Two years ago, Coon Rapids’ junior Myles Taylor was a defensive lineman on the Cardinals’ freshman team. He was overweight and not playing to his potential. Two seasons later, he was a captain, a two-way starter and is hearing from…
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Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log inTwo years ago, Coon Rapids’ junior Myles Taylor was a defensive lineman on the Cardinals’ freshman team. He was overweight and not playing to his potential. Two seasons later, he was a captain, a two-way starter and is hearing from DI schools.
“I was a big kid. Even as a freshman I played defensive line. I knew I needed to change how I did things,” Taylor said. “I needed to change what I put into my body so I could perform better if I wanted to get where I wanted to be. Before my sophomore year, I cut thirty pounds, and I got to the point where the coach said I could play linebacker and running back.”
Taylor was working with a trainer who would not take well to Taylor missing workouts.
“Whenever I would miss a workout with my trainer – for any reason – he would claim I had gone home to eat pizza,” Taylor said. “When he said that, it got in my head and stuck with me. I cut out pop, drank mostly water, ate a lot of green vegetables, made sure my protein was there and just kept a balanced diet.”
It took some time to adjust to linebacker.
“The speed of the game was so different at linebacker,” Taylor said. “On the defensive line, your first three steps tell you if you had done your job. At linebacker, you have to think faster.”
Before his junior season, Taylor was expecting to start at linebacker and running back. His teammates also voted him a captain.
“We decided each captain would have a role. We decided mine would be to bring energy and lead by example. On the field, I would call the plays on defense and make sure everyone was in the right position and knew what they needed to do. On offense, I would make sure I always got positive yards for my team.”
The season didn’t end the way Taylor hoped.
“We started good. From there we had some issues and lost the last six games straight. The season wasn’t what it could have been, but at the end of the day, we know next year we have to buy in and raise the expectations we have of each other starting in the offseason.”
Coon Rapids has a good foundation for next season.
“Offensively our running game was good,” Taylor said. “The offensive line made nice holes, and I would take care of the rest. When we did throw the ball, our quarterback would get the ball downfield. When we were going well, we made teams play at our speed instead of us playing to their speed.”
“On defense,” Taylor continued, “we would game plan well, and we were able to stick to it. Our blitzes – during the first couple of games were top notch – no one was blocking it. We forced the quarterback to make quick decisions which forced a lot of turnovers.”
After his body’s transformation, Taylor became one of the Cardinals’ offensive weapons and a leader on the defensive side of the ball.
“I bring a lot of power to the running back position. I refuse to let one person tackle me. If you try to tackle me one-on-one, I better win – otherwise I didn’t do my job.”
“On defense, I played one of the inside linebacker spots in our 3-4 defense,” Taylor continued. “I bring aggression to the field. Every play I try to rip someone’s head off. I take pride in my blitzing. I can get off the ball fast and use my hands to get them off me.”
Taylor expects to play both ways again as a senior but will focus much of his work on the defensive side of the ball.
“I am working on my hands this year – just making sure I use them a lot more in both pass drops and when I am blitzing. I am also working on playing with my hand in the dirt so I can be a more versatile player next year because we are losing a lot of defensive linemen. Also, I am working with my coaches to get better at reading the field better and knowing better what plays we should be calling.”
Colleges have started contacting Taylor, and he knows he has more work to do.
“The coaches I have talked to have said I need to cut my body fat so I can move more fluently,” Taylor told northstarfootballnews.com. “I am taking that to heart, so quickness and foot speed are things we have been working on this offseason.”
The 235 pound 6’1″ Cardinals’ junior has heard from colleges from multiple levels of football.
“I am just trying to find a school that fits with me and has interest in me. Wyoming, North Dakota State, North Dakota, Iowa State, and Mankato have shown a lot of interest in me. Michigan State has been showing me interest and has been talking about getting me out there.”
Taylor – who likes to travel in his spare time – is being recruited as a defensive player almost exclusively.
“I have been able to visit NDSU and UND,” Taylor said. “I liked both schools and the environment. Being able to talk to the coaches and see what they do on the defensive side of the ball is a big key for me. I am trying to pick up as much knowledge from them to see how they do things when I speak to them.”
Taylor is holding off on deciding what camps he will attend until later this spring when he can get a feel for what programs are still interested.
“Most of the college coaches have liked what they have heard from other coaches in the area. They like that other coaches see my aggression and my talent. When they see my film, they see a lot of hard-nosed, hard-hitting, aggressive football.”
They also see a guy who has been willing to make the sacrifices necessary to become the hard-hitting player he has become.
