Reggie Pearson Jr. is a unique individual. What stands out the most about him is the level of maturity for a man his age. Pearson was forced to sit out the 2020 football season after not being cleared by the Wisconsin medical staff when it was discovered that he had a brain cavernoma. The adversity he faced and had to battle back from seems to have given him a positive perspective on life as well as an appreciation for being back in the game he loves.

Pearson played in his first game since the 2019 season on Saturday and talked about how great it felt to get back out there.

“Great, great, blessed! I prayed for nights like these, I cried over nights like these. I was excited; I didn’t know what to expect with my play even with all the practices. So, kind of just seeing what I was capable of again and just displaying and proving to myself that I can still play as good as I did at Wisconsin or better."

"I was definitely excited and excited to play next to my guys. That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Being able to step on the field again was special for me and my family.”

Pearson on the biggest difference from the first half to the second half against Houston:

“The mentality, execution, just making sure we execute our jobs and do what we have to do. To make sure everybody is in the right spot, so we don’t give up blown coverages or have miscommunications."

"We kept them to under 40 yards in the second half, so it definitely made a statement and set a bar for us. That’s a level we’re trying to maintain and overreach. There’s more to come, more to see.”

What he feels like he adds most to the Red Raider defense:

“My mentality. I don’t like losing, I’m not a big fan of losing. So just trying to bring that dominance and knowing what I have to do to execute.”

Pearson on being the type of player that’s able to find success in creating turnovers and the forced fumble from the Houston game:

“It’s a knack, definitely, a knack for the ball, as well as being in the right place. (On the Houston forced fumble) I’m going to be honest that was God given. I didn’t expect him to stop on a dime like that. I prayed after the game because I was so happy to get that and just feeling so blessed to be able to play again.”

Pearson on changing the perception that Texas Tech doesn’t play defense:

“Most of the transfers here came from defensive teams and I didn’t come here to play on a defense that gives up 60 points a game and neither did my other teammates. Displaying the dominance in that first game, outside of the miscommunications and troubles we had in the first half, showing that this team is different, that we can be a dominant defense."

"At the end of the day, we’re all about us, maintaining that mentality of keeping it just about us and being dominate for ourselves.”

On being named the Big 12 Newcomer of the week:

“That’s something that I cherish and blessed to have, but I'm also kind of ignoring it and putting it to the side in order to surpass that this week and the week after.”

On what the defense is looking to build on from last week and what they’ve seen from the SFA offense?

“Just starting early, the first half we definitely had too many misses on things that we had worked on and were solid on before we went into the game. Just keeping in the back of our heads the importance to do our jobs first and make plays second. That was definitely a change from the first half to the second half.”

“They’re pretty good. They have a few key players that a lot of people know and talk about. So we’ve been focused on them and taking those players out of the game and making them use other players.”

Pearson on playing the Spur position and if he feels his game is more suited for coverage or playing in the box:

“Both, I’m pretty good at both. Just being able to run with slot (receivers). That’s something that I’ve improved on. My redshirt freshman year at Wisconsin, I was able to run with people but not to the extent that I can now. Playing in the box is a forte of mine, and now being able to display my coverage is different from what people saw when I played in the Big 10.”

Pearson on the guys at the next level who he likes to watch and model his game after:

“In high school, I used to kind of model my game after Tyrann (Mathieu). As I’ve gotten older and began to move around a little more and play in the box, covering tight ends and what not, I’ve started watching Jamal (Adams) a little bit more.”