Korey Reynolds Strong w/UPDATE

The Shelby County Reporter has a story about a bench press competition held at Hoover High School in Alabama last Friday. Practically the entire article is about the battle for second place. Granted, it is a great story, but the winner of the competition only gets an offhanded mention at the end.

Former Hoover Buc and University of Hawaii signee Korey Reynolds won the individual challenge with 34 reps of 185 pounds.

Impressive. Actually, I went through all that build up, but I just found another article, this one from the Birmingham News, that focuses on him. Apparently, Korey had an off day.

"I wanted to get around the 45 (reps) range," Reynolds said. "There really aren't any excuses. It wasn't my day. Hopefully, I'll be able to get 45 in the gym in the next week and a half before I go to Hawaii."

Wow. Sounds like a beast! He continues:

Reynolds said preparing for the competition has helped him stay in shape as he transitions from high school to college football.

"I still had a reason to work out really hard," Reynolds said. "Training for this has helped me train for the fall. I've been concentrating on 225 pounds because that is what is used in college and NFL combines. I can lift 225 pounds about 25 times."

You really gotta like his attitude and work ethic. I'm really glad he's gonna be a Warrior! And just to add to the pile, here's his bio as well as a quote from June Jones, who discussed Korey after LOI day earlier this year.

Runs a 4.8 40-yard dash...bench presses 350 lbs., squat 550 lbs., power cleans 315 lbs...recorded 105 tackles and six sacks as a senior...chosen to play in Max Emfinger All-American Bowl in 2006...an All-America selection by Max Emfinger Scouting...Hoover HS won the Alabama State Championship five of the last six seasons...chose Hawai'i over Southern Miss and Houston...rated a two-star player by Rivals.com.

Jones says: "Korey played his high school football at Hoover, one of the top prep programs in America. For a freshman, he is extremely strong and bench press over 450 pounds, but also quick enough that schools like Houston and Southern Miss recruited him as a tight end. I can see him becoming a great pass rusher in our scheme."

Defense gonna be a monster this year. Can't wait for the fall already. Woot woot!

UPDATE: Found video of Korey doing the 34 reps at the competition.