Kevin Reihner, the new Troy football tight ends and tackles coach, loves walking.
“I’m a big get-my-steps-in guy,” Reihner said. “If students see a big 300-pound guy in Troy football gear walking around, that’s probably me, so say hello.”
Reihner comes to Troy after coaching stops at Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Penn State, Delaware, Wake Forest and Fordham. He played college ball at Stanford – winning the 2013 Rose Bowl – before heading to Penn State as a graduate transfer.
“The thing I always remember [about college] was being around guys like Andrew Luck and David DeCastro,” Reihner said. “At a very young age, I got to see what greatness looked like and how they prepared.”
The former center got into coaching after his friend Tyler Bowen, now the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, invited him to try out coaching at Fordham.
“When I was done playing, I had some job interviews and even an internship, but it just felt like work,” Reihner said of working outside of football. “I was [at Fordham] for about two or three weeks before I knew this is what I was meant to do.”
During his coaching stops, Reihner says the people surrounding him have made the biggest impact.
“I’ve been blessed to be around great people, like Coach Parker, who is why I’m here,” Reihner said. “The people I’ve gotten to meet are some of the best offensive minds, and I try to take a piece of each of them.”
Reihner says that he’s been impressed with Troy and the care around the program since arriving in January.
“I was talking with my wife who just got down here last week and you see very quickly why this place has the tradition it does,” Reihner said. “There’s a degree of focus from the guys and an understanding that you’re playing for the Troy program and not for yourself.”
One of the things Reihner brings to the table is his experience with both tight ends and the offensive line. At Troy, he’s able to work with both tight ends and tackles.
“I really enjoy the tight end position because guys have varied strengths and you get to find out what they’re good at,” Reihner said. “My o-line background can help to make sure that both tight ends and the offensive line are blocking together.”
One of Reihner’s favorite parts of coaching, he says, is spring ball.
“I love games and competition, but selfishly as a coach [spring ball] is our time,” Reihner said. “There’s not a game to get ready for, and if you need to do something again you can just do it again.
“It’s just development, development, development. That’s one of our core values and it’s just a fun time for me.”
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