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The decision about which two teams would play in the 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl was so close that one almost needed an accountant to figure out the Bowl Championship Series numbers. Good thing the LSU football team had one. Rodney Reed, LSU's starting offensive tackle, is a number cruncher in more ways than one. Aside from the blocks he makes, which "crunched" quite a few jersey numbers during the Tigers' 2003 national championship season, he's also an accountant who graduated from LSU in May 2003 with a near-perfect grade-point average. He is currently enrolled in graduate school at LSU, and is on track to graduate in May 2004 with a master's degree in accounting. And although Reed is known at LSU for his football prowess, he has also won a string of academic honors and awards that would impress the average computer nerd. In addition, Reed recently won the National Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation, which carries with it an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. He was named a first-team Academic All-American for the second straight year, and is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. The 2003 football season was Reed's fourth year as a starter for LSU. He started all 14 games at right tackle for the Tigers in 2003, playing 897 snaps and not allowing a single sack. Overall, he has a string of 47 consecutive starts on the offensive line and is the only player in LSU football history to earn First-Team Academic All-America honors twice, in 2002 and 2003.
He also participated in the East-West Shriners All-Star game a week after helping the Tigers capture the national title. The LSU football Web site states that with his intelligence and experience, Reed's presence is "like having a coach in the huddle and on the field." This blend of brains and brawn—Reed stands at 6'4", 280 pounds—is evident in Reed's hobbies, reading and lifting weights. He personifies the term "student athlete." But Reed is just one example of many such LSU athletes. Chancellor Mark Emmert and his Flagship Agenda for LSU have emphasized academics and research more than ever before, and resources like the LSU Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes have given student athletes the tools they need to succeed at LSU. But for Reed, excelling both in the classroom and on the field is not unusual, it's just what he does. But it is a balancing act, he says. And success in both areas, he said, is the result of hard work. "One is a reprieve from the other," Reed said of football practice and studying. "Finding time for both is a matter of making a schedule and sticking to it." Reed also said working for the accounting firm has taught him that his football skills will help him in his future career in accounting. "Football experience is valuable in the professional world because in both areas, you have to work in teams with different kinds of people from diverse backgrounds." But when asked about his awards and accomplishments, Reed humbly shrugs them off. "The biggest honors are the team honors," he said, such as winning the national championship and the SEC championship. Reed said he comes from a "big LSU family," and that he decided early in his senior year of high school that he was going to attend LSU. He complimented the Ourso College for its outstanding accounting program, teachers, and resources, such as the SMART Lab and the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes.
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The West Monroe native spent the past two summers working for a Baton Rouge accounting firm, where he prepared individual and corporate tax returns and did some auditing work. He was selected by 
He is a recipient of the Director's Cup, LSU's award for athletes with a 3.0 grade-point average or higher, and is a member of the 2003 SEC Good Works Team. He also received the Wally Pontiff Jr. Academic Excellence Award, which goes to LSU's highest-achieving student athletes each year. Earlier this year, he was featured in Sports Illustrated as one of the nation's five smartest offensive linemen.
Some of his other accolades include First-Team Freshman All-American, Freshman All-SEC and SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2000; Second-Team Academic All-American and SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2001; First-Team Academic All-American and SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2002; and First-Team Academic All-American in 2003. 
"Athletics takes a lot of my time, but my college experience would not have been as fulfilling without it. Being able to play in Death Valley on Saturday night is amazing, but my success in the classroom is just as gratifying," he said.
"But what really makes LSU special is the people—my peers, the bond I have with the other players, and the fans," he said. "And Tiger Stadium." When asked if the crowd in Tiger Stadium sounds as loud on the field as it does to the fans in the stands, he smiles. "Louder. There are times when we can barely hear each other talk," he said. He mentioned the 2003 LSU-Georgia game as one of the loudest he can remember, along with the 2001 Auburn game, which sent LSU to Atlanta to play for the SEC title.
Reed has also been involved in a number of community service projects with the football program, because he believes it is important to "give back to the community." He also tries to serve as a leader for younger players who can benefit from his experience, both on the field and in the classroom. His number one piece of advice in both areas: "It's all about the individual effort that you put into it."
