‘We’re Team Reese first’ Inside the family reunion behind IU safety Garrett Reese facing his brother

When the Reese family arrives in Bloomington on Saturday, it will bring about 30 relatives, a charter bus from Chicago and jerseys split between Indiana red and North Texas green.

Nobody will be asked to choose a side.

The colors will represent the two teams playing at Memorial Stadium, but Al Reese’s loyalties are clear when it comes to his sons: Indiana sophomore defensive back Garrett Reese and North Texas tight end Max Reese.

“We’re Team Reese first,” Al Reese said.

Indiana hosts North Texas at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium, with the game scheduled to air on FOX. It will place Garrett, who is entering his second season with the Hoosiers, across the field from his older brother Max, a fifth-year senior tight end, in his first year at North Texas.

For the Reeses, the game is more than a season opener.

“It’s one of those moments that’s bigger than football for our family,” Al Reese said. “We want everybody there together to enjoy it.”

The family chartered a bus to make the trip from Chicago to Bloomington and had special jerseys made for the occasion. Al expects plenty of Indiana red and North Texas green in the stands, but no family member will have a preferred result.

“They’re rooting for both boys to play great, stay healthy and hopefully give us a game we’ll be talking about at family gatherings for the next 30 years,” he said.

Saturday will also be a full-circle moment for Al, who coached both Max and Garrett until they were around 12 years old.

He remembers introducing them to the game, working with them as kids and watching football become a passion for each of them. Now, he will watch them take the same field on national television, wearing different uniforms and pursuing the next steps of their college careers.

“It’s going to be pretty surreal and emotional for me,” Al said. “As a father and someone who was so involved in those early years, I don’t know if I could have ever imagined a moment like this.”

Max and Garrett are at different points in their football journeys.

Garrett appeared in 10 games as a true freshman for Indiana last season, recording his first career tackle at Purdue and recovering a fourth-quarter fumble against Maryland.

Both, according to their father, share the same long-term goal.

“They both want an opportunity to play in the NFL,” Al said. “I want to see both of them go out there, play well and continue taking steps toward that dream.”

Their paths have intersected in football before, though they represented rival high schools in the Chicago area in different stages of their careers.

Max helped Fenwick win a state championship in 2021 before graduating in 2022. Garrett later graduated from Nazareth Academy in 2025 after being part of three state title teams during his high-school career.

At home, Al said, Max has long been an example for his younger brother. The two trained together while growing up, and Garrett had the benefit of watching Max’s path through recruiting and college football before starting his own.

“Max has also been the ultimate big brother to Garrett,” Al said. “He’s given him a lot of guidance over the years.”

The competition has never taken away from their relationship. Al said Max supported Garrett throughout Indiana’s national championship run last season, and that the encouragement reflected how sincerely the brothers root for one another.

“There was never any jealousy or anything like that,” Al said. “It was pure pride.”

Still, he does not expect this supportive dynamic to eliminate the edge that comes with a brother-versus-brother matchup.

“They’re extremely close and extremely competitive,” Al said. “The brotherly love will probably disappear for about three hours on Saturday. But when that clock hits zero, they’ll go right back to being each other’s biggest supporters.”

Neither player has asked Al for information about the other’s team, he said. Garrett has focused on continuing to develop as a sophomore, while Max is focused on finishing his college career strongly and earning an opportunity at the next level.

That does not mean there has been no advance competitions.

Max and Garrett are both included in EA Sports College Football 27, and in recent weeks they have been playing the Indiana-North Texas matchup before it reaches Memorial Stadium. Max typically plays as North Texas while Garrett controls Indiana.

“There’s plenty of trash talking going back and forth,” Al said. “They’re brothers, so neither one wants to lose to the other in anything, whether it’s on the PlayStation or in Memorial Stadium.”

On Saturday, the Reese family’s video game rivalry becomes real. The bus ride, split jerseys and divided colors will make the scene look like a family caught between two teams.

For Al Reese, though, there will be no divided loyalty.

He will simply be a father watching two sons he once coached as children take the field together, just not on the same side.