Reaves was born in Anniston, Alabama, in 1950,[1] and moved to Tampa, Florida, with his mother and grandmother after his father died when he was 9 years old.
[4] As a senior in 1967, he led the Knights to the Florida Class 2A football semifinal game before losing to the Coral Gables Cavaliers, who won the state championship and were ranked as the national champions afterward.
[5] After graduating from high school, Reaves accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played quarterback for coach Ray Graves and coach Doug Dickey's Gators football teams from 1969 to 1971.
"[6] His record as the NCAA's all-time career leader in passing yards was achieved after a controversial fourth-quarter play in the last game of the 1971 regular season against Miami.
[7][8] Reaves holds the NCAA record for interceptions thrown in a single game, throwing nine against Auburn in 1969.
[9] Reaves returned to Gainesville during the NFL offseason and completed a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1973.
[10][11] He was picked as number 30 among the 100 greatest Gators from the first century of the Florida football program by The Gainesville Sun in 2006.
[14] He was then traded to the Cincinnati Bengals in 1975,[15] claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings in 1979,[16] and signed to the Houston Oilers in 1981.
[21] Reaves's younger son Stephen was a back-up quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).