Taylor brings speed to Tigers running back competition
Patrick Taylor was asked to describe fellow Memphis running back Tim Taylor’s game in one word.
He chose power.
If you check with Tim Taylor, he’d suggest another word. Speed.
Tim Taylor made a name for himself in the city as a speedy all-around running back at East who also had a personal best of 10.88 seconds in the 100meter dash as a junior.
When he enrolled at Memphis in 2017, another word – weight – was his obsession.
“I was fast, but then I came into college thinking I’m supposed to be a big guy,” said the 5-foot-10 Taylor, who was redshirted his first season. “I’m thinking everybody’s supposed to be bigger than me.”
He was up to 217 pounds at the start of last summer and played at 215 last season. This year, he’s down to 195 pounds, the same weight he had as a state football champion and track standout at East. The Tigers need speed
to balance Patrick Taylor’s power running style. For Tim Taylor, whose 14 carries are the second-most among the returning backs, that meant putting in more work in the offseason. When he was cleared from a hamstring injury in spring practice, Tim Taylor, along with Marquavius Weaver and La’andre Thomas, started working out in the sand pits near the Liberty Bowl. The progress showed when he arrived at summer conditioning.
“When you watch him run and cut and accelerate, the burst is entirely different,” Memphis strength and conditioning coach Josh Storms said. “He started this summer in better shape than he started before, and it allowed us to make really good progress with him.”
Coach Mike Norvell said Taylor is not just one of the Tigers’ fastest players, but he also has improved as much as any offensive player.
Taylor said he used the spring injury as motivation to study the playbook even more. It reminded him of his redshirt year when all he could do was learn Norvell’s offense.
Now the question is where Tim Taylor fits in with sophomores Weaver and Kylan Watkins, freshman Kenneth Gainwell and starter Patrick Taylor.
“We all make each other better,” Tim Taylor said. “I’m trying to get Patrick’s spot, so that’s going to make him work harder.”
The confidence doesn’t surprise running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr.
“That’s the Tim Taylor that we know. That’s the Tim Taylor that the city knows,” Jones said. “That’s who Tim Taylor knows as himself.”
You can reach Tigers football beat writer Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_b) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com.