While playing at Stanford, Reynolds acquired the nickname, "The Horse." While most observers assumed that the nickname was derived from Reynolds' size and strength, it was actually based on a prank directed at Reynolds during his freshman year at Stanford. When Reynolds left campus for a weekend, a group of classmates led a horse up the steps of the dormitory and into Reynolds' room. The horse remained in the room until Reynolds returned on Monday morning, by which time the horse had eaten through the drapes and all of Reynolds' notebooks and some of his textbooks. From that day forward, Reynolds was known as "The Horse."