Georgia Southern University has hired Taylor Reed to its coaching staff as the running backs coach:
Taylor Reed, who has coaching experience at three Power 5 programs, has been named as the running backs coach for Georgia Southern by head coach Clay Helton. Reed joins the staff after spending two seasons with the Illinois football program.
“My family and I are honored to be joining the Georgia Southern program,” Reed said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Helton’s staff, and I am excited to work with this great group of student-athletes and coaches.”
Reed was elevated to an offensive analyst for the Illini in 2022 after serving as an offensive graduate assistant in 2021 when he helped Illinois to a pair of road, ranked wins. The Illini won at No. 7 Penn State in nine overtimes, the longest game in college football history, and won at No. 20 Minnesota, the program’s first win over a College Football Playoff-ranked opponent.
In 2022, running back Chase Brown was among the nation’s leaders with 1,643 rushing yards and scored 10 touchdowns, and quarterback Tommy DeVito threw for 2,650 yards and 15 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Brown became the first Doak Walker Award finalist in program history and was named an All-American by almost every outlet. DeVito set a program record with a 69.6 percent completion rate, which was the fourth best in the FBS. Illinois was the only team in the country with a 1,500-yard rusher and a receiver with 80 catches.
“We are very excited to welcome Taylor Reed to our Georgia Southern football staff,” Helton said. “Taylor was a part of an Illinois staff that helped make Chase Brown one of the top rushers in all college football last season. Before being in the Big Ten, Taylor had two different stops in the SEC, at Auburn and Arkansas. These experiences allowed Taylor to compete and be trained at the highest level and helped him form significant relationships within our recruiting footprint. We are thrilled that our running back room will continue to thrive under his leadership.”
Before arriving at Illinois, Reed spent the previous two seasons at Auburn as an offensive graduate assistant, working primarily with wide receivers and helping Auburn to the Citrus Bowl and Outback Bowl berths.
Reed initially coached under Bret Bielema at Arkansas from 2016-17, working primarily with the quarterbacks. At Arkansas, Reed helped coach Austin Allen, the SEC’s top passer in 2016, who threw for 3,430 yards, including a league-best 2,291 yards in SEC play, and totaled 25 touchdown passes.
Reed joined the Razorbacks after lettering at Central Arkansas at quarterback from 2013-15, where he threw for 1,809 yards and 14 touchdowns in 23 games over three seasons. He began his college career in 2011 at Memphis, starting nine of 11 games and throwing for 1,690 yards and 10 touchdowns. Following that season, he transferred to Arkansas, sat out the 2012 season due to NCAA transfer rules, and then joined Central Arkansas in August 2013.
Reed rejoined Central Arkansas as running backs coach in 2018 before moving to Auburn from 2019-20.
A native of El Dorado, Arkansas, Reed graduated from Central Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He and his wife, Shayne, married in July 2019. They are the parents of twin boys, William Bo and Tommy Fisher, who were born in 2022.
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