When Rashaad Reynolds was introduced to accept his Hawaii Bowl most valuable player award, his name was mispronounced as Rasheed.
"I have been hearing that my whole life," the Oregon State cornerback said with a smile. "I don’t know where they get the E’s from. There are two A’s in my name."
Boise State sure won’t forget his name any time soon, as the Beavers senior scooped up two fumbles for touchdowns that proved to be the difference in a 38-23 win over Boise State in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday night at Aloha Stadium.
Making his 38th and final start for Oregon State, Reynolds scored his first two touchdowns since high school, when he played quarterback at San Fernando High in California.
It was part of a 31-point first half for the Beavers, who tied the highest-scoring half in Sheraton Hawaii Bowl history.
"I was really just Johnny on the spot," Reynolds said. "On the first play, Scott (Crichton) made a play and I just benefited from him and then Larry (Scott) made a great play and like I said, I was Johnny on the spot."
Crichton, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, made three tackles for loss on consecutive plays in the first half, forcing a fumble by Boise State quarterback Grant Hedrick that Reynolds scooped up and scored on from 3 yards out.
He had to work a little harder for his second touchdown that really put the Broncos in a hole.
With Boise State driving midway through the second quarter and trailing 17-6, Troy Ware caught a pass at the OSU 30 and was close to hitting the ground when a big hit by Scott knocked the ball loose.
Reynolds picked it up and scampered down the sideline, running 70 yards for his second fumble return for a touchdown — a Hawaii Bowl first.
The play was reviewed and eventually confirmed, as Scott’s hit knocked the ball out just barely before Wade hit the ground.
"One thing that our coaches tell us is if you see the ball on the floor you pick it up and make the ref make the decision," Reynolds said. "At that point, I didn’t care what they were going to call, I was going to run and if it wasn’t (a fumble), it wasn’t, and you have to come back and play the next play. Luckily it was a fumble."
The two fumble returns for touchdowns were the first by a Beavers player since Kahuku alum Al Afalava did it against UCLA in 2007.
Reynolds is tied for the team lead with five interceptions this season, but hadn’t recovered a fumble all year.
He outscored Biletnikoff Award winner Brandin Cooks, who finished with one touchdown on eight catches for 60 yards, and he made sure to tell him about it.
"We had a little friendly words on the sideline," Reynolds said. "We were just having some fun out there."
Cooks, who set the Pac-12 single-season receiving record in the win, earned a great deal of respect for Reynolds as the two regularly went up against each other in practice.
"He means a lot (to this program), you know, and a lot is probably an understatement just because of the time he has spent here before I got here and hearing the stories of how he has grown," Cooks said. "He’s been special for this program, and as far as me going against him all my years here, I feel like that has made me the receiver I am today."