The Reitz stuff

The road to achieving a dream is often a long and winding one.
For one of the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive linemen, that road took him from his home in Fishers to Kalamazoo, Baltimore and Miami, and even a different sport, before leading back to that dream becoming a reality with his hometown team.
And all along the way, Joe Reitz has made frequent stops in Jay County.
“It’s been a great ride, one that’s been pretty amazing,” said Reitz, whose parents, Dave and Jane (Hemmelgarn) Reitz, are both Jay County natives. “There have been a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns, but it’s something that led me … full circle all the way back to Indianapolis. I’ve been very blessed by God to be in this position, and I’m hopeful that I can stay here and stay playing in Indianapolis for a long time.”
After having a stand-out high school career in two sports, playing college basketball at Western Michigan University and spending three seasons trying to make it in the NFL, Reitz’s dream finally came to fruition this season.
He battled for a starting slot during the preseason and made his NFL debut in the Colts’ season-opener at Houston. A week later, against the Cleveland Browns, he took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium to play his first regular-season game for the team he grew up cheering for.
Reitz went on to start each of the team’s first seven games before suffering a knee injury against the New Orleans Saints.
“I grew up a huge Colts fan, grew up watching the team,” said Reitz, who hopes to return to the starting lineup for Indianapolis against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. “It’s something when you’re a little kid you always dream you want to play in the NFL or you want to play in the NBA. And you always dream of playing for the Colts and Pacers, because that’s your home town team. … I really have been blessed for that opportunity … to be able to come back home and play with the Colts.”
Football, however, was not always his clear path.
Reitz played football and basketball in high school at Hamilton Southeastern and was an all-state athlete in both sports. So when it came time for college, he had to make a choice.
He went with basketball.
“Coming out of high school I just liked basketball a little bit more,” said Reitz, who stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall. “I think part of that is growing up in Indiana with the mystique of basketball …”
He chose Western Michigan, where he was a starter almost from the beginning.
Reitz ranks as one of the best players in Broncos’ history, having played in (128) and started (126) more games than any other player. He averaged 9.4 points per game as a freshman, and just kept getting better.
He led the Mid-American Conference in free throws with 186 in 2008, when he also made the All-MAC first team after being a second-team selection each of the previous two years.
Reitz averaged 15.5 points as a sophomore, grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game as a junior and scored 15 points per game while shooting 57 percent during his senior season. His name is all over the WMU record book as he ranks second in free throws made (576), third in rebounds (939) and fourth in both points (1,713) and field-goal percentage (.702).He was also an Academic All-American in 2007 and ’08.
All of those numbers and honors aside, he said his career highlight came during his junior season when Western Michigan played at Indiana.
“Even though we lost … that was cool for me, obviously, growing up in this state,” said Reitz, who had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds against the Hoosiers. “And I had a whole bunch of friends and family that came to that game.”
His chance at an NFL career, oddly enough, came through basketball.
Reitz was competing in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland at the end of his junior season when a scout from the Baltimore Ravens saw him play.
His coach, Steve Hawkins, got a call from that scout following the season.
And after his senior year, he had to make a decision.
He was confident that he could play basketball overseas. But the Ravens and several other NFL teams had also shown interest in him.
Reitz signed with Indianapolis agent Buddy Baker, who represents basketball and football clients, and explored his options. He decided to go the NFL route, and signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent.“We talked it through and decided that if the opportunity was there to make a run at the NFL I might as well give it a whirl,” Reitz said. “I had nothing to lose.”
Baltimore initially listed Reitz as a tight end on its roster, but he said the plan all along was to make him an offensive lineman. It was just going to take some time, because at 260 pounds he wasn’t anywhere near big enough to play in the trenches.
He was put on a high-calorie diet that took him to about 305 pounds by the end of his first year with the Ravens. He said his family often joked about him being able to eat whatever he wants, but said that idea is not all it’s cracked up to be.
“You can eat whatever you want whenever you want,” Reitz said, “but when it’s midnight and you’re completely stuffed and you’re trying to eat a whole box of Fig Newtons and drink a protein shake or something like that, that’s not too fun.”
The next step was to turn that extra weight into muscle, a process that has been ongoing for the last two years. He said it involved a lot of cardiovascular training to burn fat and transform his body into that of an NFL offensive lineman.
Reitz spent two years on the Baltimore practice squad without ever seeing the active roster before being released at the end of training camp in 2010. He was picked up by the Miami Dolphins, but quickly released again before being claimed by the Colts.
He spent all of the 2010 season with Indianapolis and even made the active roster a few times, but never got on the field. That marked three seasons since graduating from college in which he had been with NFL teams without making it into the games.
“There were some tough times, because obviously it’s frustrating not playing,” said Reitz, who also fought through shoulder and knee injuries in Baltimore. “But I think the one thing I maintained throughout, and what you have to do in the NFL, is you have to keep your confidence in yourself. If you let that go, if you don’t believe in yourself, it’s going to be hard for the coaches, team and organization to believe in you.”
Baker said he believes Reitz was able to make it from undrafted to NFL starter because of his willingness to put in the time.
“Joe has the talent and the raw ability. You don’t get recruited by major colleges for football and basketball unelss you’re a great athlete,” said the agent, who also represents Butler graduate Matt Howard and Purdue coach Matt Painter. “But then I think the other variables are intangibles that really help guys. ... They’re intelligent ... They know how to push themselves. They understand how to handle all the pressures. … They have incredible work ethics. ... A lot of people work hard, but I think they work that much harder …”
“I’m not surprised at all,” added Rob Cutter, Reitz’s football coach at Hamilton Southeastern. “We had talked in high school ... aboutan NFL career being a real possibility. ... He’s incredibly determined. ... He’s always been a kid that spends extra time. ...
“He was just fantastic to coach. He comes from just an incredible family.”
Reitz, 26, said in the long run the long wait may have been a good thing.
Three years offered him plenty of time to prepare himself for his NFL debut after taking four years off from football. And in all his time on the practice squad he was able to work against some of the NFL’s best, including Hiloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis in Baltimore and Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.
Reitz names several coaches, including Hawkins and Cutter as those who have influenced his athletic career. But they all take second place to his father.
“He just has always been, just a great example of how to live your life being a strong man of faith and family,” said Reitz. “He was my first inspiration.”
Reitz recalls many trips with his parents, brother Andy and sisters Betsy and Katie, to visit extended family in Jay County.
He said he often spent time during the summer playing football and basketball with Andy and cousins Ben Reinhart and Pete and Nick May. And he noted that he always came to stay during the week of the Jay County Fair.
Reitz and his wife, Jill, who live in Zionsville, made their most recent trip to Jay County just before training camp, so they could introduce newborn daughter Juliana to the family.
A month later, his grandmother, East Jay Middle School librarian Mary Hemmelgarn, made the trip to visit him — to see her great-granddaughter be baptized on Saturday and her grandson play his first home game for the Colts on Sunday.
“It’s awesome,” Reitz said. “It’s nice when grandma can come to a game, and some of my aunts and uncles and cousins. … When I was in Baltimore we were a long way away. But it’s nice that now they can watch me on TV, or it’s just a short drive down to Indy and they can come watch me play. Having that support network of friends and family around you … the fact that I’m home and they’re closer makes it easier for me.
“Through the years I’ve met a lot of people in Portland and Jay County. I like going back there … just because of how nice the people are, how great they are and all the support they’ve given me in my journey and my career.”[[In-content Ad]]