BEREA, Ohio – If there is one Baldwin Wallace University football player who most closely resembles a superhero, senior defensive tackle Judah Reid might just be that person.
Mostly hidden underneath a black bandana on game days, the 5-11, 265-pound Reid sports impressive blonde hair reminiscent of Marvel's Thor. While Reid has sported the look for a while, it is not an homage to the superhero, but rather, a statement that he has other things to focus on, including anchoring BW's defensive line.
"I don't like haircuts," Reid said with a laugh. "I think it's just a waste of time. It just grows back anyways."
Test of Strength
Along with the hair, which Reid has not had cut since the eighth grade, he brings a fierce amount of power to the Yellow Jackets' interior line.
Currently, Reid is fifth on the team with 6.0 tackles for lost yards. His stops in the backfield have resulted in 15 lost yards for BW's opponents. Additionally, Reid leads all interior linemen and is third overall with 4.5 sacks.
Reid is tied for the team lead with two fumble recoveries.
"I like being able to be in there and not really be noticed," Reid said. "It's not sexy. It's not anything. There's no spotlight, but it is just grungy, and it's dirty. There's nothing real fun about it except for the fact that it is a battle in there every single play, and if you don't give 100 percent, then you're going to end up on your back."
Embracing Contact
Typically, defensive ends work against tackles and may draw double-teams from a running back chipping out of the backfield or a tight end called on to support for pass protection. However, the game experience is much different for defensive tackles.
Working along the interior of the defensive line means lining up against a guard or center and then facing a double-team to keep a tackle out of the A or B gaps.
While admitting it is not a glamourous assignment, Reid relishes the experience.
"A lot of times, I describe it as a hockey fight when someone pulls a jersey over their face, but really, when it comes down to it, you're just clawing tooth and nail just to gain an inch, just to be able to play in the backfield," Reid said.
"We always say, 'Football is a game of inches.' Just that one inch is going to make a difference on a play, whether it be making a running back bounce it to the D-end or something like that. But I enjoy it a lot. It's interesting. It gets interesting in there."
Short Yardage
Reid has learned to embrace the challenges that come from playing on the interior of the defensive line, and he especially likes the opportunity to ply his craft when the opponent is in a short-yardage situation.
For Reid, such scenarios, either to force a punt, turnover on downs or keep the opponent out of the end zone, require the Yellow Jackets to "just go back to basics."
"You kind of just throw everything out, and you just get the blood running, and you're just growling and foaming at the mouth," Reid said in a metaphorical sense. "You're just ready to come off the ball and do anything that you can just to create that penetration in the backfield."
Family Business
Reid is not the first member of his family to go to Baldwin Wallace or play football for the Yellow Jackets.
Two of Reid's older brothers, Matt '23 and Josh '25, also played football at BW, and watching them represent the Yellow Jackets "100% definitely" helped him make the decision to attend the same school, and maybe earn some bragging rights at the dinner table.
"I always want to be better than them at everything that they did, and obviously, them going through life before me, they were able to tell me the dos and don'ts of life, football, school and all those things," Reid said. "It has definitely made me the football player I am today."
Extension of Family
For Reid, getting to play for the Yellow Jackets has become more than about building his own legacy in the family football story or exceeding what his brothers were able to achieve for the Yellow Jackets.
In many ways, his teammates have become an extension of his family, on and off the field.
Currently, Baldwin Wallace has the second-best defense in the Ohio Athletic Conference, having allowed only 15.6 points per game and 16 total touchdowns through eight games this season.
"It's something special," Reid said. "It's really nice to be able to look around at the guys next to me and just think about doing my own job. I know that the guys next to me will be doing their job.
"We always say, 'If it's hard for them, it's just right for us,' so it's just being in those tough situations and knowing that you're playing for your brother next to you and being able to do your job correctly. It's definitely the most fun thing I've done in my life.
"I'm best friends with the guys that are in my position. Even though it's a competition every day for who's going to be the guy to step up, it is just being pushed by my brothers next to me. That's really helped me to have success."
Saturdays in Berea
As a senior on the 2026 team, Reid is running out of game days in Berea as an active member of the Yellow Jackets.
After defeating Otterbein, 63-16, on October 24, the lone remaining regular-season game at George Finnie Stadium is set for the last Saturday before the playoffs, November 14, against the Muskingum University Fighting Muskies.
"It's something else," Reid said of the atmosphere in Berea on gamedays. "People always talk about Friday nights, running out on Friday nights being the greatest feeling ever, but running out into George Finnie Stadium, it's incredible. Going through practices, you're beating up on each other, and you're just having that feeling like, 'Why am I doing this? Why am I getting this pain?' But then, you run out there on Saturdays, you're like, 'This is why. This is it right here.'"
Breaking Playoff Drought
While the Yellow Jackets have only one regular-season game remaining at Finnie Stadium this year, they have a chance at securing some more time in front of the home fans.
At 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the OAC, the Yellow Jackets are in first place in the conference standings heading into this weekend's rivalry game at Mount Union.
Should the Yellow Jackets beat the Purple Raiders Saturday, they would clinch the OAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
It would be BW's first trip to the football playoffs since the 2003 season, and with a No. 10 ranking in the NPI (NCAA Power Index), the Yellow Jackets could earn at least one home playoff game.
"It'd be pretty dang cool," Reid said of breaking the school's playoff drought. "Being able to come in here, especially after seeing my brothers play here and seeing so many good teams play here at BW, it'd be pretty cool to be able to say that I was a part of the team that broke that playoff drought and make a run for the money.
"We just need to keep doing our job, keep playing our brand of football, keep playing BW football, and just playing 100 percent every single rep, win every rep."
