Kurt Taylor, Perfect size for UM RB?



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    • #15997
      wolfman
      Participant

      This young man has been showing up frequently on the net. I imagine in large part because I’ve been hitting a lot of the UM sports sites. The first thing one notices about this young man is his upper body, most notably his biceps. When learning how much he presses – a lot – it’s obvious he lifts for more than show. Very, very solid young man.

      Curiosity got the better of me so I did some research into Taylor and his high school. I was happy to see he plays in the largest division in GA and although his season totals weren’t mind blowing they were very solid and in the two most important areas for UM RBs, he had a nice YPC and caught enough balls out of the backfield to indicate he is more than one dimensional.

      His highlight tapes were not full of clips of him powering over defenders, something that might be expected of a RB listed at 5’9″ and in some cases, a bit over 200, others, a bit less. But obviously, given those measurements you would expect a bulldozer, but his running style is anything but, although his bench and leg press indicate he could run over defenders if necessary, but what I saw was a RB with good vision, i.e., seemingly sees the field in front of him, not unlike a bb point guard and sets up his runs accordingly, making the right cut at the right time and pulling away from defenders to hint that his sub 4.5 is legit. I am guessing Covington High has a balanced attack because as stated, his YPC and season total yardage indicate a back that could have gained significant more yardage if leaned on more. Also noteworthy – and not uncommon for UM RBs – he did play varsity as a soph and collected nearly half a thousand so it’s obvious the head coach was fully aware of the talent, but not being a three year starter in GA’s biggest division is not unusual as we’ve seen them dislodge OH as the nation’s number 5 producer of D1 talent.

      Interesting, to me anyway, is his size is not ideal for the Bulldogs who have lately treated us to RBs standing at about 6’1″ and weighing 225, Todd Gurley being a prime example. Strangely enough, it is his size that piqued my interest. UM RBs around this size, most notably Mike Hart, have done well in AA. Hart, I think, is a great example because although he possessed tremendous open field running ability, he was rightfully considered a power back as well. We are aware of how tough he was to bring down. Difference here, and I think it is true, as stated, his sub 4.5 appears legit, but no, he – and not many have – does not possess Mike’s open field running ability. Think LeRoy Hoard and I don’t think you would be far off.

      Ideally, you would like to see a 6’1, 220lber come in, but as I said, his size drew my interest and for good reason. Looking at our record books,despite having produced big, productive backs like Perry, Wheatley, A-Train, Mike Hart tops the all-time list and Jamie Morris is not far behind. Two different backs, but both small and where one was a combo – power and elusive, Jamie had more speed and was a crafty runner as well. And if you ever stood next to Jamie, you know they were being very generous listing him at 5’7″. And taking turns with Vaughn and Boles – perhaps the most depth we had there under Bo, LeRoy piled up a nice number in his bowling ball fashion.

      So listed at 5’9″, I’m guessing he’s closer to 5’7″ and the way we saw the line come together at the Citrus Bowl, Kurk, and I did mention his vision, seems ideally matched to hit those lanes Drevno’s lines create when operating in the desired manner. With the combination of speed and vision, I could imagine him taking advantage of some of those lanes De’Veon was treated to and getting a lot farther a lot faster. Additionally, he doesn’t appear like he would go down while at top speed unless a safety really put the shoulder to him.

      Not even ranked among the nation’s top 500 players, he just seems like a “possible” great fit from an historical perspective. Obviously, we will be going after more Peach State players, and when he does come off what I imagine will be a RS year, I would expect him to be listed around no. 4 on the depth chart. But, I would not be at all surprised, because Harbaugh loves to reward his workers, and he is just that, to see him earn enough opportunities that could easily lead to increased PT as his career progresses. I like this young man and for no other reason than I believe he is built for Michigan football.

    • #16001
      Thunder
      Keymaster

      Thanks for the post, Wolfman. I agree with a lot of what you say here. Taylor isn’t a guy who jumps off the screen with his explosiveness, speed, power, etc. But he does have that vision thing that has been missing from some of our backs lately. He seems to be like one of those short, stout guys that has had moderate success at Stanford in recent years – like Remound Wright or Stepfan Taylor.

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