Titans’ Taylor has nose for football
Carl Albert receiver/defensive back Jason Taylor II always seems to be around the football. Ranked No. 14 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30, he has several Division I offers for either position.
MIDWEST CITY — The pass was lofted into the middle of the end zone. There was no way Jason Taylor II wasn’t going to get his hands on it.
Somehow, the ball tends to find its way to Taylor.
And there it was in December. A pass on the final play of the Class 5A state championship game that McGuinness quarterback Jarrett Lewis let hang in the air. Taylor, playing safety for Carl Albert, got two hands on it to break it up and start a celebration.
“He’s the type of guy that wants to be in that situation,” first-year Carl Albert coach Mike Corley said. “It seems like it’s always coming back to he’s got such great ball skills. That’s what’s separated him from other kids.”
Taylor has developed into a ballhawk for the Titans with his hands and athleticism, which has led to several scholarship offers on both sides of the ball as a receiver or defensive back.
That’s why he is No. 14 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 rankings for the state’s top college football recruits in the 2018 class.
“I just like the game of football,” Taylor said. “It’s always fun.
“I have an athletic family, but I think you have to work for it. You have to compete in everything you do and you’ll find yourself wanting to be the best.”
Taylor, who is 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, already holds 10 Division I scholarships, including Oklahoma State, Memphis, Ohio and Tulsa among others.
OSU in particular has offered Taylor as a defensive back. He said he has no preference where he plays.
Last season, he caught 10 touchdowns, but also had 72 tackles, a sack and four interceptions. It felt like he rarely dropped a ball.
For a kid who started playing receiver later in his football career, that’s impressive.
Taylor said he started playing when he was 7 years old. He initially played nothing but defense but always wanted a chance to get the ball in his hands.
“I finally got on it, and I was good at both,” Taylor said. “I decided to stay with both and make plays, really.”
He’s been making sure he finds the ball ever since.
“The thing everyone likes — and we like — is his ball skills,” Corley said. “He’s got big hands and he can catch the football. Offensively or defensively he’s got great Stickum. You don’t even hear it hit his hands, really.”