By GEORGE MAHL

BALTIMORE, Md. – Former Destrehan High School stand-out football player Ed Reed is accustomed to winning.

His freshman year at DHS, the Fighting Wildcats made it to the state championship game. And although he had disappointing finishes during his sophomore and junior year, Reed looks at his years at Destrehan as ones filled with joyful memories.

“Those were some very exciting times for me. The support we got was fantastic,” Reed said. “There is nothing like playing in front of a packed stadium on a Friday night.”

After four productive years at DHS, the St. Rose native signed to play with the University of Miami. While with the Hurricanes, Reed was named a Freshman All-American by Football News and The Sporting News. By his senior year, he was named a consensus All-America first-team pick, as well as defensive player of the year.

A winning attitude is what Reed credits his success.

“Coming from a school like Destrehan definitely helped me become the player that I was at Miami,” he said.

The former Hurricanes safety led the nation his senior season with nine interceptions in 11 games. In addition, Reed’s 18 pass deflections led the Big East Conference.

“Those were some special times for me. I would not trade them for anything in the world,” Reed said.

That positive attitude led Reed and the 2001 Hurricanes squad to an 11-0 season, including a convincing victory over the University of Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. The victory over the Huskers enabled Miami to claim the national championship.

Amazingly, Reed played through the season with bruised ribs and a painful shoulder separation.

“Winning changes your attitude about everything on and off the field,” Reed said.

Following the national championship, the former three-time All-American fulfilled a lifelong dream: a career in the National Football League. Reed was selected 24th in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. It would seem fitting coming from a winning program in high school, and college would lead to a winning season in Baltimore. However, the Ravens had to cut several players from their Super Bowl team of 2000 in order to be under the league-required salary cap.

“I still think we can be productive this season. We have got Ray (Lewis) and Peter (Boulware) that come from winning programs like me,” Reed said.

Lewis, like Reed, played his college football at Miami, while Boulware was an All-American at Florida State University.

Reed, whose family still lives in south Louisiana, is trying to get used to his new surroundings on the upper East Coast.

“This is not something new to me. I have moved from New Orleans to Miami and from Miami to Baltimore. It’s going to take a little time to get used to that’s all,” Reed said.

The Louisiana native likes Baltimore because in some ways it reminds him of home.

“The people here are really nice to me. They walk up to me all the time and say ‘hello.’ I guess the only big thing different is that the food is better back home,” Reed said with a laugh.

The Ravens, who are off to an 0-2 start this season, had an open date Sunday and Reed said the time off did the team good. Reed’s and the Ravens’ play this week on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos and they host the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 8.