Talen Reynolds will follow his dad to the Griz, but he's 'taking my own path and doing my own thing' (2024)

BILLINGS— Talen Reynolds is happy for the opportunities that lie ahead for him, but he’s also ready to have some fun on the gridiron this weekend.

“I’m super excited; a little nervous,” Reynolds said on Thursday as players in Billings practiced for the 35th Annual Big Sky Class B All-Star Football Game andtook a break for lunch at the Rocky Mountain College campus. “Just it’s a bigger competition and coaching will be harder and expectations will be greater. I’m trying to get ready for those.”

For Reynolds, who is projected to play running back at UM, joining the Grizzlies will be part of a lifelong journey.

“I’m looking forward to the community. I get to stay close to home with my friends and family,” he said. “I get to meet everyone I grew up with. I was born when my dad was 18 and starting his college career. Most of those coaches got to see me grow up.”

Reynolds, who rushed for 3,299 yards in his career on 634 carries for an average of 5.2 yards per attempt, said he’ll likely redshirt for the national runner-up Grizzlies this coming season. Overall, through four years of football at Missoula Loyola, Reynolds rushed for 49 touchdowns and only fumbled twice, according to statistics provided by the team.

This past season, Reynolds— who will be a running back and long snapper for the North squad in the all-star game— ran for 805 yards on 172 carries with 16 touchdowns and zero fumbles as Missoula Loyola finished 7-3 and reached the first round of the Class B playoffs. As a junior, he had 281 carries for 1,659 yards and 21 scores while only fumbling twice for the state runner-up Rams.

As for what he needs to play at the next level, the 6-foot, 175-pound Reynolds— who also played linebacker, punt returner, kick returner, and long snapper for the Rams— simply said, “I just kind of want to develop with the team and get a little bigger, stronger and faster.”

Jamie Jones, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Loyola, is an assistant coach for the North this year.

"It’s been great to just get to know him and really work with him and help develop the natural athletic ability he has. He’s a witty kid and smart kid and just fun to be around,” Jones said.

Jones, who coached against Reynolds in youth football and coached him in youth baseball, said Reynolds will be able to make a successful transition from Class B football to the Big Sky Conference level.

“I think he will. He’s a very-hard worker and gets that from his mom and dad. It is instilled in him,” said Jones. “He’s a coachable kid and does what you ask him to do.”

Chase is now a running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Loyola and helps coach the school’s long jump and triple jump athletes. In addition to coaching Talen at the high school level in track and football, Chase has also coached his son in youth football and baseball.

“He hasn’t told me too much" about playing for the Griz, Talen said of his father. “He has prepared me very well he thinks. His coaching he takes from the Griz and he’s tried to prepare me for the next level.”

Some might feel there would be pressure playing college football at a school where their dad starred. Talen, a three-sport high school athlete who was a point guard on Missoula Loyola’s back-to-back State B boys basketball championship teams and a Class B state titlist in the boys triple jump as a junior and a member of the 1,600-meter state relay champion as a sophom*ore, acknowledges there might be some challenges but welcomes the opportunity.

“Obviously there will be a little bit of pressure. Everyone tells me I’m taking my own path and doing my own thing, but obviously there are expectations so there is a little pressure,” he said. “A lot of people in my life have helped me and it helps me do my own thing.”

Talen, who plans to study business at UM, was slowed recently at the State B track meet at Laurel, when he placed third in the triple jump behind two of his Rams' teammates after winning the state title his junior year.

“I tore a couple ligaments in my ankle halfway through track season,” he said. “So I wasn't able to compete to my full ability and had to jump off my opposite foot."

Now back on the football field, Reynolds is ready to shine for the North team Saturday in Red Lodge. Last year at Lockwood High School, the South claimed a 14-8 victory in the rain. The win stopped the North’s four-game winning streak in the series. Overall the North leads the series, 18-16.

Reynolds, who has enjoyed practicing and getting to know players from around the state the past two days at Rocky, is ready to do his part to help the North start another streak.

“I’m super excited,” he said. “I definitely want to beat them.”