Interview: From Quarterback to Receiver, Reggie Retzlaff Balled Out in 2018 for the Centennial Huskies

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

What Reggie Retzlaff did during his senior year is not necessarily unheard of but is still uncommon. With a change of schools from Claremont, where he was a quarterback, he transferred in the offseason to Centennial High School. The Corona program is one of the nation’s best, always a Top 20 program. All the 6-3, 205-pound, athlete did was line up at receiver and pull in 36 passes for 892 yards with 10 touchdowns, rush for a 9-yard score, and complete 3 for 3 for 118 yards with two touchdowns for the No. 7 ranked team in the nation.

With the change in schools and positions, it has taken a few weeks for college football programs to catch up with Retzlaff. The 3.1 cumulative GPA student with a 24 on the ACT has an offer from Southern Nazarene with interest building from San Diego State, Colorado, and Army. To find out more about his season and recruiting, I sat down with Retzlaff for an in-depth one-on-one interview.

Interview

Reggie, the 2018 season was your first with Centennial coming over from Claremont, with all the changes – position, team, and offense, how did the season go for you personally?

“The season was a huge success for me. I grew a lot. I found out things I can do athletically that I had no idea I could do before.”

A deeper look at your stats, you were a big straw stirring the offensive drink. I did the math, 33 percent of the time you touched the ball you were accounting for a score. Did you know that?

“No, I didn’t.”

If you will, breakdown all the different ways you were involved in the Huskies offense.

“I was used mostly as an outside receiver. They moved me around a lot to expose match ups and to figure out where we could attack their defense. We did some double-passes utilizing my experience throwing the ball. The rushing play I had for a touchdown, that was a reverse to try to get our athletes out in space to make a play.”

How did you game come along as a receiver?

“As a receiver, I grew a lot. I had not played receiver since my freshman year. It was a coming home for me, I grew up playing the position. I had to relearn the skills from playing the position after playing quarterback the last couple of years. But, having played quarterback helped me a lot. I knew the coverages, I knew how to attack leverages, I knew where defenses were attacking, and I knew where to go to get open so I could make plays.”

What do you feel are your strengths overall on offense?

“My biggest strength is as a deep ball threat. A lot of people underestimate my speed and ball skills in the air. I can do things most do not expect me to do. My physicality is a strength. I enjoy blocking and the physical part of playing the position. I like battling at the line of scrimmage. I enjoy going against press coverage. I am a bigger body and more physical than other corners and can get off the line without any problems.”

Which game was your best in 2018?

“I think the Mater Dei game was my best. Part of that is who I was playing against as well as my personal play on the field. They may have the best secondary in the nation. My personal stats for the season were the best in that game. In the game, I made a big impact. I did well against Orange Lutheran and Narbonne as well, two other talented teams we played.”

Is there an area of your game you feel may get overlooked by scouts?

“The area of my game that might get overlooked is my speed. Because I am bigger, most people do not believe I am as fast as I am. They believe the size, but do not believe the speed. They believe you are big or fast but not both. It is hard to find someone that can do both.”

We’ve talked about your speed a couple of times now, what is the fastest 40-yard dash you’ve posted?

“My fastest 40-yard dash is a 4.53.”

Where did you run it and who clocked you?

“I ran it at Centennial. Coach (Matt) Logan (head coach) clocked it.”

No disputing that from Coach Logan. With the change in positions, you have the offer from Southern Nazarene which schools are showing interest in you?

“I am receiving interest from San Diego State, Army, and Colorado.”

What are you doing with your offseason workouts to improve upon what you’ve already accomplished?

“My focus is staying in shape, getting bigger and faster, and more explosive laterally. I will work on my vertical game and work on quickness and my route running.”

Reggie, great catching up with you today. I appreciate your time. Good luck on the recruiting trail and with your offseason workouts.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: Bridget Smith; touchdown No. 14 Reggie Retzlaff

Photo credit: Brian Dobyns; Reggie Retzlaff vs. Mater Dei