. I’m not super athletic by any means but I’m big enough and strong enough to where I can do enough on my feet. I definitely feel comfortable throwing from the pocket and I love throwing the deep ball. Being efficient in the lower zones opens that up for everything else.”  

Football has taken full reign of Sinnett’s life right now, but he does have other interests in his free time. 

“(Football) has taken up a lot of my time to be honest,” Sinnett said. “My roommate Michael (Bandy) loves to surf so I’ll tag along. I’m terrible but I like to go sit out there every once in a while. I also like playing Fortnite with my friends and going to the beach, but I spend most of my time trying to become the best football player I can be.” 

As the Toreros are in midseason form, Sinnett is ready to lead his team to another PFL title and to the FCS playoffs for the fifth time in school history.