Burt Reynolds his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident. These injuries hampered his abilities on the field, and after being beaten in coverage for the game-winning touchdown in a 7-0 loss to North Carolina State on October 12, 1957, he decided to give up football. Ending his college football career, Reynolds thought of becoming a police officer; however, his father suggested he finish college and become a parole officer. To keep up with his studies, he began taking classes at Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) in neighboring Lake Park. In his first term at PBJC, he was
Burt Reynolds "The FBI" and "12 O'Clock High". Reynolds was given the title role in a TV series, "Hawk" (1966–67), playing Native American detective John Hawk. It ran for 17 episodes before being cancelled. He played another Native American in the spaghetti western "Navajo Joe" (1966) shot in Spain."It wasn't my favorite picture," ...he said later..."I had two expressions - mad and madder." He guest starred on "Gentle Ben"; and made a pilot for a TV series, "Lassiter", where he would have played a magazine journalist. Unfortunately, it was not picked up. Reynolds then made a series of films in quick succession.