Where Are They Now? Brandon Reilly
Brandon Reilly: Dream Catcher
Growing up it’s common for kids to pretend to be a famous athlete they idolize, maybe they are Steph Curry, and they make a buzzer-beater to win the finals, or they are Patrick Maholmes throwing a hail-mary to win the Super Bowl. Regardless of who the player is or what sport it is, we all dreamed of making the game-winning play. For most of us, that’s all it was, a dream. However, Brandon Reilly was able to make that dream a reality by catching the game-winning pass under the lights of Memorial Stadium against an undefeated and sixth-ranked Michigan State team. But what happened after his once-in-a-lifetime catch?
Brandon Reilly was born on September 24, 1993, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Growing up, Brandon would take to many sports including basketball, football, and baseball but would become a standout in hockey. After years of playing hockey, Brandon would become a top-ten junior prospect. However, to continue playing hockey at the highest levels he would need to move out of state and live with a host family in a city with a much larger hockey presence. Ultimately, Brandon didn’t want to leave his friends and, most importantly, his family behind. Brandon would then make the difficult decision to give up hockey, shifting his focus to football as he went into high school. After years of hard work, his efforts would finally pay off in his senior year. During his senior year, Reilly caught 18 passes for 339 yards and was also a serious threat on special teams, gaining over 650 kickoff and punt return yards, including three returns for touchdowns. This earned Brandon honorable-mention all-state accolades from the Omaha World-Herald, 1st team Lincoln Journal Star Super State team, and an invitation to the Shrine Bowl. During the Shrine Bowl, Brandon would make six catches for 117 yards and one touchdown, earning him “Offensive MVP” for the 2012 Shrine Bowl. After this, he still had a decision to make; go to a smaller school and get more playing time or bet on himself and walk on at Nebraska? Brandon would decide to go all in and become a Cornhusker.
Brandon Reilly’s journey as a Cornhusker began as a redshirt freshman in 2013, where he saw limited action on the field, primarily as a special team’s player with a few receptions. His sophomore year was marked by adversity and promise; after missing the first half due to injury, Reilly returned to make significant contributions, including a critical catch against Iowa that set up a crucial field goal. By his junior season in 2015, Reilly had fully emerged as a key component of the receiving corps, playing in all 13 games with six starts. His 40 receptions for 754 yards and 4 touchdowns highlighted his ability to stretch defenses, with an average of 18.9 yards per catch, ranking him among the nation’s best. During the first week of November of his junior year, he would live the dream of every Nebraska kid. It’s 2nd and 10 with only 23 seconds left on the clock. Nebraska is down 38-33 against an undefeated and top-ten-ranked Michigan State. Nebraska has the ball at MSU’s 30. The play call comes in and the ball will be thrown to Stanley Morgan Jr on a go route, but just before breaking the huddle, Brandon Reilly calls his shot and switches spots with Stanley. The ball is hiked, and pressure is almost immediately closing in on QB, Tommy Armstrong. Brandon sprints down the field but gets forced out of bounds by an MSU defender. Tommy launches the ball downfield in Reilly’s direction, at the last moment, Reilly makes a move to return to the field and catch the ball at the 4-yard line and then leaps into the endzone for the game-winning score and would forever etch his name into Nebraska football history. 
During his senior year in 2016, Reilly dealt with injuries but still managed to play in 11 games, starting four. He finished the season with 21 receptions for 412 yards, averaging 19.6 yards per catch. His final game as a Cornhusker would be a bowl game against Tennessee, he would haul in two touchdown catches, making a great final performance. After the bowl game, Brandon would immediately shift his focus to the upcoming Pro Day, in hopes of being drafted to the NFL. After a great performance during his Pro Day, Reilly would find himself on the radar of multiple NFL teams. Unfortunately, Brandon would not be selected in the NFL draft but would go on to join the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. 
During his time in Buffalo, he would start on the practice squad before being called up to the active roster in December of 2017. Reilly would stay a Bill until he was waived in September of 2018. Reilly would make a couple more practice squads throughout the NFL including stops in Detroit, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Reilly’s final NFL stop would end after the tragic passing of Pittsburgh’s wide receiver coach, Darryl Drake. However, Reilly was not done playing, as he would make one last stop playing for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL in October of 2019. The XFL would seize operations in April of 2020 largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus ending Brandon’s football journey.
Brandon moved back to Nebraska following his professional football career. Brandon would go into sales at INSPRO Insurance, which was acquired by Marsh McLennan Agency in 2020. Today, Brandon is a key part of their sales team at their Lincoln branch and plans to stay there for the long haul. When he isn’t in the office, Brandon is living his best life, spending time with his friends, family, and his dogs. Brandon’s story is one of perseverance, betting on yourself, and knowing sometimes life will push you out of bounds but through hard work and self-determination, we too can steer ourselves back onto the correct path and make that life-changing catch.
