Game-winning drives becoming routine for Charlotte 49ers QB Chris Reynolds
From the visitor’s locker room to a shoo-in for the Charlotte 49ers’ Hall of Fame, it’s been quite the journey for sixth-year quarterback Chris Reynolds. And Saturday night’s performance in a 42-41 win over Georgia State was just another page in the story.
When Reynolds arrived on campus in 2017, he was given a spot in the visitors locker room of the 49ers operations building, along with running back Calvin Camp and other walk-ons.
“There were about 15 of us all in the visitors locker room with the metal lockers, little name tags and oversized helmets,” Reynolds said. “That was our deal. It was something special about starting there and getting to where we are now.”
Fast-forward five years, four game-winning touchdowns in the final minute, three season-altering injuries, two college degrees and every passing record in the program’s history.
Reynolds is in the final chapter in his collegiate career, and it hasn’t been without adversity.
It wasn’t the start the 49ers would’ve hoped for in 2022, losing Reynolds to an injury in the season-opener and starting 0-3 for the first time since was a true freshman. But Saturday night was a reminder of why Reynolds is the lifeblood of the 49ers program.
Trailing by six points to Georgia State with under two minutes to play, looking down the barrel of an 0-4 start, Reynolds and the 49ers offense took the field at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta. He had two timeouts in his back pocket and a brace on his left shoulder from the injury that had sidelined him for the two weeks prior.
It was just another day at the office.
“We were looking at about eight plays to go 70 yards, so a little bit less than 10 yards a play. That’s what I like to calculate in my head before we go out there,” Reynolds said of the game’s final drive. “Let’s just do our jobs. No one has to be Superman out there; everybody just had to execute and do their jobs and just play football.”
Although he practiced last week, Reynolds wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play until Thursday — two days before kickoff.
“The mindset was that I’ve got to be able to practice and practice well. I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I was hurting the team,” Reynolds said. “I just want to be able to play football. You’re not guaranteed many.”
Reynolds poured in 401 yards and five touchdowns in his return — the most touchdown passes in his career — including the game-winning score to wideout Grant DuBose with 17 seconds remaining.
It was different with No. 3 back on the field.
“A minute-30 left and you’ve got Chris Reynolds and Grant DuBose and Victor Tucker and Elijah Spencer,” Healy said of the game-winning drive. “I felt really good.
“I love James Foster and I love Xavier Williams,” Healy said of his backup QBs, “but No. 3 is just different. One of the reasons you feel like there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and we can be a good football team, is because he was coming back.”
After engineering the sixth game-sealing drive of his career, Reynolds reflected to his first at Charlotte when the 49ers overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat North Texas in 2019, jumpstarting the program’s first winning season and bowl appearance.
“I’m going to be honest, in 2019 I couldn’t think as clear as I do now. I feel like things were going a little bit faster then. But yes, it felt like the same momentum. You kind of put the two together and you have that kind of momentum swing and know that this can be done. And then having Vic (Tucker) still out there with me.”
Tucker, who reeled in the game-winning score against North Texas, had this to say about Reynolds back in 2019. It still rings true today.
“When it’s the fourth quarter, we don’t care about how tall you are, how many stars you had coming out of high school, or how highly recruited you were,” Tucker said then. “We just want to win, and that’s one thing I can say about me and Chris. When we look at each other in the fourth quarter, we only expect to win and make those big plays.”
From attending the Manning Passing Academy as a kid and then returning as a counselor this spring to guide some of the younger athletes, it’s been a full-circle journey for Reynolds, a Mocksville, North Carolina native. The game-winning drives are becoming routine, and the pressures of needing to score 40 points per game to win have continued into 2022.
The 49ers (1-3, 0-1 C-USA) have plenty of work to do if they are to turn this season around, especially heading to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Saturday.
One thing is for sure: Reynolds and this team won’t go down without a fight.
“If I had one word to describe Chris, it would be ‘relentless,’ ” said current Pittsburgh Steeler and former 49er Alex Highsmith. “From the time he stepped on campus, I knew Chris was going to be special. Being a walk-on like him, I knew what it took to overcome adversity and achieve a scholarship. Not many compare to Chris’ competitiveness, and I have nothing but respect for him and I’m thankful to have had him as a teammate.
“He will forever be a Charlotte legend.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Game-winning drives becoming routine for Charlotte 49ers QB Chris Reynolds."