IU Commit Reese Taylor Looks to Cap Off Senior Year with a State Title

Written By Kris Shankle

Reese Taylor, though short in stature, plays with the biggest chip on his shoulder. It's what has made Reese the player he is today. Reese Taylor, though short in stature plays with the biggest chip on his shoulder. It's what has made Reese the player he is today. Often overlooked by his height for a QB, Reese finds a way to get by. The Indianapolis native has had one of the best years in recent memory in the state of Indiana, which has led him to a ranking of 674 from 247 composite rankings. If I was a betting man though, that number will go up once the final rankings are out.

Told he wasn’t tall enough to play QB once he got to college, Reese took the challenge personally. Playing at Ben Davis and in the MIC conference which is one of the best in the state, Reese has ran through every team in his way. Warren Central who most thought would be their biggest competition, fell to Ben Davis and Taylor twice. Warren Central would provide a scare in the Sectional Championship, but as Reese does he led his team to a victory. Now as his team heads into the State Championship matchup against Penn out of Mishawaka, Taylor looks to cement his legacy before his high school career is over. It will not be an easy task though. Penn is 13-1 on the year and has had a pretty good year themselves.

Let’s not get to ahead of ourselves though and forget about the rest of the season Reese had. Coming into Summer workouts, Reese had a lot of people talking. A lot of that talk came from the B1G conference, as 5 teams had reached out to him asking him to play for their school. Those offers from Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue, Minnesota and of course Indiana. Outside of the conference though, Taylor didn’t get much attention as some didn’t no where he would play once he got to college. Man would that all change in just a matter of months. Reese didn’t just play good. His team didn’t just win. They dominated. Everyone loves stats, so instead of talking about how great he has been I will tell you that through the air Taylor has passed for almost 3,000 yards and on the ground nearly 700 yards. The stat that really sticks out though is 49,49 total touchdowns with a chance to get over 50 this weekend. Those numbers and his teams success has led to the whole state as well as nationally recognizing just how good this kid really is. Reese is the silent favorite to take home the prestigious Mr. Football award that goes to the best player in the state of Indiana. Reese will make plenty of all state teams as well as all conference teams and that is awesome, but Taylor is also a candidate in the NPOY running. That means he is in the conversation with the best players not just in Indiana, but the whole country. My guess is a lot of teams are shaking their heads knowing they didn’t even try to pursue this kid.

One team that is happy about the big boys not paying attention to Reese is the Indiana Hoosiers and Coach Tom Allen. They didn’t care where he would play once he got to Bloomington. They just knew that his heart and his leadership as well as his talent level would be more than enough to make a difference. His position isn’t set in stone once he gets there, but wide receiver and some wildcat formations have been talked about. One thing is certain though, the kid can play. Hoosier fans have built a strong relationship with him, which just shows even more what kind of talent on and off the field he is. The next couple weeks will change his life and if you’ve been paying attention, the odds are in his favor.

You can follow Reese Taylor on twitter @TheRealReese11

Follow myself @HoosierKris and @Hoosier_Huddle for updates on how the rest of the year goes for Reese.