J.J. Taylor is a more complete running back in his second season as an Arizona Wildcat.
Last year Taylor relied mostly on his instincts, according to running backs coach Calvin Magee. This year?
鈥淗e understands everything,鈥 Magee said Tuesday. 鈥淣ow he has the instincts and the knowledge of the offense, so that鈥檚 really helped him.鈥
Knowledge is power. Taylor knows where he鈥檚 supposed to be and whom he鈥檚 supposed to block.
But man, those instincts 鈥
No Wildcat makes more 鈥淣o! No! 鈥 Yes! Yes!鈥 plays than Taylor. He sees openings others can鈥檛 see. His vision, lateral movement, shiftiness and quickness regularly enable him to make something out of nothing.
鈥淲henever you have J.J. in the game ... you never know what鈥檚 going to happen with him,鈥 said center Nathan Eldridge.
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No play exemplified that better than Taylor鈥檚 27-yard run in the second quarter against Houston on Saturday. The redshirt freshman took a pitch to the left.
The Cougars read the play and had him surrounded. Taylor came to a complete stop and started working his back to the right. He eluded at least three defenders, picked up a block from receiver Shawn Poindexter and dashed down the right sideline.
鈥淔or most people you鈥檙e like, 鈥榃hat is he doing?鈥 For J.J., he seems to get out of a lot of tough situations,鈥 said UA coach Rich Rodriguez, whose team visits UTEP on Friday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got better vision than any of us do.鈥
鈥淛.J.鈥檚 just making a play,鈥 Magee said. 鈥淚 saw what he saw.鈥
Bear in mind, though: Magee watches the game from a booth high above the field. He can see all 22 players. Taylor, at 5 feet 6 inches, is as low to the ground as can be.
Taylor鈥檚 size and ability to run with a low pad level make him hard to hit. Despite often having to dodge defenders in the backfield, he rushed for a team-high 87 yards on 17 carries in Arizona鈥檚 19-16 loss to Houston.
It was his best performance since the Washington game last year, when he had 97 yards through three quarters before suffering a season-ending broken ankle.
Taylor carried 19 times in that game, 18 the week before against Hawaii. Magee said Taylor could handle 20-25 rushes 鈥渋f that鈥檚 the mood鈥 in a given game. But that shouldn鈥檛 be necessary given Arizona鈥檚 depth at running back. Taylor carried more of the load vs. Houston because Nick Wilson (ankle) was out of the lineup.
Taylor said he鈥檚 鈥渃omfortable鈥 with however many touches the coaches give him. He鈥檚 just happy to be back after missing most of what had the makings of a prolific first season.
鈥淚t feels good to be fully healthy,鈥 Taylor said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e gotta stay in the weight room and stay strong and healthy 鈥 you know, finish off the season.鈥
Dawkins takes blame
Quarterback Brandon Dawkins offered no excuses for missing a handful of passes that might have been the difference in Saturday鈥檚 game.
鈥淚 just felt like I let my guys down, let my team down,鈥 Dawkins said. 鈥淲henever there鈥檚 a play to be made and I don鈥檛 make a play, I always feel like it鈥檚 on me.鈥
The most glaring misfire happened in the third quarter, when Dawkins overthrew an open Tony Ellison in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Dawkins had taken a hard hit from Houston linebacker Matthew Adams on the previous play. Dawkins鈥 hand and leg were smarting.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not an excuse,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 got banged up pretty good. I could have subbed out. I could have done a lot of things.
鈥淏ut the competitor in me wants to be out there and compete and win with my guys. I tried to battle through but ended up not being able to connect on that play.鈥
Dawkins said he felt 鈥済ood鈥 Tuesday and that none of the injuries was serious. He is expected to start at UTEP.
Tilford time?
Besides the quarterback situation, no development has frustrated UA fans more than freshman tailback Nathan Tilford鈥檚 lack of playing time.
Tilford, Arizona鈥檚 highest-rated recruit, played in the fourth quarter of the NAU game, when the Wildcats had a 55-24 lead. He did not get any backfield snaps against Houston, even though Wilson was out.
Magee provided three reasons for not utilizing Tilford more: 鈥淣ick Wilson, J.J. Taylor and Zach Green.鈥 Those are the three backs listed on the depth chart. All have more experience than Tilford.
But Tilford enrolled in spring, and Magee said he鈥檇 have 鈥渘o problem鈥 putting Tilford into a game at any juncture.
鈥淭he plan is to play him more,鈥 Magee said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 early.鈥
Tilford hasn鈥檛 complained about his role, according to Magee.
鈥淣ot that kinda kid,鈥 Magee said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 taking it all in. He鈥檚 being a sponge. He鈥檚 trying to learn as much as he can so when he鈥檚 in there he鈥檚 ready to go.鈥
Extra points
- Magee on whether Wilson will be back vs. UTEP: 鈥淗e鈥檚 doing OK. I鈥檓 hoping he is. Last week it was a game-time-type thing.鈥
- Tight end Trevor Wood did not have a boot on his injured left ankle as he walked from the practice field to the locker room. He missed the Houston game after getting hurt in the second half vs. NAU.
