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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Moments after telling his story to a writer from a national website (Matt Fortuna of The Athletic), Wisconsin's 19-year-old tailback Jonathan Taylor belied his youth by underscoring the importance of controlling the narrative.
The Twitter equivalent would be thinking before hitting send; what should be a universal command. Thinking through things has always been a strong suit for Taylor.
"You just have to be you," said Taylor, whose intellectual curiosity in high school, notably in astrophysics, had him contemplating a Harvard education. "Really everything is about the team."
That selfless, team-first mentality has helped Taylor stay grounded after an historic 2017 season during which he rushed for 1,977 yards and broke Adrian Peterson's FBS freshman record.
"All the success that he's had," said UW inside linebacker Ryan Connelly, "hasn't changed his work ethic or anything else. Honestly, he's just kind of the same old dude.
"The thing I like about him … he's still enjoying every day. It's obvious that he's not getting sick of anything, which can happen if you have success and think, 'Why do I have to do this now?'"
Asked if expectations and increased media exposure might affect Taylor, Connelly said, "He'll be fine. From game one to the last game, he didn't change. He's just so excited to be here playing football."
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Veteran fullback Alec Ingold will be the lead blocker for Taylor, who rushed for over 100 yards in 10 of 14 games. Ingold, a senior-to-be, smirked at any notion Taylor would be anything but grounded.
"That's not even a question," he insisted. "Everyone knows he's here to work, he's here to get better. He's not worried about accolades right now, which is really cool for a young guy like him.
"You can tell big things are coming because he carries himself a good way every day."
After finishing sixth in the Heisman balloting, Taylor is on a short list of preseason favorites, including Stanford tailback Bryce Love, the runner-up to the 2017 winner, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield.
"That definitely comes up," Taylor said of his Heisman candidacy with interviewers. "It's definitely flattering — especially when it first came up — but it's just outside noise right now."
Love, Taylor and Ohio State tailback J.K. Dobbins are generating an early buzz among the Heisman odds-makers.
Since Wisconsin's Ron Dayne earned the Heisman (1999), only three running backs have won the award; Reggie Bush in 2005 (since vacated); Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derrick Henry in 2015.
Dayne just happens to be a Taylor whisperer. "He keeps telling me, 'Be yourself on the field. Be yourself off the field. And things will fall into place,'" Taylor said. "He keeps me on track."
This week, Taylor will conduct another interview with a national writer (Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com). There will be many more between now and the Aug. 31 opener against Western Kentucky at Camp Randall Stadium.
"Everybody does have personal goals as a football player," said Taylor, who doesn't mind answering questions about the Heisman. "I'll speak about it a little bit and I don't think that's bad."
Not bad in the context of setting and verbalizing lofty goals. "Everybody wants to be a better player," he said. "But other than that, things that are team oriented need to stay team oriented."
Wisconsin running backs coach John Settle couldn't have put it better.
"He's handling it the right way," Settle said. "He's not reading the clippings. He's not listening to a lot of the outside stuff. He's focused on getting better as a football player."
But he's not the same player; not by a long shot. Taylor was an unknown last August. On his own team. He was listed behind four other tailbacks on the depth chart before exploding on to the scene.
By the end of the season, he had 61 runs of 10-plus yards and three games over 200 yards. He was no longer a secret.
"That's my message to him," said Settle. "He's not going to sneak up on anybody this year. Therefore, he has taken it upon himself to realize, 'I must be prepared.'
Taylor, from Salem, New Jersey, has been formulating his answers during spring practice.
"I've been working on adding different things to my game," he said. "I've also been honing in on little details and putting more moves in my arsenal so they won't know what I'm coming with."
Taylor has been focusing on four areas.
Receiving. Ball security. Goal line running. Leadership.
"If you watch film from practices and games, you can see so much stuff that didn't go right when I was in there," said Taylor, rationalizing why it has been so easy to stay grounded.
"There's definitely a lot of room for improvement that sometimes people don't see. They just look at the touchdowns and the big runs. But they don't see the little things.
"Coach Settle definitely sees the little things. Once in awhile, it's good to get some praise for all the things that you've done right. But you also want to fix the things that haven't gone your way."
After Taylor rushed for 130 yards in Wisconsin's 34-24 win over Miami in the Orange Bowl, Settle mapped out a plan to carry Taylor through the spring.
"The first thing we wanted to do was get him healthy," Settle said. "That was the main focus through the winter: Get him back. Get him stronger. Now on the field, it's those little things."
Receiving
Last fall, Taylor had eight catches for 95 yards. He was the leading receiver among the running backs. His longest gain was 24 yards and he didn't have a touchdown.
UW coach Paul Chryst assigned a route-running, pass-catching tutor to Taylor. The tutor? Chryst. "It's a great opportunity for him to get that one-on-one time with Coach Chryst," Settle observed.
Throughout the spring, Chryst has been drilling Taylor on the nuances of the throw game. Tailback Garrett Groshek and receiver A.J. Taylor have also taken part in these practice segments.
"We work on routes that we're going to be incorporating into the offense during the season," Jonathan Taylor said. "I've definitely seen a big difference in catching the ball and my route-running.
"Coach Chryst will say, 'If a defender is going to do this, you want to make sure that you do this (to counter)."
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has had a say, too.
"He will pop in and give us insight on a defensive back's or a linebacker's mindset," Taylor said. "Or he'll tell us how they will be playing certain coverages (against certain routes)."
The end game is clear.
"In third-down situations," Settle said, "we want him on the field."
Taylor wants to be a more complete back and the coaches are accelerating his growth.
"When you've got a young man who has the type of speed and skill set that he has," Settle said, "you want to get him isolated and matched up with a linebacker out in space.
"We looked at some NFL tape on how some teams use their main back. He (Taylor) has enough wiggle in his game to make people miss and get away from defenders. And he can catch the ball."
Ball Security
Settle didn't mince words.
"The one thing that was a weakness in his game last year was ball security, so that has been a big focus," Settle said of Taylor, who fumbled eight times and lost six in 299 carries.
During the offseason, Settle broke down the video on Taylor's fumbles.
"On a couple of them the ball was low and those jump out at you," he said. "We always have a thing about the wrist being above the elbow. Anytime the ball gets low around the hip, it's exposed.
"A couple of the fumbles were when he was fighting for extra yardage — they were heckuva runs. But he has to realize if he's in high traffic areas to put the off-hand over the ball. Little things.
"He also has to understand that last season he was a freshman playing against a lot of seniors. It's not like high school. These guys are a lot stronger.
"There were some situations where he just got caught with the ball being exposed to some stronger defensive players who were able to rip it out."
Taylor has gone to school on that film study and taken the instruction to heart.
"Every single situation is different," Taylor said. "You'll see one (fumble) where you had the ball too low. Or another, when you're making a cut, and you have to make sure it's covered.
"There was something to learn from on each and every clip."
Goal Line Running
Again, Settle didn't mince his words.
"In order for Jonathan to help us out in that part of the game," he said, "he has to be able to get his pads down — he has to be physical and be able to run behind his pads.
"He's not always going to be able to run outside."
"He has to pick up his keys and his reads a little faster. That's why we took him out last year. Things happen a lot faster in that short area. Why put that on him (as a true freshman)?
"We had a couple of guys who could take that off his plate."
Tailbacks Bradrick Shaw and Chris James were more physical tailbacks. Shaw is not practicing this spring, but Taiwan Deal is. If he can stay healthy, Deal could be a factor in the rotation.
The fullback is no longer limited to just blocking in the offense. Ingold, who has appeared in 38 career games, has maximized his chances, especially in short-yard situations, by accounting for 14 TDs (11 rushing, 3 receiving) in just 86 touches.
"The only thing in Alec's way last year was Ram (Austin Ramesh)," Settle said. "But it was good for him to be behind Ram and see how he handles things. He's playing with more confidence now."
So is Taylor when his number is called on the goal line.
"One of the biggest things," Taylor said, "is putting it on tape in practices and consistency — showing the coaches that I understand the key points and I'm able to do it."
Bolstering his confidence has been the return of three All-American offensive linemen. Michael Deiter, Beau Benzschawel and David Edwards each got feedback from the NFL Draft Advisory Board.
"Those guys had an opportunity to move on to the next level and do some great things," Taylor said. "But they love this place and decided to come back.
"And I'm going to take advantage of that by working with them every day, talking with them during every practice about the run fits and what they're seeing. It's definitely exciting."
Leadership
Taylor made a favorable first impression on Ingold.
"The first time you meet the kid, you know that he's comfortable in his own skin," said Ingold. "He's not trying to be shy. He's not trying to be boisterous. He is who he is.
"Right now (this spring), you can see him challenging himself a lot more, not in an arrogant way, but it's more, 'I'm going to take my standard up, so everybody else around me can get better.'"
Taylor began setting the example during summer workouts and the work ethic hasn't changed. Take it from Ingold, who has watched how Taylor has handled himself and says, "You would have never guessed that he's done the things that he has done."
Some things just come natural for the 5-foot-11, 216-pound Taylor, a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection and a second-team All-American. He makes it look so easy and effortless when, really, it's not.
"I remember the first day we ran a pretty hard bag drill — no pads, shorts and T-shirts," Ingold recounted. "Ram (Ramesh) and I were thinking, 'We've heard about this guy. Let's see what he can do.'
"It's a pretty tough drill. You never get it right the first time. He (Taylor) asked Coach Settle, 'How do I do this?' And, then, he went through it like nothing, like it was his 100th rep.
"Right there, you could just tell. Everything looked smooth about him. I didn't know he was going to have that big of a season. But I could tell that it was going to be big."
Taylor, a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
"He always seems to make the first guy miss," Ingold said. "That's huge, especially on our team, because we have a great offensive line. That first guy is usually the linebacker or safety."
And once he gets to the second level, Ingold pointed out, "He has that breakaway speed."
The O-line and Taylor, according to Connelly, worked in unison resulting in big plays, five runs of 50 or more yards. "He trusted the guys up front," Connelly said. "And the guys up front trusted him."
There's also a trust factor in being a team leader. Settle and Taylor have talked about it.
"Because of the success that he had, he sees himself as a player who needs to lead," Settle said. "Maybe not by being more vocal. But he needs to make sure that when he's in, he's on.
"The guys can kind of follow the example that he's setting."
Taylor is all in. "The fact is, I want to assume that leadership role," he said. "I want to be the right role model to follow. I want to portray myself as that." And advance the narrative even more.
