Two years ago, like a lot of high school football players, Reed Gordon set a goal of earning a Division I scholarship.

He was big — 6-foot-4, a little over 200 pounds and growing — and had enough skill that it wasn’t a pipe dream. Playing for tiny Porters Chapel Academy, however, meant Gordon couldn’t sit back and wait for the offers to roll in. He would have to do something about it.

So Gordon embarked on a quest. It took him to farflung football outposts across the south for camps. It took him to the gym for hours of hard work before his first class in the morning, and onto the internet to create a small new media empire dabbling in all things Reed Gordon.

And now, it appears, the quest is nearing its end. PCA’s senior tight has received heavy interest from several schools and hopes to land a scholarship this winter.

Although there’s still a few months of uncertainty ahead, Gordon feels a sense of satisfaction at what he’s accomplished.

“It’s definitely been a lot of hard work. It wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but you do what you can,” Gordon said.

When it comes to recruiting, Gordon is very much a self-made man, a one-man hype machine in shoulder pads.

Once his football skills started to blossom, he realized that no matter how eye-popping his stats were college coaches weren’t exactly beating a path to PCA. A few players had earned scholarship offers from junior colleges and Division II and III schools, but no one from the school has gone straight to Division I on a football scholarship. To become the first, Gordon laid out a road map for success like a businessman.

First, he developed a marketable skill. Beyond his pass-catching and blocking ability as a tight end, Gordon worked to become a good long snapper. It’s a specialty position that most colleges only have one roster spot for. It’s also highly coveted, and a good snapper is worth his weight in gold. Most college snappers can get the ball to the punter in about .75 seconds. Gordon’s best time currently is .74.

“The demand for long snappers and tight ends is way up there,” Gordon said. “A lot of tight ends are just as good as me. The long snapping really gives me an edge on everybody.”

Next, Gordon hit the road to showcase his talents. He attended as many schools’ summer camps as he could in 2008 and 2009 to get in front of as many coaches as possible. He estimates he went to “8 to 10” camps this summer alone. This July, he visited Mississippi State on a Friday, finished around 10 p.m., and was in Oxford for Ole Miss’ camp the next morning at 9.

“There would be weeks I’d have three a week. It was a packed schedule,” Gordon said.

Phase three of Gordon’s plan was an advertising campaign. He took to the internet, setting up a Twitter feed and his own web site, ReedGordon.com, which features updates of his travels and video highlights. He also sent highlight tapes “to just about every coach in the country” and registered with well-known recruiting sites like Scout.com and Rivals.com.

“Everything Reed is getting from these colleges, he’s worked to get. Nobody was sending him letters,” PCA coach Bill Fleming said. “Reed knew the word was not getting out, so he took it upon himself to get it out.”

The long campaign is starting to pay off. Gordon has received interest from Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Rice, Northern Illinois and a few other schools. He hasn’t gotten a firm scholarship offer yet, but hopes to land one when the recruiting season kicks into high gear this winter.

Although he’s close toaccomplishing his goal, Gordon understands there’s still plenty of work to be done to seal the deal.

He led Porters Chapel with 21 receptions for 321 yards and five touchdowns in 2008, when the Eagles advanced to the Class A semifinals. An ankle injury limited him in the Eagles’ first three games this season as the team stumbled to a 1-4 start.

Gordon has caught three passes in each of the last two games, however, and has seven receptions for 54 yards on the season. He has yet to score a touchdown this season.

“It hasn’t really hurt me,” Gordon said of the slow start. “My injury didn’t help me too much, but I came back and had some good games. I haven’t dropped off much.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com