His tumultuous college football career is nearly over, but Reginald Glover isn’t ready to give up on his dream of playing professional football.

The former Selma High School two-sport standout recently played his final football game for Alabama State University.

And while Glover knows his chances of making it to the NFL are slim, he still holds hope of one day soon becoming a professional athlete.

“I’m going to try and get in better shape so I can have better workouts for the scouts,” Glover said. “It doesn’t matter to me if I go in the sixth round, the seventh round, or if I get a free agent deal. I just understand from the numbers standpoint that it’s going to be kind of difficult. But I’ll take any team they’ve got.”

Glover, the son of Classie and Eugene Glover of Selma, indeed has high hopes. But being the youngest of five children, Glover has surely dealt with adversity before.

Even before the NFL Draft takes place in April, Glover will have his opportunity to show everyone what he’s got. Glover recently was invited to participate in the Historical Black Colleges and Universities All-Star Classic. The game will be held Jan. 17 at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans.

Glover said he received his invitation letter just a few days ago, but was officially informed of his invitation earlier this month.

“I know there are going to be NFL scouts there,” Glover said, “so I’m going in there to represent my team, the university, my coach, my family and my community.”

Glover’s college career has been one filled with ups and downs.

After signing with Alabama State in 2000, Glover was red-shirted his freshman season despite his insistence to then-head coach L.C. Cole that he was prepared to play.

“I was pretty disappointed,” he said, “because I really wanted to play. But they decided to go ahead and red-shirt me.”

The following season, Glover was moved from free safety, the position he played at Selma High, to wide receiver. The Hornets reached the Southwest Athletic Conference championship that season, only to lose to Grambling.

Months later, in the fall of 2001, Glover decided to leave Alabama State and transfer to UAB, where his hopes of seeing more playing time were quickly dashed.

Glover was sidelined after doctors administering a team physical found a heart murmur.

Although he was cleared to play football by UAB doctors in November, 2001, Glover returned to ASU the following spring.

“I was missing Alabama State and the program had already turned around,” he said. “The coaches welcomed me back. They told me they didn’t want to see me leave in the first place.”

Glover also admitted he regrets his decision to leave Alabama State.

“I try not to think about it,” he said. “I wasted a year of football because I was impatient. I didn’t accomplish a thing at UAB.”

Upon his return to ASU, the Hornets suffered a setback midway through the season when quarterback Jermaine Crenshaw suffered a season-ending injury in his throwing shoulder.

“I didn’t get too many balls that year,” Glover said, “because we converted a wide receiver to quarterback. We ran the ball just about every play. We just tried to get out of the season healthy.”

One of Glover’s highlights that season was a touchdown catch against Tuskeegee in the Turkey Day Classic. A low point came when the Hornets dropped a 24-20 decision to Alabama A&M in the Magic City Classic.

“I was more of a special teams player,” Glover said, “because I was still young as far as the system was concerned. I could have done better that year, but I had to come back and learn the offensive system again.”

The offseason and beginning of the 2003 campaign hit a bump when it was announced that Cole had been fired as head coach.

ASU officials announced allegations against Cole, his brother Johnnie and ASU assistant coach Richard Freeman for using ineligible players, changing athletes’ grades and entertaining recruits with strippers.

Cole had left his head coaching job at Tennessee State University after he was charged with providing players with money, transportation, complimentary tickets and observing workouts. His brother was charged with providing false and misleading information to the university and the NCAA enforcement staff.

“I was shocked when I found out he was fired,” Glover said. “He had been under investigation for a year. I just let it go, I didn’t pay any attention to it.

“It was two weeks from the start of the season,” Glover added. “We were trying to get ready to play and I still didn’t know anything about what was going on with him.”

What was going on was the entrance of new head coach Charles Coe.

Glover’s junior year began on a less than tranquil note, but things began to calm. Coe kept much of the gridiron system as it was before his arrival, helping his players become more familiar with his coaching style.

“He didn’t want to confuse us,” Glover said, “so he let most of us stay in our normal positions. I respected him for coming in here and letting us stick with what we thought was comfortable.”

The Hornets went 8-5 that season, won the SWAC Eastern Division and earned a berth into the conference championship against Southern University. The game, however, presented Glover with another down point.

On fourth-and-goal from the Southern 3-yard line, Glover ran a quick route into the end zone and had his eyes set on reeling in a touchdown pass.

“I dropped the touchdown pass,” he said. “I wasn’t aware I was already in the end zone when the pass was thrown to me. I did something fundamentally wrong. I took my eyes off the ball

because I underestimated the fact that it was a short pass.”

Alabama State went on to lose the game, 20-9.

This season, however, was a much different story. The Hornets went on to a 9-2 regular-season mark, including a victory in the Magic City Classic. Glover was named Most Valuable Player for the game.

After losing in the conference championship the previous two seasons, Alabama State finally got the job done this year. The Hornets were crowned SWAC champions after beating Southern, 40-35, in the title game.

Glover’s college gridiron career was a roller coaster ride, filled with highs and lows. His concerns now are centered on completing his Computer Information Systems degree, of which he is six classes short. After that, the sky’s the limit for Glover.

“I’d like to play with a team like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or New England,” said. “Someone who’s winning. But I’ll play for any team that will give me the opportunity.”

Good luck, Reginald. Here’s hoping your NFL career will be just as fulfilling as your college days.