Taylor to concentrate on developing 2 UM defensive line jewels
Dolphins legend Jason Taylor doesn’t often talk publicly in his new role as a UM analyst. But when he does — usually on his sister Joy’s show or with his buddy and former Dolphins broadcast partner Joe Rose — there’s considerable insight.
Appearing with Rose on WQAM, Taylor spoke of the upside of the two defensive line jewels of this incoming Hurricanes class: four-star prospects Cyrus Moss and Nyjalik Kelly.
Meanwhile, Taylor has made a decision on his broadcasting future.
He will continue calling Dolphins preseason games on WFOR-CBS 4 (three games with play-by-play man Steve Goldstein) but is giving up his WQAM Dolphins radio analyst job because of time constraints. WQAM and the Dolphins will go with a two-man booth of Jimmy Cefalo and Joe Rose.
As for Taylor’s assessment of UM, he said: “We have a young guy on our team that couldn’t play in the spring, a local guy out of Dillard named Nyjalik Kelly; he got hurt last year when we [St. Thomas Aquinas] beat Dillard last year. [He] didn’t have a chance to go through spring and [I] didn’t have a chance to see him and scout him a whole lot.
“But now that he is back healthy and I am able to watch him, holy [cow]! I told him the other day — and I actually told his mother — how special he can be. An elite talent, a kid that can do anything.
“He can bend, he can run, he can twist, he’s athletic, change of direction, plays with good pad level, he is flexible. He can be the entire package. The crazy thing is Nyjalik had a birthday a few days ago, just turned 18. Early enrollee. The sky is the limit for somebody like him.”
And Taylor said “Cyrus Moss is the same way, came over from Bishop Gorman [in Las Vegas]. Undersized right now. But you know I’ve got no problem with undersized defensive ends.”
Taylor was also considered undersized when Jimmy Johnson drafted him in the third round, 73rd overall, in the 1997 draft. His 139.5 sacks rank seventh on the NFL’s all-time list.
For the 2022 class, Rivals rated Moss seventh among all defensive ends and the 104th best prospect nationally. Rivals slotted Kelly 13th among defensive ends and 114th nationally.
Of UM’s overall talent level, Taylor said: “It’s what I thought it would be in a lot of ways. There are times you’re like, ‘holy cow’ and they’ll blow you away with what they can do.”
Taylor said working at UM “has been great. We are trying to change the culture and get The U where it is supposed to be. I’m not talking about getting back to where it was. Those historic days in years past are by us. It is a new day and age in college football and it is a new athlete. We are trying to make The U proud and get it back to prominence.”
When WQAM’s Zach Krantz mentioned that recruits find the new staff impressive, Taylor said:
“It should be. If you’re coming in as a player or parent and you look around and see who coach
[Mario] Cristobal has put together. You look at the defensive staff with [coordinator] Kevin Steele, who has 40 years of experience and [linebackers coach] Charlie Strong, who has been a head coach.
“[Secondary coach]
Jahmile Addae won a national championship last year at Georgia. [Defensive ends coach] Rod Wright, who played for the Dolphins. [Defensive line coach] Joe Salave’a, who was a nine year veteran in the NFL. That’s just the defensive room!
“You look on the offensive side. [Offensive coordinator] Josh Gattis was the top assistant coach last year in college football [at Michigan]. There’s a ton of guys on this staff who have done it at a high level.
“You talk about [chief of staff] Ed Reed in the hallway. I’ll tell you who’s been fantastic in the last month since he’s been in the building — [football program general manager]
Alonzo Highsmith. It’s great being around him. He’s a one- of-a-kind guy. Never had a chance to meet him before. He’s something else.”
CHATTER
Former UM quarterback Malik Rosier has been working with Canes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and told WQAM:
“With me and Tyler, a lot of [the work] was deep placement. Everyone knows he’s great with the deep ball. There were a couple times his feet weren’t set. Stuff like that we cleaned up. There are some ways we can put more velocity on it; he’s worked on it.
“We had a bunch of guys at the Manning Passing Academy; a couple guys on staff said Tyler looked electric and the ball came out with great velocity. He’s going to eliminate some of those slower starts to games.”
Rosier said “the next step in his game is can he be consistent and not get aggravated when people only give him underneath 5 yards and don’t give you the deep throw. That’s the next progress I want to see him make.”
Besides expressing interest in Utah guard Donovan Mitchell, the Heat also has expressed interest in Jazz guard Patrick Beverley, who was acquired from Minnesota earlier this offseason and has one year (and $13 million) left on his contract.
Beverley averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 assists and shot 34.3 percent on threes in 58 games and 54 starts last season. Any deal involving both Mitchell and Beverly likely would necessitate Kyle Lowry’s inclusion for salary cap purposes. But Utah wouldn’t need Lowry with
Mike Conley Jr. under contract.
Former Patriots Pro Bowl defender Willie McGinest railed against
Tua Tagovailoa criticism this week. “A lot of QBs get a lot more rope that are not as good as Tua,” McGinest said on NFL Network. “Give him more time like we give all these other QBs and get off his back.”
A laundry list of MLB stars have approached the Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm to praise his game. “Bryce Harper always says how much he loves my game,” Chisholm said. “Nolan Arenado, Albert Pujols, too. Mike Trout told me he was a big fan of my game. It’s crazy.”