51ºÚÁÏ

felt the need to say something.

Even though he was a second-team freshman running back at the time, Taylor called out his football teammates as they went through the motions during a sluggish Tuesday night practice in 2022.

the SLUH players looked uninterested midway through the workout.

"I wasn't used to losing or used to my guys goofing around," Taylor said. "I told them, 'We just lost by a lot. I don't ever want that to happen again.' "

SLUH coach Adam Cruz watched in amazement as a newbie freshman had the guts to speak up on a team with plenty of juniors and seniors.

"He really got loud and got in some people's faces," Cruz recalled.

The Junior Billikens, thanks in part of Taylor's display of leadership, had their best week of practice before

"I was just young and I had a lot of heart," Taylor said. "I had to tell those guys what is right and what is wrong.

"After that, they locked in."

The verbal explosion showed off Taylor's desire to win. And the 5-foot-10, 185-pound running back has been a leader for the program ever since.

Despite missing part of two seasons with a torn ACL, Taylor developed into one of the top running backs in the area.

He has given a verbal commitment to attend Sacramento State University after sifting through a host of offers including those from Iowa, Nebraska and Purdue. Taylor is the No. 10 recruit on the Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown of the area’s top senior college football prospects.

"He's a quiet-type guy," Cruz said. "Just competitive and doesn't like to lose no matter what."

Taylor has taken a circuitous route to a potential college football career.

Following his outburst, Taylor backed up his words six weeks later by rushing for 211 yards and three touchdowns

"It was pretty impressive," said SLUH senior Keenan Harris, who is one of Taylor's best friends on and off the field.

The performance put Taylor on the map and set the tone for what was shaping up to be a breakout sophomore campaign.

It didn't work out that way.

Taylor rambled for 59 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter of the 2023 season-opener against St. Mary's. Then things came crashing to a halt when he tore up left knee on a play early in the second period.

"I heard a pop," Taylor recalled. "And then I couldn't feel my whole leg."

The comeback trail from that injury finally ended the second week of last season when

In Week 6,  The performance kick-started SLUH on a 5-2 run to close the season.

Taylor rushed for 1,053 yards over those final seven games, including a 281-yard effort against St. Mary's. He finished the season with 190 carries for 1,244 yards and nine rushing touchdowns.

The strong close to the season signaled Taylor was back for good. It also started a feel-good period following some struggles during the 14-month rehab period off the field. 

"I learned a lot about myself," Taylor said. "I had been playing football my whole life with no big injuries. And not being out there took a toll on me mentally. I realized throughout the process of getting back that I had to work even harder to get back to where I was."

Taylor said once he became physically cleared to play, he still had to get things right in his head.

"Mentally, it broke me, being away from football for a whole season," Taylor said. "It made me come to understand that (football) isn't just a sport, it's something that builds you as a person too."

Taylor got plenty of college attention with the strong finish to his freshman campaign.

Despite the higher-profile college offers, Taylor always had a connection with Sacramento State, and that relationship increased when former Lutheran North coach Kyle Wagner took the job there as the program's offensive analyst.

"I felt welcomed, I feel like they wanted me there," Taylor said. "They pushed really hard."

Taylor may lack elite NCAA Division I size, but he makes up for it with a scrappy, hard-nosed attitude.

Tough to bring down, Taylor possesses an ability to hit holes just as they open.

At SLUH, he has found stability both on the field and in the classroom.

"You look at him and realize that he has the drive and motivation to be successful no matter what he tries," Cruz said.