Lucas at Large: Taylor’s numbers continue to impress
November 28, 2018 | Football, Mike Lucas, Varsity Magazine
For Badgers, sting of losing Axe offers valuable lessons
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Long before the University of Minnesota reintroduced itself to a long-lost prize from the Border Battle rivalry, Darrell Thompson, the Gophers' all-time leading rusher, sat in a radio booth at Camp Randall Stadium and spoke glowingly of Wisconsin's latest running back treasure, Jonathan Taylor.
On a day in which the Axe changed hands for the first time in 15 seasons, Taylor became only the fourth player in college football history to rush for at least 1,900 yards in back-to-back seasons joining Iowa State's Troy Davis, TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson and Memphis' DeAngelo Williams.
Thompson, 51, a radio analyst for the Gophers, knows what goes into such tailback productivity and consistency. During his four-year Minnesota career (1986-89), he rushed for 4,654 yards and 40 touchdowns, including consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a freshman and sophomore.
"He (Taylor) has tremendous balance, he has patience and he's strong," said Thompson, who was a first-round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers in 1990. "He also has high end speed, which is not underrated; and a finishing gear, too, which is kind of a rare combination."
After collecting 120 hard-earned yards last Saturday — 6.3 per carry — Taylor has now rushed for over 100 yards 21 times in 26 career games, bringing his two-year total to 3,966 yards. Ron Dayne (3,566) and Herschel Walker (3,507) are the only other FBS backs to go over 3,500 in their first two seasons.
"I thought it was interesting how a kid knew that outside noise doesn't matter. All that really matters is what you're doing." Keep doing you. It's all that matters.
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFB) November 24, 2018
Taylor is not only the nation's leading rusher — with 280 carries for 1,989 yards — but he has rushed for 766 more yards than anybody else in the Big Ten. In four November games, Taylor has produced 208, 185, 321 and 120 yards; a stretch that has not gone unnoticed by Thompson.
"I know how hard it is this late in the season to average what he's averaging (165.8 through 12 games)," Thompson said. "It's one thing if you've got a 170-yard average three games into the season. OK, you've probably played some people who aren't that good.
"But when you're 10, 11 and 12 games into the season, and you're still averaging between 165 to 170 a game or more — when everyone knows that you're going to get the ball from Monday to Saturday — that's really friggin' impressive."
With the athleticism that runs in his family, he's not easily impressed. Besides his own achievements as a collegian and his five years with the Packers, his wife, Stephanie, was an outstanding volleyball player at Iowa, and each of their four kids have or are now competing at the Division I level.
Their oldest daughter, Dominique, was an honorable mention All-American as a senior and a fixture as a middle blocker for the Wisconsin volleyball program while playing for Pete Waite and Kelly Sheffield. Another daughter, Indigo, played volleyball at San Diego State and Virginia Commonwealth.
Their oldest son, True, is a redshirt sophomore wide receiver for the Gophers. Their youngest, Race, is a 6-foot-8, 228-pound redshirt freshman basketball player at Indiana. Having helped nurture his own children through the competitive ranks, Thompson has developed a discerning eye for talent.
As a result, his perspective on a young athlete is valued. Especially someone like the 19-year-old Taylor, who's playing his old position. "I haven't seen tons of him," Thompson said. "But seeing him come back this year with that target on him and the success that he's had, is very, very impressive.
"It's not like they don't have a history of running backs at the University of Wisconsin with Ron Dayne and the others. And he's in the category with Melvin Gordon and all those great backs."
Thompson elaborated on Taylor's balance, one of his more defining characteristics.
"He doesn't get knocked off his feet," he said. "He's able to bend his knees and regain his balance when most people would get knocked down. He needs to be gang-tackled. He's physical at the point of attack."
In '90, the Packers drafted linebacker Tony Bennett just ahead of Thompson with the 18th pick. Drafting one slot ahead of them, the Dallas Cowboys selected Emmitt Smith at No. 17. "He (Taylor)," Thompson said, "has got an Emmitt Smith slippery quality and balance to him. That's high praise."
• • • •
The silence was deafening in the losing locker room. Cliché but universally true. There was no music blaring on the loudspeakers. There was no hooting and hollering — only subdued conversations barely above a whisper from one locker stall to the next. There was no Axe in the trophy case.
"It's tough, especially because I'm not a senior and you don't truly understand how it feels," Taylor said of Saturday's loss to Minnesota. "There's still a bad taste in your mouth. And you can see it on the seniors' faces. And you never want guys — that you look up to — to look like that.
"One of the things that the younger guys can do is look at their faces.
"Feel the sting they have," he implored.
"And use it to make sure it doesn't happen next year."
Each one of them has made a huge impact on this program and we are forever grateful. Thank you seniors. Once a Badger, Always a Badger. #OnWisconsin
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFB) November 24, 2018
Although the Badgers are headed to a bowl game, it's not what anybody wanted to hear right away. "You can say that to them (the seniors), but this was their last game at Camp Randall," Taylor said. "Going out with a loss here in your last game hits hard. You can feel it in this locker room."
As he was speaking, D'Cota Dixon, a fifth-year senior, was working the room offering positive words of encouragement and hugs to his teammates. "That's why he's one of the best leaders," Taylor pointed out. "Despite what happened, he's still trying to rally the guys together. That's who he is."
But the fate of this 7-5 team in the bowl can't be left solely to the graduating players, he suggested. "Especially coming off a loss like this," Taylor said, "it will take a lot of the younger guys stepping up and lifting the seniors and boosting the morale."
Taylor was hoping to do that with one of his patented long runs against the Gophers. He had a 15-yard run on his fifth carry of the game. But none longer in the first half. He had a 13-yard run on the first series of the second half and a 20-yarder, his longest run of the day, on the following possession.
He felt that was the play — potentially — that could have altered the momentum. But as he was setting up a downfield block by Danny Davis, he lost his footing. "The mind was going faster than the body," he said. "You have to make sure to finish plays like that because they can change a game."
Despite putting up historic tailback numbers, Taylor was asked what he has learned, particularly after Saturday's frustrating setback. In the hushed locker room, he eyed Dixon again and circled back to the seniors.
"You see what each of them brings to the table — you see their leadership and skill sets," he said. "It kind of showed me, 'This is what you play for … you play for the seniors.' That hit me today."
Exiting the locker room, he couldn't ignore the empty trophy case.
Nobody could. Nobody should.
RB @JayT23 has topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the 11th time this season. Only @Melvingordon25 (12 in 2014) has had more. JT has run for 100+ in 21 of 26 career games. #JT23 #OnWisconsin
— Brian Mason (@Brian_Mason) November 24, 2018
