NFL star Justin Reid reflects on Stanford roots
In the days leading up to Super Bowl LX, the NFL’s biggest stars gathered at Radio Row held in the Moscone Center in San Francisco for media appearances and interviews surrounding the event. Among those stars was Justin Reid ’18.
Reid played for Stanford’s football team from 2015 to 2017. He is currently a safety for the New Orleans Saints. Asked what it felt like to return to the Bay after his Stanford playing days, Reid kept it simple.
“I feel like I’m right back in my backyard,” he said. “It’s so cool.”
Reid shared that he planned to visit campus while in town and reconnect with former professors. The relationships he built on the Farm, he explained, have endured well beyond graduation.
“It’s such a special place. It’s different than anywhere else in the world,” Reid said. “The people you meet, the connections you make, networking, it’s unbelievable.”
Reflecting on his favorite memories, Reid did not point to a specific game. Instead, he highlighted everyday campus life.
“The best memories aren’t anything that’s necessarily on the football field,” he said. “It’s the locker room. It’s the dormitories.”
Reid lived in Ujamaa House and admitted he did not immediately embrace dorm life.
“I thought I would hate being in the dormitory,” he said. “I did not like it the first month. But then after that, you start to actually like it. You get to know all the people down the hall.”
What began as discomfort turned into growth.
“You talk to people you would have never otherwise talked to and connect with them,” Reid said. “You learn how to get along with anybody. That turns into real skills in the real world.”
Asked about his favorite class, Reid pointed to CS106A, emphasizing the academic side of his Stanford experience.
Even amid Super Bowl week’s national spotlight, Reid’s reflections centered on community and connection, a reminder that for many Stanford alumni in the NFL, The Farm remains foundational long after their final snap.
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