Meet Trent Taylor

 

I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the best coaches and players in the country in the past three years since starting Louisiana Gridiron Football, LGF. I started this company because I wanted to show how talented the guys are from Louisiana. When I was at SLU, no one was covering the team, even when they went deep into the playoffs and after winning the conference championship in over 30 years.

I began my college coaching experience at LSU while interning for Sam Nader (Director of LSU Football Operations) and Brick Hayley (Defensive Line Coach).  So I have experienced the whole tailgating and LSU game day experience.  But when I started going to La Tech games in 2014 (first year of LGF), I quickly learned that LSU has nothing on the game day experience at La Tech. True, LSU is bigger, but I would argue that La Tech’s is better. This is just my humble opinion of course.

 

I first met Trent Taylor in 2014 after the Western Kentucky game after he caught nine receptions for 113 yards and three touchdowns on November first. He didn’t catch my eye because he was so big and fast, no it was quite the opposite. He is 5 foot 8 inches  and is fast. But what really caught my eye was his courage and fearlessness to go across the middle of the field, knowing that he was going to get hit and make a catch for his team.

 

Since then, I have interviewed Trent a few times and have gotten to know him a little more. One thing that strikes me about his post game conferences is that he never says “I.” No “I” did this so we could win, no, he always talks about his teammates and refers to how good each of them were doing.   This humility will serve him well wherever his life takes him.  It is also a testament to how good the program is at Tech for keeping the players grounded.

 

Through my experiences interviewing him, I have learned that Trent and I are a lot alike. We both were underdogs. Trent was and underdog because he only had one scholarship offer and that was to La Tech. Now he has made those other schools pay for sleeping on him. Trent is now the second in school history in All-Time receiving yards, and 17th All-Time in the NCAA with 4,179 yards in a career. This past season, Trent lead the nation in receiving yards and became 7th All-Time in the most receiving yards in a season in the NCAA and 3rd most in the conference with 1,803 only behind fellow alumni Troy Edwards and Marshals Randy Moss. During the recent NFL combine Trent showed some good numbers ranking at a  5.18.  He ran a 4.63 40-yard dash which is not very fast for a wide receiver, but he was the fastest in his group of wide receivers (about 30 guys) for the 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle.  This is exciting to me because it shows that he thrives in the atmosphere of competition and has levels of speed that haven’t been measured when competing on the field.  His  33 inch vertical jump demonstrates he has a very good twitch muscle which allows him a very fast take off on the line of scrimmage.  Also his 13 reps with the bench press (225 lbs) shows that he is strong and well conditioned for his size. All in all I was actually very impressed with his combine performance.

How and when did you get into playing football?

Been playing football for as long as I can remember. It’s always been what I love to do.

Why did you decide to play at Louisiana Tech?

Louisiana Tech was my single scholarship offer coming out of high school so the recruiting process was an easy one for me.

You had an impressive career at LaTech, who do you attribute that to?

I attribute that to the friends and family I have around me. There’s so many people in my life that look out for me and pray for me on a daily basis and I wouldn’t be here without them and God’s favor over me.

Did you like playing at LaTech? If so, what would be some advice you would give to future recruits?

Choosing Louisiana Tech was the best decision I could have made to help me reach my goals. I know so many great athletes that get caught up in the hype of a bigger school and just get lost in the shuffle. So, I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be to get me to where I’m at today.

What has it like to prepare for the draft?

The pre-draft process with the senior bowl and the combine, it feels like you’re just a piece of meat in a meat market, going through a million measurements and tests; physical and psychological. It’s been a great experience but I’m glad it’s about over so we can get back to playing football.

What has the draft process been like?

The draft process has a lot of unknowns to it. I’ve heard from many of my buddies that the teams that talk to you the least end up being the ones that draft you. So I’m trying not to get my mind set on certain teams, just going to control what I can control and keep working.

What are your goals now that you are preparing to get drafted?

I don’t necessarily have goals at this point before the draft. All I can do now is continue to get my body in the best shape possible and wait for that phone call on draft day.

My prediction after talking to several NFL scouts is that Trent will most likely be a late round pick solely from his production in college. There are huge question marks about him since he has a short frame and short arms. He also does not posses elite speed that NFL teams like. What he does have is heart and desire, the two things that cannot be coached. He is a natural playmaker and he has the ability to make guys miss. He is your go to man when you need short yardage and has great hands.   His humility and  teamwork abilities will greatly improve the production of any team that drafts him.

I think that whoever drafts Taylor, will be getting a genuine gem in the late rounds. I have been told that he is a lot like Wes Welker. Teams I think he would absolutely thrive with are the New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, and the Green Bay Packers.  These teams have quarterbacks with tremendous accuracy and all use their slot receivers frequently.  His quick reaction times and deep competitive nature make him an aggressive player and a good fit for the National Football League in general.

Overall, Trent will be missed this season both in the locker room and on the field for the Bulldogs.  However  Tech fans will not be left with out exciting football.  Tech has proven over and over that they have a great program.  Tech did a good job of recruiting in the past couple of years and there are a lot of guys that are hungry to fight and fill the vacated positions from Carols Henderson and Trent Taylor.

 

*** Update: Trent was drafted in the 5th round by the San Francisco 49ers******