Mizzou’s Reus has followed improbable path to college football

Kyle Thoma, the special-teams coordinator of Braden River High at the time, insisted Reus try playing football, He recalls telling him, “You are not allowed not to come to practice. You have to come to practice.”

Reus worked out with Thomas the next day. He was at practice the following week.

Flash forward to 2026 and Reus is in his second year of college football, starting for the Missouri Tigers as their punter and backing up kicker Blake Craig. Reus is averaging 43.9 yards per punt with a longest punt of 66 yards, the fourth-longest in the Southeastern Conference this season.

Before kicking that first field goal, his one true athletic love was the other version of football, the one that involved kicking a black and white ball into a net.

His love for soccer started in his native Brazil, where it is popularly referred to as the beautiful game. Reus and his father, Marlon, mother, Sil, brother, Jhonathan and sister, Manuella, moved to Florida from Brazil in 2017. Before that, Reus had a vague understanding of the American version of the sport.

His former high school head coach, Curt Bradley, remembers him as a, “full-on soccer player.”

“I didn't really watch it,” Reus said. “I only saw it in movies. I mean, I thought it was cool. I never thought it was for real. I never thought there was a band and we would pack out stadiums like that. I thought it was just the movies.”

When Reus showed up to football practice the day after making his first-ever field goal, he didn’t know the rules of the game. He had a massive leg, impressive athleticism and a competitive spirit that derived from his days as a soccer player.

Learning the game

It took Reus his entire freshman season to pick up on the do’s and don’ts of the sport he’d recently discovered. He still managed to impress Thoma and the other coaches at Braden River, starting with his first kickoff attempt.

“Coach Kyle Thoma, he was freaking out on the sideline,” Reus said. “He’s like, 'Oh my god, you just kicked a touchback as your first-ever kick.' I'm like, 'Coach, I don't know what a touchback is. I just kicked the ball.' ”

That moment came two weeks after he made his first kick. It took two weeks for Reus to have enough feel to suit up and play. He still didn’t know what the purpose of a punt or kickoff was, but he did understand the importance of making a PAT and a field goal. Reus knew that meant points would transfer to the scoreboard if he made it.

“There's certain kids where they have it in their eye,” Thoma said. “They're paying attention and they're focused. And I've not seen him any other way. So, as far as the rules and stuff, I think that's what made it easy for him to transition into football. I don't think he knew.”

There’s a certain look to a well-kicked ball and, at the high school level, it’s obvious when a player has impressive kicking talent. No matter how talented a kicker is, though, struggles and mistakes seem to come with it. In those early years, Bradley didn't see much in the way of struggles from Reus.

“When the ball came off his foot, it's like, 'OK, this is just different,' I mean, just absolutely different from the sound it makes, from the velocity that came off with it," Bradley said. "Like, man, we gotta put a football in front of you.”

While making the transition into high school football, Reus eventually quit playing soccer. He doesn’t have time to play the sport he used to love. He believes a higher power took him on his twisty-turny journey, one that has taken him this far.

“I wanted to stay in Brazil, but now I live in the United States,” Reus said. “I wanted to be a soccer player. Now I play American football. So I really wanted to just play soccer my whole life. But once I got here, I realized that football is much bigger than soccer.”

His years as a soccer player contributed to his leg strength and speed. There is a direct crossover between the two sports when it comes to how one strikes the ball, particularly where the ball strikes the foot.

Reus said the side of the foot is used in kicking a field goal the same way a soccer ball is struck for a through pass. The big moments and ability to execute under pressure also translate to football, as they would with most sports.

“I feel like being (in) the pressure, I feel like that's really what helps me,” Reus said. “But it is different here because in soccer you get multiple tries to get it in the air, and here you have to execute one time. You either make it, or you don't.”

Reus' mindset translates to quick development

Multiple people have helped Reus on his odyssey to being a college football player, including a variety of people in the Florida area with experience working with special team players. Many of them could immediately see a special talent.

“You could honestly see that he was a good soccer player,” kicking coach Shane McDonough said. “The way he strikes the ball, you could tell he's been doing it his whole life. It's a natural leg swing, and even with the punting, he just has that natural leg whip.”

Thoma thinks Reus has what it takes to move beyond the college level. His love for the game and his dedication, per Thoma, form the impetus for his success and could drive him to play beyond college.

“At the end of the day, to succeed at that level, you have to be all in, and that's what he is,” Thoma said. “I mean, he doesn't shy away from any challenge. He doesn't shy away from a hard time or anything. He's been through those.”

From player to mentor

Some people have an eye for talent. Thoma is one of them. After coaching special teams in the college ranks for Appalachian State, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Lafayette, he now coaches high school special teams in Florida. In addition to Reus, he also found Brandin Gallaway.

As a junior in 2023, Reus took Gallaway under his wing. Gallaway now is a nationally ranked punter with a 3-star label, according to 247Sports composite rankings. He’s committed to Clemson to punt, with the capability of also kicking, just like Reus.

Reus was quick to take Gallaway under his wing when Gallaway was just a freshman. He’s now prepared to join the college ranks after Reus did something he didn’t have to when he was two years older than him.

“I wouldn't be anywhere that I am today without him, because he helped me with my technique,” Gallaway said. “He really taught me almost like pretty much everything from the start. I would say he's the reason why I'm at where I am today.”

Thoma recognized the mentorship that Reus provided Gallaway. The two still keep in touch and, as Gallaway rounds out his high school career, the inspiration and guidance he gained from Rues were pivotal to his development as a specialist.

“Bruno helped him get to where he's at,” Thoma said. “Bruno's impact has been felt with someone else who's doing what they want to do, and like it's always watching. Brandin's pretty special, so a lot of his success could be attributed to Bruno's help.”

Both players took a similar path. They both started off as soccer players and both had minimal experience with American football. They were both recruited by football coaches to cross the line into the sport because of their leg talent. And, now, both players are and will play at the Power 4 level.

When mentoring and instructing Gallaway, Reus fell back on those similarities, especially starting out as soccer players, to find common ground with the freshman.

“If we're going through our steps and stuff, he'd be like, ‘Just think like you're kicking a soccer ball,’ ” Gallaway said. “He would refer to soccer terms for me at first because I was more on the confused side. He was really teaching me, so that really helped a lot.”

Missing home

While Reus finds himself mentoring Gallaway from afar, he also finds himself missing his home in Brazil. He misses the Brazilian people and he misses speaking Portuguese in the streets. He misses the lower prices there, as well.

It took Reus a year to learn how to effectively communicate and express himself in English. Communication, even the non-verbal kind, was a challenge for him and his family.

“The people were really direct,” Reus said. “The culture is different… I feel like the culture, some of the stuff is different, but obviously the language. Being able to express myself in English and being able to write was pretty difficult for me.”

His Brazilian roots are important to him. Reus has a tattooed image of himself with a soccer ball looking up at his family home on his right arm. It includes the name of his Brazilian hometown, Pinhais. Even if he’s deviated far from the path he desired growing up in Pinhais, he'll always cherish the place that launched him into this improbable career.