PROVO — As BYU wide receiver Mike Reed led a team meeting Tuesday, coach Bronco Mendenhall marveled.

Reed is a minority in more ways than one — he's a black, non-LDS athlete on a predominantly white, LDS campus. Of the 105 players on the Cougars' fall camp roster, 75 have served LDS church missions. Yet he stood confidently in front of his teammates and the coaching staff prior to practice, sharing his religious beliefs and how those beliefs fit in with the mission of BYU football.

"He didn't bat an eye to take his chance and demonstrate what he believes and how that integrates into our team," Mendenhall said. "He conducted the entire meeting. He had a great message for our team.

"It might be even more admirable for a young man like that, without all the support and structure, to still be faithful and true to what he believes. He knows who he is and just keeps making good decisions. There's a lot to admire about that."

Four years ago, however, not long after arriving in Provo as a freshman from Baytown, Texas, Reed was close to transferring.

Mendenhall remembers Reed walking out of then-head coach Gary Crowton's office, frustrated and ready to go home. Heaven knows there were plenty of reasons for him to leave. He was in a strange place, far from home, and several of the other freshmen from that 2004 recruiting class had been dismissed from school for their off-field conduct.

But Reed decided to persevere amid difficult circumstances, and it has paid dividends — not just for BYU, but also for Reed himself.

Mendenhall has been impressed with Reed's diligence, leadership and maturity over the past few years.

"There are a lot of things that would make it difficult for Mike, and yet he's turned those things into things he can handle," he said. "He has used them to help him grow. I think he'll leave BYU more prepared for life maybe than he could have been elsewhere because he's embraced the challenges that come from being here."

With his senior season rapidly approaching — BYU entertains Northern Iowa on Saturday — Reed is grateful for the opportunity to play for the Cougars. "I've enjoyed my experience here. There's been some good and there's been some bad," said the soft-spoken Reed, who has caught 87 passes for 1,060 yards and eight touchdowns in his career. "After all the hardships and all that, I can say it's been a success. In my senior year, I'm looking to go out with a bang. Of course, the whole team is. We're looking to capture another Mountain West (championship)."

Reed admits there were times when he thought about transferring.