Arkansas quarterback planning return trip to Oxford

Taylor Reed picked up his first Division I offer recently when Arkansas State liked what it saw.

Now the quarterback from El Dorado, Ark., has his sights set on the SEC and the Big 12, hoping that some impressive camp performances this summer will lead to scholarship offers.

Reed, a 6-foot-2 ½, 196-pounder, turned heads at Ole Miss' elite camp earlier this month. Besides looking sharp in individual and 7-on-7 passing opportunities, Reed posted a 35.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot, 10-inch broad jump, ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash and a strong 4.02-second 5-10-5 shuttle run.

"They were very impressed with me," Reed said. "Physically, I'm a lot stronger and faster than I was a year ago. I'm throwing with more velocity. I've worked hard and I've worked a lot with my dad (former Arkansas quarterback/El Dorado coach Scott Reed)."

Ole Miss has three verbal commitments so far. None of those are from quarterbacks. Fulton, Miss., quarterback Maikhail Miller has a scholarship offer from the Rebels but isn't listing a leader.

"Right now, they're just taking their time," Reed said, adding the Ole Miss staff told him in Oxford that they were planning to take one and maybe two quarterbacks in the 2011 signing class. "They're going to wait and see whether they're going to offer me."

Reed has also camped at Mississippi State (where he ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash), Kansas and Arkansas State. He plans to camp at Louisiana Tech in July before making a return trip to Ole Miss for the Rebels' one-day camp on July 17.

"I'm just hoping right now it all works out," Reed said. "Hopefully it will by the end of the summer. …I'm highly interested in the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State and I enjoyed Kansas."

Reed completed 155 of 255 passes for 2,313 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, leading the Wildcats to the Class 6A state championship. Reed added 94 rushes for 265 yards and another six scores. As a sophomore, Reed was a wide receiver, catching 36 passes for more than 600 yards and eight touchdowns. Despite his athleticism and his experience at wide receiver, Reed said the schools recruiting him at this point are "just talking quarterback. I'm really surprised."