Taylor, a running back and cornerback for the Tigers football team, made an oral commitment to accept a football scholarship at the University of Texas on Wednesday.
Oral commitments are non-binding, and Taylor cannot sign a letter of intent with the Longhorns until Feb. 4, 2004, the national signing day. Likewise, University of Texas officials cannot comment on Taylor’s commitment until he officially signs.
Nonetheless, Taylor was happy to put the decision to rest.
“It takes a lot of worry off of me,” he said. “I’ve got a four-year scholarship waiting for me.”
Taylor is still allowed five college recruiting visits, and he said he would take at least two of them — perhaps to Colorado (Boulder, Colo.) and Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) — to get the feel of each city and enjoy himself.
Taylor was recruited by several other schools, including Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Baylor, Brigham Young and Alabama. He had offers from Baylor, Nebraska and BYU on the table when he orally committed to Mack Brown’s Longhorns.
Initially, Taylor was interested in Dennis Franchione’s Aggies, but he soon turned his attention to the Longhorns, where he thinks he’ll have his best chance at winning a national title.
Taylor first visited the UT-Austin campus in April, when the Longhorns held their Orange-White spring scrimmage. He returned twice more during the UIL state track meet in early May, where he won the 4A long jump. His leap of 25-0 was then the longest jump in the nation by a high schooler. (The mark has been eclipsed twice since then).
Taylor visited UT several more times after the UIL meet and he attended coach Brown’s Longhorn Camp last Sunday. There, Taylor ripped off a 4.3 time in the 40-yard dash.
Brown telephoned Taylor on Wednesday and asked him, his mother and stepfather if they could come to Austin, where Brown made the scholarship offer in person.
Coach Brown, Taylor said, is interested in the 5-10, 182-pounder as an athlete —cornerback, wide receiver, kick returner and punt returner. Last year, Taylor played some for Jay Warrick’s squad at cornerback, but made his mark on offense.
As Belton’s lead running back, Taylor rushed for 1,456 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry, and added 13 receptions for 325 yards and five scores as a receiver. On special teams, Taylor returned nine kicks for another 233 yards. He combined for 2,014 total yards.
