BLACKSBURG, Va. — Life is better these days for Mook Reynolds. Training for the NFL Draft can be a grueling process, but living in Deerfield Beach, Fla., and training at Barwis Performance Center has its perks.

There’s the attention to physical fitness that’s helped Reynolds, a former Virginia Tech defensive back, pack on 20 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-0, 195-pound frame as he tries to get pro scouts’ attention leading up to the draft.

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The south Florida lifestyle — Deerfield Beach is a Fort Lauderdale suburb of sorts — isn’t too bad, either.

“I’ve got a spot right across the beach, so last week I had me a mango on the beach,” Reynolds said with a laugh. “So that’s pretty nice, too.”

After what transpired in Reynolds’ life in the past eight months, it’s a refreshing change to be able to appreciate the good things in life, especially when it was so close to being ripped away.

Reynolds’ arrest on a felony marijuana charge and subsequent dismissal from the Hokies drew all sorts of national headlines last summer. What was less-covered was the resolution to the legal matter two weeks ago, when a Montgomery County General District Court judge reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and took the case under advisement for 12 months, with expectations that it’ll be expunged if Reynolds, 21, avoids any further legal problems.

The ruling was a light at the end of a tunnel, one Reynolds is happy to have reached, despite the road it took to get there.

“Things that I didn’t expect to happen to me happened and a journey I didn’t expect to go through I had to go through,” said Reynolds, who’s eager to move forward. “I thank God that it’s over. I feel like people really looked into it and saw that I didn’t have anything to do with it and was innocent and at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

An unenviable spot

The Hokies’ defense was losing players left and right in the 2018 offseason, but Reynolds’ expected return was a saving grace, particularly in a secondary that took its share of hits.

That changed in the early hours of July 9. Reynolds was a passenger in a car that got pulled over on the U.S. 460 bypass. A jar of marijuana was found in the back seat of the car, where Reynolds was sitting. Reynolds and the driver, 25-year-old Sherod Monte Allen of Mechanicsville, were charged with a Class 5 felony for possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or distribute, despite Allen’s insistence that the drugs were his. Another occupant in the front seat of the car was not charged.

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Though Virginia Tech athletic department policy only required Reynolds be suspended from all team activities until the felony charge was resolved, Hokies coach Justin Fuente chose to dismiss him from the team. Tech announced the dismissal in a Monday morning tweet, only hours after the incident.

In announcing the dismissal, Virginia Tech said Reynolds had been suspended in the spring. That was news to Reynolds, who said he was rehabbing after offseason surgery during spring drills. Fuente later described it as a last-straw situation.

“In the spring, we were not on good terms, and we’re going to move on,” Fuente said last summer at the ACC Kickoff. “And I hate it, but I can’t compromise what we’re trying to accomplish on a daily basis. I tell our kids all the time, ‘Guys, don’t put me in a position to choose between you and the team because I’ll choose the team every single time.’ ”

The dismissal came as a surprise to Reynolds. He’d not been in any legal trouble before, and the manner in which he was dismissed blindsided him. He says he found out on social media like everyone else. (Virginia Tech spokesman Pete Moris said Fuente attempted to reach Reynolds by phone that morning and could not reach him, though Moris said Fuente did speak to Reynolds’ father via phone about the dismissal.)

“I’ve worked extremely hard to stay out of trouble, both legally and in life in general,” Reynolds said. “And that was the first time I’ve ever been in any kind of trouble, and the kind of trouble that it seemed to be went against the kind of kid that I actually am. And I understand how people can judge off things like that.

“Sometimes perception is reality, and if things are being said, people start to form opinions off that and target kids without knowing them or knowing anything about them.”

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Reynolds took some solace when a university hearing to determine whether he should be expelled went in his favor. He plans to return to Virginia Tech to complete the three classes he needs to get his degree no later than next offseason, something he says will be a big moment in his life. Everything at Virginia Tech was.

“I just want to harp on the fact that my time at Virginia Tech is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Reynolds said. “Playing in front of those fans for three years was amazing. Being able to play for Coach (Bud) Foster and the (‘Lunch Pail Defense’) was amazing. Being able to change the defensive scheme for Virginia Tech and be kind of the first to do it, it was amazing.

“The fan base is great. I still keep constant relationships with fans on a daily basis, weekly basis. I was a little upset when it first happened. Mostly, I was upset with how I found out that I was dismissed. I wasn’t told face to face. I found out on social media just like everyone else. But it’s all good. My journey is my journey. I don’t hold any animosity with that.”

A place to play

With Virginia Tech off the table as a football option while his legal matter was being sorted out, Reynolds wanted to find a place to play his final season. After discussions with several schools, he ended up at Texas A&M-Commerce, a program in the northeast corner of the state that at the time was the reigning NCAA Division II champions.

“I looked at the opportunity and what better way than to go out here and compete for a championship,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s what it was all about.”

Reynolds arrived in Commerce three days before the start of the season and rushed to learn the playbook and scheme. He ended up playing in five games as a boundary cornerback, finishing with eight tackles and a pass breakup.

For someone who’d played a featured role for Foster’s defense — he had 135 tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups in two years as a starter in 2016 and ’17 — it was a sobering restart but also one Reynolds cherished.

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Then, life intervened again.

Reynolds’ brother, Jeremy, had moved to Commerce to live with Mook, but the apartment they shared burned to the ground in October. A downstairs neighbor left frying chicken unattended on a stove, leading to a grease fire that consumed four apartments in the building. Reynolds and his brother weren’t hurt, but all their possessions were gone.

“I went out there with all that I had and I lost everything I had in the house,” Reynolds said. “So after that, I came back home and picked up the pieces.”

Reynolds returned to his native Greensboro, N.C., and after consulting with his parents, thought it best to get a jump-start on the pursuit of his NFL dream.

Preparing for the pros

Reynolds relocated to south Florida in December and began training at Mike Barwis’ facility. While there, he worked with numerous players, including some All-Pros (he didn’t want to name them; “I don’t want to be a Fan Girl,” he said), using his time to get geared up for the Tropical Bowl, a late-January all-star game in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he was able to show his stuff after a disjointed couple of months.

His goal was to answer NFL scouts’ questions — both about what went down last summer and how he could fit into a defense at the next level. The former wasn’t hard. Reynolds already has spoken with NFL personnel about it when he played at Commerce, getting it out of the way and clarifying some misconceptions about the case. Last month’s conclusion to his legal matter only reinforced those conversations.

As for what position he’ll play at the next level, that’s up for debate. Reynolds doesn’t want to typecast himself. He played whip linebacker at Tech, which amounts to a nickel spot, though it was a far more physical position than simply covering slot receivers. But he’s versatile enough to play numerous spots on the back end of a defense.

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“Some of the knocks on me were, ‘Can he cover?’ ” Reynolds said. “And I felt like I did a good job in college covering, but of course everyone wants to know can he cover on the outside. So me going out to the Tropical Bowl and being able to play corner in front of the scouts and showcase my abilities as well as my physicality to the game and more so my versatility — I feel like that was very beneficial and helpful as well. And I feel like answered a lot of questions there. I feel like it was a good opportunity to play in front of them so they could see me in person.”

Reynolds won’t attend Virginia Tech’s pro day later this month, though he has a pro day showcase opportunity he expects to announce within the next week.

Though he’s taking a circuitous route to the pros, he’s confident his skills will show through. Reynolds thinks he’s one of the top two defensive backs in this draft class, though that’s an extremely optimistic take. Considering how the past half-year has played out, nobody can be quite sure of Reynolds’ draft stock. Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft analyst, lists him as his No. 7 “small school” safety, with a priority free agent draft grade.

Reynolds is undeterred.

“I feel like if you can play the game of football at a high level, then that’s exactly what they want in the league,” he said. “They want professionals. And I feel like wherever you are, if you can play the game you’ll be found.

“Personally, I feel like I’m one of the top two DBs in this draft, based on what I can do. With my versatility, you can put me on any type of defense at any kind of position and my availability to perform and excel and ultimately make plays and change the game, it’s something that a lot of people won’t be able to do.”

He doesn’t have any expectations heading into the draft and, frankly, doesn’t fret too much about it. After what he’s been through the past eight months, any outlook is bright by comparison.

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“With all this happening within the last year,” Reynolds said, “I’m excited just to have this opportunity.”

(Top photo by Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports)