STANFORD — The recruiting radar at Stanford scans the entire nation for talent.

In 2014, when Duane Akina joined the staff as defensive backs coach, the Cardinal set its sights on a safety out of Dutchtown High in Louisiana.

The odds seemed stacked against prying away Justin Reid from LSU, let alone the SEC.

His father ran track at LSU. One of his two brothers is a former All-American safety at LSU. Both his mother and sister attended the school.

Did the recruiting process lean in one specific direction at a certain point?

“Oh yeah, heavy pressure,” Reid said. “Definitely a very, very heavy influence coming from SEC country. Most of the people from Louisiana and from southern states usually stay to go to school there.” Get Pac-12 Conference news in your inbox. Sign up for the Pac-12 Hotline newsletter.

Turns out the San Francisco 49ers likely turned the tide after selecting Eric Reid in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

“Eric was a big part of the recruiting process,” said Stanford coach David Shaw, who felt Justin was a natural fit on The Farm.

“I never gave Stanford a second thought when I was coming out of high school,” said Eric, who had four interceptions and recovered two fumbles as a rookie with the 49ers. “But when I was out here and he was struggling to make a decision, I told him that I think it was the place for him. And he hasn’t looked back.”

The Reid brothers play their home games just 13 miles apart, with Eric at Levi’s Stadium and Justin at Stanford Stadium.

During last week’s 34-24 victory over Arizona State, Justin Reid catapulted himself into a tie for third in the nation with a pair of interceptions, doubling his season total.

“He’s been balling,” Eric said. “Four picks in five games, a tackling machine. I’ve been following.” Related Articles Pac-12 football: Cal, Stanford working to return but local health officials must sign off

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Before high school, most of Justin’s tackles came on the pitch instead of the gridiron.

Middle brother Ryan Reid played soccer for three years at Maryland before transferring to Coastal Carolina in 2015, while Justin was a forward and attacking midfielder on a travel club team.

“I was a solid player,” Reid said. “In my younger days, it was mainly just being the best athlete on the field.”

It wasn’t until freshman year at Dutchtown that he began to take football seriously.

“The big thing I remember about Justin was just how hard he worked as a youngster, as a ninth- and 10th-grader,” said Benny Saia, who retired as football coach at Dutchtown this past offseason after 15 years on the job. “I think in his head he really wanted to follow Eric and achieve those things that he did. He just was a tireless worker in the weight room and was always, always striving to be better. And I’m so proud of what he’s accomplished. We don’t get to see him down here very much on TV, but he’s earned everything that he’s done and it’s good to see him reap those benefits.” Like the Palo Alto Daily News Facebook page for neighborhood news and conversation from Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City and beyond.

Reid also ran track until his sophomore year, when Dutchtown finished as the state runner-up in 2013.

His main event was the 110-meter hurdles.

“I actually never got a blue ribbon, because my teammate was the best hurdler in the state,” said Reid, who ended up third at the state finals.

Over time, it became clear the 6-foot-1, 204-pound junior at Stanford belonged primarily on the football field, like his oldest brother.

“They both would knock your socks off, they hit you,” said Saia, who also groomed Alabama-bound running back Eddie Lacy and safety Landon Collins, both now in the NFL.

“Justin was very conscientious, an extremely hard worker, really almost too hard on himself with his expectations,” Saia added. “He was fun to coach. Both him and his brother went through Dutchtown High School and neither one of them never made anything lower than an A. Highly intelligent, great work ethic and not a whole lot of problems.”

Last week, Eric Reid wrote an op-ed in the New York Times explaining why he chose to take a knee alongside Colin Kaepernick a year ago during the national anthem in a protest of police brutality.

Does Justin view his older brother as a social crusader?

“I still just see him as my big brother,” he said. “I see him as still my mentor in football, a mentor in some of the life decisions, life choices I try and ask. But, also, I see him doing this awesome work just out in the public making an impact across the entire country.

“And it’s weird, because you see it in my shoes and you’re like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty cool to see my brother doing that.’ But at the same time, that’s still the guy that used to sleep in the same room with when I was 4 years old. It’s kind of a little back-and-forth game you play seeing him in different shades of light from my big brother perspective and also this crusader for activism.”

Where does that instinct to speak up come from?

“My parents always raised us to stand up for what we believe in and do what is right,” Justin said. “And if we feel strongly about something, not to just stand idly by and let things go by unchecked if it’s the wrong thing to do.”

Instincts also play a key role whenever Reid puts on his pads and helmet.

That was evident in both interceptions against ASU, beginning with the second-quarter pick off a tipped ball into traffic by linebacker Bobby Okereke.

“Coach Akina always says the hungrier dog gets the bone,” said Reid, who saw the ball waiting to be picked out of thin air. “So you just have to be the hungriest dog on the field in order to make the play.”

In the third quarter, he cut underneath a receiver and scooped the ball before it hit the ground for an incompletion.

It’s the type of play that highlights the countless hours in the film room, studying route combinations and reading quarterbacks.

“Justin has got that athletic ability combined with his instincts, that when he sees it, he goes so fast he passes his own teammates sometimes and gets there before guys that were closer,” Shaw said. “He’s just got a great sense for taking the ball away.”

.@jreid_viii read the play, made a great diving catch. Second INT of the game and fourth this season. #TakeawayTuesday pic.twitter.com/r0CSqnMTpX — Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) October 4, 2017

Is this the type of plays he made at Dutchtown?

“Most of the time he went after their heads,” said Saia, with a laugh. “But he obviously played safety for us and he was able to make up a lot of ground. He’s always had good ball skills.”

Asked for a comparison at the position, Shaw refused to take the bait.

“I will not say Eric Reid, I don’t want to start that, but that’s a good question,” Shaw said. “He’s a combination of so many guys. Physical like Delano Howell, but ball skills like Ed Reynolds. The ability to jump those routes and take the ball away. … But the versatility is really what throws it all into another category. He’s a strong safety, he’s a free safety, he’s a box safety, he’s a nickel defensive back, he’s a great blitzer. So it’s kind of like the whole package.”

“Every time somebody asks me about him, I tell them the longer he plays the better he will get because he’s just a smart kid,” Eric said. “And so he’s able to absorb the information, handle the looks that he gets from the offense and then he can act on it based on the information pre-snap.”

Next up for Stanford (3-2, 2-1 Pac-12) is a trip to No. 20 Utah (4-0, 1-0), which is coming off a bye week.

Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m., and expect his oldest brother, who is out at least one game with a left knee sprain, to pay close attention.

“He knows that if something ever comes up and he needs me, I’m right down the road,” said Eric, a one-time honorary recruiter for Stanford.

Bay Area News Group staff writer Cam Inman contributed to this report.