Reese Taylor has spent four years in Indiana's football program after winning Mr. Football at Ben Davis in 2017. But now he's decided to finish his college career at Purdue.
Taylor, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback who was the important third cornerback behind Tiawan Mullen and Jaylin Williams the past three years, entered the transfer portal on Dec. 16 and announced his intentions to sign with Purdue on Christmas Eve.
Taylor recorded 74 career tackles, eight tackles for loss and two interceptions for the Hoosiers. The former prep quarterback standout was forced into duty on the offensive side of the ball as a freshman, and totaled 173 receiving yards and 84 yards rushing as a quarterback during the 2018 season.
He switched to cornerback in 2019 and played behind Mullen and Williams, and joined them often in three-cornerback sets. He and Mullen were both banged up this season, and Taylor missed two games and played hurt in several others, with minimal impact.
He had just four punt returns all year, too, for only 32 yards. He was beaten out by D.J. Matthews at the punt return spot, and Matthews is returning for 2022 as well. Matthews had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Sept. 11 game against Idaho.
Taylor struggled with leg injuries most of the season played in only eight games, starting four when Mullen was out. and only mustered 25 tackles, two pass deflections and one sack in the team's eight games this season.
Taylor is the third Indiana player to transfer to Purdue in the past year. Backup running back Sampson James and backup defensive tackle Damarjhe Lewis have moved north as well.
At Ben Davis, Taylor was selected as an All-State quarterback twice, leading the Giants to a Class 6A state title and 14-0 record in 2017. He threw for 3,150 yards and 40 touchdowns and rushed for 802 yards and 15 touchdowns that season.
Indiana still has plenty of depth at cornerback without Taylor. Mullen and Williams, who have both received all-Big Ten honors during their career, are coming back for the 2022 season.
Cornerback Noah Pierre played a lot last year as well, and several newcomers could make an immediate impact, most notably incoming freshman Trevell Mullen, Tiawan's younger brother.
Christopher Keys is also someone to watch in this position group. The sophomore was impressive in the spring and was primed to contend for playing time before tearing an ACL in training camp. He is expected to be 100 percent well before training camp this summer.
Pierre already sent out a reminder on Twitter that they'll look forward to seeing Taylor on Nov. 26, when the two teams battle again for the Old Oaken Bucket.
Indiana won the game in 2019, and Purdue won this year. There was no game in 2020 because of COVID-19 issues inside both programs.
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