Taylor is a 5'6", 155, Freshman running back from Centennial HS, Corona, CA. After gaining 2,290 yards and 44 TDs as a Senior, Taylor was named Mr. Football as the states top offensive player by CalHiSports.com, an All-Inland 1st Team, and a Blue-Grey All-American.
What to Like: Taylor has been extremely productive the last two years and is the latest in a long line of talented running backs to come out of Centennial. He’s incredibly quick and explosive and there may not be another back out West who hits the hole any faster. He runs a lot harder than his size would indicate and shows great balance, often staying on his feet after first and second contact. He’s more quick than fast but has great vision and does a nice job setting up a secondary defender and is very difficult to take down in the open field because of how elusive he is. Taylor also shows great hands out of the backfield and will be able to play some slot in college. He should also see the field right away returning punts and kicks and will be a likely fan favorite because of his wide open running style.
Areas to improve: Taylor is one the smallish side and doesn’t project as an every down back in college. He’s a very durable runner who can carry the ball 25+ a game at the HS level, but in college, he’ll likely be more of a change of pace of back who can come in on 3rd downs and also play out of the slot. As mentioned above, he’s more quick than fast and can continue to improve his top end speed. He runs very hard for his size and runs through contact, which is a plus but also makes him prone to taking a lot of shots and that could wear him down a bit at the next level. Of course he won’t be asked to carry the ball nearly as much in college as he does for Centennial.
Overall Analysis: Taylor is a system back and Arizona is the perfect system for his playing style. He’s a versatile player you can move all over the field and is absolutely scary in the open field. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield will make him especially dangerous on 3rd downs as matched up with a linebacker is a huge mismatch. Taylor is a highly competitive player who always runs hard and is a winner. He comes from a great H.S program that does a very good job preparing players for the next level. Taylor could use a redshirt year to get bigger and stronger but has a chance to be a talented playmaker for the program once he hits the field.
I think he size caused a lot of teams to look past him to other players. Can't wait to see him in action and in space. He's a proven product since he played against a lot of division 1 guys in high school
Sounds like from what I'm hearing BYU will get the pleasure of seeing Mr. Taylor.
BYU's defense and my favorite scene from Jaws comes to mind......
Quint: [seeing Hooper's equipment] What are you? Some kind of half-assed astronaut?
[examining the shark cage]
Quint: Jesus H Christ, when I was a boy, every little squirt wanted to be a harpooner or a sword fisherman. What d'ya have there - a portable shower or a monkey cage?
Hooper: Anti-Shark cage.
Quint: Anti-shark cage. You go inside the cage?
[Hooper nods]
Quint: Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.
[sings]
Quint: Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.
Dude was breaking ankles all night. Really fun to watch. Always amazes me how coaches miss on kids. Good for us and RR.
He played at the highest level of high school football in California and was the best player on arguably the best program (Centennial) and still got limited big time offers.
Waiting at the Rose Bowl patiently for the cats to arrive
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more wildcat sports"
2019 BDW Survivor Pool Champion
Before I saw him last night I was pretty worried about his size or lack of it. After seeing him I'm still worried but not nearly as much. He seems to be able to avoid the full force of any tackling hit because of his elusiveness. At some point he is going to take a hard hit and we'll see how he responds. But as far as last night, great game J.J. You indeed have some moves.
My only concern was durability. I mean he's 5'-6" and 170 lbs and Nick Wilson is 5'-10" and 208 lbs. But then I thought about Oregon Ducks De'Anthony Thomas (Black Mamba) and ESPN had him at 5'-9" and 160 lbs at time of commitment to the Ducks. Thomas is still only listed at 176 lbs. J.J. Taylor is shorter, so he must be a bit thicker than Thomas, so maybe there isn't a durability issue.
OSUCat wrote:My only concern was durability. I mean he's 5'-6" and 170 lbs and Nick Wilson is 5'-10" and 208 lbs. But then I thought about Oregon Ducks De'Anthony Thomas (Black Mamba) and ESPN had him at 5'-9" and 160 lbs at time of commitment to the Ducks. Thomas is still only listed at 176 lbs. J.J. Taylor is shorter, so he must be a bit thicker than Thomas, so maybe there isn't a durability issue.
agreed...looks like Green will get a shot as much as Taylor. He looked like he was running hard last night which should come in handy in we do lose Nick.
Hard to hit a guy solid who can move like that and is 5'6. Sander-esque. And 170 is a bit of beef to pack on a 5'6 frame.
He'll be fine.
I realize I need to pump the brakes on this but I love his game and he does remind me of Sanders. Sanders was listed at 5'8 (maybe) and 200 lb (definitely). And much of that was in his legs and ass. Center of gravity and strength allowed him to break ankles by cutting on a dime and the ability to shed big ass linebackers. Being a man vertically challenged myself, I love Barry.
Check out the spin moves at 3:19 and 5:30. Look familiar?
Last edited by The Butcher on Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am, edited 4 times in total.
If you take another look at his runs from the night, watch the way he works on guys. He doesn't just try to shake and bake them. He'll lead them with his eyes and upper body and get a read on which way they're committing, then he cuts.
Postgame, they asked how much instinct his spin moves were. He said it was coaching. He said in high school they were always working on hand-on-ground drills. Combine that with his low center of gravity and look out.
Man, the kid has video game moves. As long as he doesn't get cocky and start trying to run over guys and he stays away from head on contact...he should be fine. Nick puts his head down and runs directly into guys. That is just is not good.
In that clip Moreno posted he was unguardable as a receiver. We have to find a way to get him in space when he is not in the backfield running it.
Waiting at the Rose Bowl patiently for the cats to arrive
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more wildcat sports"
2019 BDW Survivor Pool Champion
azpenguin wrote:...and he slowed up for the last several yards.
Yeah, but 40 times are not recorded from a running start. Meaningless stat from Ari.
'A parent is the one person who is supposed to make their kid think they can do anything. Says they're beautiful even when they're ugly. Thinks they're smart even when they go to Arizona State.' -- Jack Donaghy
TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said the words I didn't want to hear.
"Hell," he said, "it's one game."
No, no, no, a billion-million times no.
RichRod, peppered with questions about J.J. Taylor in his weekly Monday press conference, was trying to pump the brakes on the hype train about his true freshman running back -- The Jolt? Circle Button? The Tornado? -- but let's go ahead and order full steam ahead.
You saw it.
It was just one game. But one heck of a promising game.
The spinning, the cutting, the darting, the speeding on 18 carries for 168 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown, Saturday night against Hawaii. Yeah, the Rainbow Warriors are one of the worst teams in the country, but Taylor's moves seemed like they would play up against USC or Stanford or the Cleveland Browns or this week's opponent, No. 9 Washington, which very well might have the best defense in the Pac-12.
slightly surprised that RR has been downplaying the taylor hype. he's right on about making conclusions based on one data point vs. hawaii, of all teams (similar-ish with dawk), but it also takes some pressure off of nick - assuming that he's actually good to go this weekend. guess he didn't want to be unfair to jj.
But it's not just one game. We have been hearing hype about this kid for a very long time, and now we know what all the hype was about. Taylor is absolutely for real. Here is hoping that when Wilson comes back they will split time between these two. Taylor has to get in the game and Wilson has to not carry the ball 30 times a game! We need a healthy Wilson and Taylor needs significant PT. These two plus Dawkins, who can go for 6 at any time? Nice.
Catstatic wrote:But it's not just one game. We have been hearing hype about this kid for a very long time, and now we know what all the hype was about. Taylor is absolutely for real. Here is hoping that when Wilson comes back they will split time between these two. Taylor has to get in the game and Wilson has to not carry the ball 30 times a game! We need a healthy Wilson and Taylor needs significant PT. These two plus Dawkins, who can go for 6 at any time? Nice.
Go Cats!!
ESPN will start hyping him after Saturday night. My (2) favorite recruits I have been pumping up even before they stepped on campus were JJ and Tristan. I'm just excited they've been given the opportunity to show what they can do. Speaks to if a young man comes in with a strong work ethic & eager to learn you will be given every opportunity to earn playing time early in your career at Arizona. A positive on the recruiting trail I would hope....
PS - Fuck that Washington defender who kept pushing JJ after the play was well over and the whistle was blown. I hope his girlfriend gives him a raging case of anal warts.
Of the 12 coaches, Rush picked the one whose fans have the deepest passion, the longest memories, the greatest lung capacity and … did I mention deep passion?
Can he get a medical redshirt? F this noise, playing with our 4th string RB. What is with these injuries?
Waiting at the Rose Bowl patiently for the cats to arrive
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more wildcat sports"
2019 BDW Survivor Pool Champion
azcat49 wrote:Can he get a medical redshirt? F this noise, playing with our 4th string RB. What is with these injuries?
Yes...he's eligible. If he continues to play as he did this year after his injury. We won't have to worry about him being here for 5 years. Kid is a fucking stud. My ankle would have busted had that fatass rolled on it.
Nice thing about next year is it's possible we'll have 3 studs at RB
