Taylor ready to choose a school
Five-star Miami Palmetto defensive tackle Leonard Taylor is ready to make his longanticipated college decision Thursday afternoon.
Down to the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gators, Taylor will be relieved to lock in his commitment and complete the recruiting process before he gets to sign in December.
“The process is crazy,” said Taylor, who is ranked the nation’s No. 1 defensive tackle and No. 4 prospect regardless of position by 247 Sports. “Every day it’s a coach calling you, sending you messages. They want you to come here, they want you to go there. It’s been tough.”
Recruited by an array of top programs, narrowing it down to UM and UF was about staying close to home for Taylor.
“These two have been tough to come down to, but it was because I wanted to stay close to home so my mom could either drive up to the games or come support me,” said Taylor, who is 6-foot-4 and in the 280pound range. “She wouldn’t have to go get a plane ticket and go out of this world to go to a game.”
The Hurricanes weren’t always considered high on Taylor’s radar, but strong offseason recruiting has them skyrocketing up his list to the point where most pundits are predicting they will land him Thursday.
“Having a good connection with the D-line coach [Todd Stroud], [head coach] Manny Diaz. talking to them, telling me what I’m going to play [and that] I might be able to play as a freshman,” Taylor said of Miami. “Coach Stroud, he’s a great man. He looks out for me all the time. He’s real cool people. His energy, like if I were to go to UM, I would really enjoy him close to me.”
Taylor, who is the nation’s No. 3 defensive tackle in 247 Sports’ composite rankings that factor in various ratings, has watched the Hurricanes shoot up team recruiting rankings with the 2021 class, largely by targeting local South Florida products during the coronavirus pandemic.
“They just really try hard to keep all these kids that committed to stay down south,” he said, “so they’ve really been Zooming a lot, making sure players and their families are straight.”
Of Florida, Taylor said: “Every time I go up there, it feels like I’m already a player there. They treat me like a player there. [Defensive line coach David] Turner, [head coach] Dan Mullen, he’s cool people too. He makes sure I’m straight.
“They’re cool people. I got good relationships with all the coaches. They call and check up on me all the time.”
With Taylor one of the “Palmetto Five” Miami is trying to land, he already has teammates in fellow defensive tackle Savion Collins and slot receiver Brashard Smith committed to the Hurricanes. Cornerback Jason Marshall and safety Corey Collier both have UM among their final top schools. Collier is set to decide on Monday, and Palmetto coach Mike Manasco said a decision from Marshall should come soon.
“With Savion and Brashard, they constantly tell me all the time, ‘Come to the U, bro. Let’s play together,’ ” Taylor said. “I’ll tell them, ‘I’ll think about it. I don’t know still.’ They’re on me hard about coming to the U.
“Corey and Jason, I talk to them, but I don’t really get into their whole school recruiting business because I feel like that’s their decision. I might give them a word, like, ‘Come here. Come there. You see what’s going on there.’”
Taylor said once he announces his decision he may be even more active in recruiting his two star defensive back teammates to the school of his choice.
“That would be a pretty cool experience that we all played in high school and then we all play in college,” he said. “That would be really cool to watch all of us grow up together as one.”