Taylor reminiscent of Dayne
MADISON – Chris McIntosh and Bill Ferrario are reliving their youth, specifically their college days.
Those days were glorious, as McIntosh and Ferrario played side-by-side on a Wisconsin offensive line that cleared the road for tailback Ron Dayne to win the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1999.
The person who has allowed McIntosh and Ferrario to travel back in time? UW freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor, like Dayne a New Jersey native, who leads the Big Ten and is seventh nationally in rushing at 153.4 yards per game.
Taylor has sparked No. 6 UW (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) and no doubt will be a target of Purdue (3-2, 1-1) when the teams meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
Neither McIntosh nor Ferrario, who started 50 games at left tackle and left guard, respectively, is predicting Taylor will win a Heisman Trophy before he leaves UW.
Yet as they watch Taylor flourish behind and bond with his offensive linemen, they can’t help but relive how Dayne did the same during his days at UW.
“It brings me back to my own experience here and the relationship that was developed in ’96 be-
tween Ron and that O-line,” said McIntosh, who was a redshirt freshman in ’96 when Dayne was a freshman. “One of the similarities that I see is that he can make something special happen. And what that does is it gives that little extra motivation to an offensive lineman to carry that block one step further.
“You never know when he could make something special happen. That kind of success just snowballs. It builds momentum because now you have five or six guys who believe that on any given moment and on any given play he can break one."
Ferrario was one of three key linemen who redshirted in ’96, joined the No. 1 unit in ’97 and started four seasons. The line and Dayne helped UW win Big Ten titles in 1998 and ’99 and back-to-back Rose Bowls.
“I think what’s most impressive right now,” Ferrario said of Taylor, “is that so early in his career I see maturity in him and I can feel and get a sense watching that offense work as a whole, a trust factor.
“You can have a great offensive line, but if that line doesn’t trust the back or the back doesn’t trust that line, you’re going to have issues.”
Taylor’s physical tools are obvious. He was a sprinter in high school and won two state titles in the 100-meter dash, with his best time 10.49 seconds. That speed allows him to run away from defenders. His size (5-foot-11 and 214 pounds) and strength allow him to run through arm tackles.
“Like every great running back, he never stops his feet,” Ferrario noted. “And if you don’t take him to the ground, he is going to keep those legs moving and get every inch he can.”
McIntosh and Ferrario point to another more valuable asset: patience.
“Patience was probably the first word that comes to mind when I think about Jonathan,” McIntosh said. “He is patient on zone runs. So he’ll run the ball up, like he should, on the heels of the linemen and allow the linebackers to commit and then he’ll make his cut.
“And he is patient on the power counter, when there are one or two guys pulling. He needs to allow that play to develop and he’s got a natural ability to allow that to happen before he commits.
“And when he commits, he’s got world-class speed. That is what makes him so dangerous.”
Dayne had the patience. His replacement in 2000, Michael Bennett, did not initially. Bennett, who set the WIAA state record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.33, too often ran up the backs of his blockers.
The linemen showed Bennett tapes of Dayne to illustrate the patience needed to allow the blocking to develop.
Taylor doesn’t need a similar video review.
“He is just so far ahead of the curve,” McIntosh said. “He has arrived here with vision and patience and trust and a level of confidence that typically takes time to develop.”
All the compliments come with a caveat: Taylor has played five college games. The future is unknown.
Yet Taylor’s numbers – 767 yards, a 7.9-yard average, nine TDs – compared to the top five rushers in program history at a similar juncture are startling.
Dayne (7,125 yards overall) didn’t start until the fifth game of his freshman season. He rushed 77 times for 412 yards, a 5.4-yard average, and four touchdowns in his first five games. But he finished that season with 2,109 yards.
Monte Ball (5,140 yards) didn’t play until the fifth game of his freshman season.
He finished that season with 391 yards, a 4.0-yard average, and four touchdowns.
Melvin Gordon (4,915 yards) played in three games as a freshman in 2011 before being sidelined by injury. Gordon rushed for 621 yards, a 10.0-yard average and three touchdowns in 2012.
Anthony Davis (4,676 yards) started as a redshirt freshman in 2001. He had 703 yards, a 6.0-yard average and three touchdowns through five games. He finished with 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns that season and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
James White (4,015 yards) was the Big Ten freshman of the year in 2010. He had 367 yards and six touchdowns through five games and finished with 1,052 yards, a 6.7-yard average and 14 touchdowns.
Anyone who has listened to Taylor has noted his obsession with making sure he completely understands the offense, including the blocking schemes and how best to use them.
“He has bought into what is perhaps our most important priority, and that is development,” McIntosh said. “The scary part for him is that he came here with tremendous athletic ability and potential.
“He is going to be fun to watch.”