The James Houston of the MHSAA, Southfield A&T Warriors senior defensive lineman Reggie Gardner, committed to play his college football at Eastern Michigan over last weekend, just hours after his Warriors squad bumped off West Bloomfield 40-35 on a last-second touchdown in the Division 1 final four.
A&T (12-1) plays Belleville (13-0) in the Division 1 state championship game Sunday night at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.
Gardner (6-1, 250) is a four-year starter for the OAA White champion A&T Warriors. This fall, he has 52 tackles and whopping 18 sacks. He chose EMU over Central Michigan and Morgan State. Scouts comp Gardner to the Detroit Lions’ 2022 6th round draft pick James Houston (Jackson State), an undersized pass-rush machine.
Warriors head coach Aaron Marshall praises Gardner’s ability to impact games.
“If Reggie Gardner was 6-4, 6-5, he’d have every Power 5 program in America knocking at his door wanting him to come play for them, he’s just a monster and the definition of a disruptive force for our defense up front,” he said. “And Regie is a special young man, on and off the field, honor roll, first one to get to practice, first one to leave type. The next-level quickness off the ball is evident from the second you lay eyes on him. He’s in on every play, he’s making the calls on the line and the other linemen rally around him and feed off his emotion and playmaking. His motor, game IQ and technique makes up for his lack of height.”