Taylor goes from gamer to football star
BIRMINGHAM » The joystick was his passion. His new love, football, may indeed be his future.
Birmingham Brother Rice senior defensive end Aristotle Taylor used to play video games on a competitive level in his free time. Now, he mauls quarterbacks.
Taylor (6-8, 240), who just completed his first year of high school football, is in the middle of a recruiting blitz for his services on the college gridiron. Over the past three weeks, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Air Force, Georgetown and Illinois State have made full offers and Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford and Virginia have offered preferred walk- on slots.
After playing football in middle school, Taylor initially gave up the sport in high school to focus on the video-game circuit. For the past three years, he has participated in gaming tournaments, both of the on-line and in-person variety, even winning a pair of local Microsoft-sponsored events at Somerset Mall in Troy.
Then, in the summer, he got the itch for pigskin. He wanted to be around football again. So, he signed up to be the school’s varsity team manager.
It wasn’t long before Taylor decided he wanted to take a shot for an actual spot on the roster. He earned a starting job by Week 2.
“I wanted to be part of a team again, I wanted that bond with my teammates, that feeling of
going into battle together,” Taylor said. “The opportunity was there and I was ready to put in work. Prove myself to the team and to myself. It’s been a very special few months.”
Soon, he was collapsing pockets on a regular basis for the Brother Rice defense, utilizing his 6- 8 frame and naturally quick feet to excel in disrupting opposing passing attacks.
“We got him on the practice field and he’s just a beast, nobody could block him one- on- one,” Brother Rice head coach Adam Korzeniewski recalled. “He was showing flashing of dominance right off the bat. The coaching staff is all looking at each other like we’ve got something here. He’s raw. He’s grown into his body since he was playing in middle school and he has really dedicated himself to his new craft. There’s just a ton of potential there for a college program to keep developing.”
The wild three- month journey, which took the athletically gifted, 7- foot wingspan wielding pesky pass rusher from joystick magician to manager to player to starter to star, resulted in 8 sacks, 55 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 2 blocked punts for a 7-2 2020 Brother Rice squad.
“The whole thing has been surreal, it’s like you’re riding a skyrocket,” said Taylor of the whirlwind that has been his return to football. “Playing defensive end feels very natural for me. I’ve had amazing coaching and guidance. They taught me to perfect the small things and grow as a player from there.”
“We got him on the practice field and he’s just a beast, nobody could block him one-on-one.”
— Adam Korzeniewski