For Hoosier Cornerback Reese Taylor, Seeing Is Believing
11/13/2020 10:25:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For Reese Taylor, it was always about the future.
That meant winning, of course. Indiana's junior cornerback wanted to be a key part in elevating the program to elite status.
With a 3-0 record and No. 10 national ranking (their best since 1969), the Hoosiers -- and Taylor -- are off to a great start.
But the 5-11, 185-pound Taylor had visions of football beyond college and saw the best path through defense despite record-breaking quarterback numbers (7,631 passing yards, 79 passing touchdowns, 2,077 rushing yards, 45 TDs) at powerhouse Indianapolis Ben Davis High School.
So did IU head coach Tom Allen, who recruited him to play cornerback, with an option to see some offense, which he did as a freshman at receiver, running back and quarterback.
Taylor is all about defense now, with 18 tackles, three for loss and one pass breakup. He has led the Hoosiers in tackles in each of the past two games.
For those wondering what Allen was thinking when converting such an offensive talent to defense, he offers Zoom press conference perspective.
"I think you are starting to see what I saw. I had some people question me on the thought process of him playing corner. We talked in recruiting pretty openly and honestly. He wanted to play corner. He saw that was his opportunity for the future to be able to allow him to play at the highest level moving forward, beyond college.
"What I saw was a highly competitive young man that was extremely gifted athletically. His change of direction, his short-area quickness was very elite and very special. Even to this day, he is our quickest guy in terms of change of direction on the entire team. That was how he created a lot of those offensive plays with the ball in his hands as a high school quarterback.
"He threw accurately. He was not just a guy running the ball a bunch. He was a true quarterback, but the bottom line is that I always saw him as a corner, too. I wanted him to want that."
As a high school quarterback, Taylor's quickness and athleticism enabled him to avoid big hits. That doesn't happen on defense.
Tackling demands contact.
"The thing that you do not always know about quarterbacks," Allen says, "is how they are able to take the hits. That is the thing that he has shown.
"I thought that he was a tough kid and he has proven to be that. He is a very good tackler, which is probably something that people did not know he could do."
As far as covering receivers, Reese also excels.
"We play a lot of man, so we need guys to be able to have that short-area quickness," Allen says. "We need great athletes that can cover in space. This game is played in space."
Taylor also returns punts. He's returned three for 26 yards, with a long of 21 yards.
"He battled injuries a lot last year that got him off to a slow start," Allen says, "but as the year ended, he really started to show up and play the way that we thought he could. It is really showing up now.
"The bottom line is, it is about finding guys that fit with you. You get them on the football team, you get them on the bus, and then you figure out which seat to put them in. I really felt that he had the chance to be an elite corner in the Big Ten."
Taylor will get another chance Saturday against a rival – the teams play for the Old Brass Spittoon – that has dominated the series by a 48-16-2 margin.
Stopping Michigan State (1-2) means stopping quarterback Rocky Lombardi. In a victory over Michigan, he was a superstar, throwing for 323 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
In losses to Rutgers and Iowa, he threw a combined five interceptions and was sacked five times.
Freshman wide receiver Ricky White has mirrored Lombardi's up-and-down play. He had eight catches for 196 yards and a touchdown against Michigan. In the other two games, he had two catches for 27 yards and no TDs.
The Spartans are in coaching transition. Mel Tucker is in charge now, with Jay Johnson as the offensive coordinator and Scottie Hazelton running the defense.
But while much is different, much is still the same.
"They create some different challenges," Allen says. "They are big, strong and physical. That has been their mantra. That is how we know them. They have been that way for a long time. It is no different this year.
"They have a lot of talented football players. They play to those strengths. The fundamental levels they play with, the pad level, the physicality that we have talked about.
"They have really good skilled guys. They are a good team, and we know we are going to have to play our very, very best."
Allen is a deeply religious man who takes nothing for granted, not the chance to coach at Indiana and not the effort that led to the Michigan victory, and likely a lot more.
Hours after beating the Wolverines, he and wife Tracy went home, watched some college football and reflected on their journey from high school to college head coach.
"I thanked the good Lord for an amazing opportunity," he says. "I thanked Him for these kids, their effort and all that we have done. We realized how blessed we are with what we are going through right now."
Blessing comes amid a pandemic and an escalating infection rate. Four SEC games are canceled this weekend, along with one Big Ten contest – Ohio State against Maryland. That comes after Wisconsin canceled two games because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Allen understands the importance of staying diligent and disciplined.
"We are on high alert. We made another huge emphasis to our players in our last team meeting about masks, social distancing, taking care of themselves and washing hands.
"It is really easy to get lulled into some of these things when you do them for a while. You get comfortable and complacent. You let down your guard, but there is no question that what has happened this week is another great reminder that this season is very fragile. I think we all know that.
"We have no idea what the future holds. We cannot take anything for granted in our preparation, the mitigation of risk. We are trying to keep our guys safe, keep our staff safe.
"We continue to challenge our coaches to do a great job, their families do a great job with who they are around after the game. It takes discipline, sacrifice with all of the great things that we have going on here. We are not able to enjoy it in a way that we normally would with family and friends in close proximity. That is unfortunate, but it is reality.
"We want to continue to play, but we know we can only control so much. The things that we can control, we need to do a great, great job."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For Reese Taylor, it was always about the future.
That meant winning, of course. Indiana's junior cornerback wanted to be a key part in elevating the program to elite status.
With a 3-0 record and No. 10 national ranking (their best since 1969), the Hoosiers -- and Taylor -- are off to a great start.
But the 5-11, 185-pound Taylor had visions of football beyond college and saw the best path through defense despite record-breaking quarterback numbers (7,631 passing yards, 79 passing touchdowns, 2,077 rushing yards, 45 TDs) at powerhouse Indianapolis Ben Davis High School.
So did IU head coach Tom Allen, who recruited him to play cornerback, with an option to see some offense, which he did as a freshman at receiver, running back and quarterback.
Taylor is all about defense now, with 18 tackles, three for loss and one pass breakup. He has led the Hoosiers in tackles in each of the past two games.
For those wondering what Allen was thinking when converting such an offensive talent to defense, he offers Zoom press conference perspective.
"I think you are starting to see what I saw. I had some people question me on the thought process of him playing corner. We talked in recruiting pretty openly and honestly. He wanted to play corner. He saw that was his opportunity for the future to be able to allow him to play at the highest level moving forward, beyond college.
"What I saw was a highly competitive young man that was extremely gifted athletically. His change of direction, his short-area quickness was very elite and very special. Even to this day, he is our quickest guy in terms of change of direction on the entire team. That was how he created a lot of those offensive plays with the ball in his hands as a high school quarterback.
"He threw accurately. He was not just a guy running the ball a bunch. He was a true quarterback, but the bottom line is that I always saw him as a corner, too. I wanted him to want that."
As a high school quarterback, Taylor's quickness and athleticism enabled him to avoid big hits. That doesn't happen on defense.
Tackling demands contact.
"The thing that you do not always know about quarterbacks," Allen says, "is how they are able to take the hits. That is the thing that he has shown.
"I thought that he was a tough kid and he has proven to be that. He is a very good tackler, which is probably something that people did not know he could do."
As far as covering receivers, Reese also excels.
"We play a lot of man, so we need guys to be able to have that short-area quickness," Allen says. "We need great athletes that can cover in space. This game is played in space."
Taylor also returns punts. He's returned three for 26 yards, with a long of 21 yards.
"He battled injuries a lot last year that got him off to a slow start," Allen says, "but as the year ended, he really started to show up and play the way that we thought he could. It is really showing up now.
"The bottom line is, it is about finding guys that fit with you. You get them on the football team, you get them on the bus, and then you figure out which seat to put them in. I really felt that he had the chance to be an elite corner in the Big Ten."
Taylor will get another chance Saturday against a rival – the teams play for the Old Brass Spittoon – that has dominated the series by a 48-16-2 margin.
Stopping Michigan State (1-2) means stopping quarterback Rocky Lombardi. In a victory over Michigan, he was a superstar, throwing for 323 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
In losses to Rutgers and Iowa, he threw a combined five interceptions and was sacked five times.
Freshman wide receiver Ricky White has mirrored Lombardi's up-and-down play. He had eight catches for 196 yards and a touchdown against Michigan. In the other two games, he had two catches for 27 yards and no TDs.
The Spartans are in coaching transition. Mel Tucker is in charge now, with Jay Johnson as the offensive coordinator and Scottie Hazelton running the defense.
But while much is different, much is still the same.
"They create some different challenges," Allen says. "They are big, strong and physical. That has been their mantra. That is how we know them. They have been that way for a long time. It is no different this year.
"They have a lot of talented football players. They play to those strengths. The fundamental levels they play with, the pad level, the physicality that we have talked about.
"They have really good skilled guys. They are a good team, and we know we are going to have to play our very, very best."
Allen is a deeply religious man who takes nothing for granted, not the chance to coach at Indiana and not the effort that led to the Michigan victory, and likely a lot more.
Hours after beating the Wolverines, he and wife Tracy went home, watched some college football and reflected on their journey from high school to college head coach.
"I thanked the good Lord for an amazing opportunity," he says. "I thanked Him for these kids, their effort and all that we have done. We realized how blessed we are with what we are going through right now."
Blessing comes amid a pandemic and an escalating infection rate. Four SEC games are canceled this weekend, along with one Big Ten contest – Ohio State against Maryland. That comes after Wisconsin canceled two games because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Allen understands the importance of staying diligent and disciplined.
"We are on high alert. We made another huge emphasis to our players in our last team meeting about masks, social distancing, taking care of themselves and washing hands.
"It is really easy to get lulled into some of these things when you do them for a while. You get comfortable and complacent. You let down your guard, but there is no question that what has happened this week is another great reminder that this season is very fragile. I think we all know that.
"We have no idea what the future holds. We cannot take anything for granted in our preparation, the mitigation of risk. We are trying to keep our guys safe, keep our staff safe.
"We continue to challenge our coaches to do a great job, their families do a great job with who they are around after the game. It takes discipline, sacrifice with all of the great things that we have going on here. We are not able to enjoy it in a way that we normally would with family and friends in close proximity. That is unfortunate, but it is reality.
"We want to continue to play, but we know we can only control so much. The things that we can control, we need to do a great, great job."
Players Mentioned
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