Chicago Confidential: Summer offering connections, opportunities for Jonathan Taylor
July 18, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas
Junior running back, Heisman Trophy candidate attending Big Ten Media Days on Thursday and Friday
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Jonathan Taylor may still get a second chance, a raincheck if you will.
But he was still bummed.
Last Sunday, the Wisconsin tailback was slated to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
But he took ill and had to cancel. He's hoping to find a date in August to reschedule.
Taylor has never played organized baseball. He spent his springs running track at Salem (New Jersey) High School where he was the fastest sprinter in the state; the 100-meters champ as a junior and senior.
But he does have a baseball connection: Christian Yelich. They met at the Wisconsin Sports Awards and Taylor was looking forward to visiting with the National League MVP before Sunday's game.
Previously, they exchanged pleasantries and offered words of encouragement to each other.
"Doing the things that he's doing, he has taken his game to another level," said Taylor, invoking the word "transcendent" in describing the 27-year-old Brewers right fielder.
"You always have guys who come along in their sports and kind of change it or redefine it. Eventually, five or 10 years later, someone else will surpass that. But he's really changing the game."
The respect is mutual.
"He has said some of the same things to me," Taylor recounted. "He doesn't watch football often, but when he does, especially being a Brewer, he has watched Wisconsin football.
"It's always an honor to be recognized by someone who has done so well."
After rushing for 4,171 yards in his first two seasons, Taylor will be one of the more recognizable players and headliners attending the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
"I know we're going to get questions about the expectations that a lot of people had for us going into last year," said Taylor, who will be joined by linebacker Chris Orr and center Tyler Biadasz.
"It didn't really go as planned. Not as we wanted it to go. But our own expectations this year are no different than we had last year or the year before that.
"We want to win every single game. But we're going to focus on the game in front of us and we're going to take it game by game. The guys are definitely prepared. It's been a great offseason."
Jonathan Taylor is Bringing Running Back Let us explain 👇 #JT23
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) July 18, 2019
Taylor's preparation took a different twist. He trained for a week with Melvin Gordon in Florida. Another former UW tailback, James White, was also on hand for one of the workout sessions.
"Getting to see what those guys do at their level, how they prepare and train their bodies, was definitely something different for me," said Taylor, who's chasing MG3 in the UW record book.
"Once you start working, you get a break, something to quench your thirst really quick, you splash some water on your face and it's time to get back to work.
"There's not a lot of lollygagging time in-between. And it's really focused on the small details.
"If you don't do the drill correctly, you're going to do it again. It gets you fired up when you're training with two guys who are doing exceptionally well at the professional level.
This summer, Taylor was influenced by another former Badgers icon: Joe Thomas, a two-time All-American left tackle and the 2006 Outland Trophy winner.
Taylor sat down for a lengthy one-on-one interview with Thomas, a member of the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame class.
"There weren't scripted questions," Taylor said. "He really had just one question to start and we kind of let the conversation go where it may. I got to ask him some questions and he asked me some."
VIDEO: UNFILTERED - Featuring Jonathan Taylor and Joe Thomas, Part 2
Thomas, a perennial All-Pro, retired in March, 2018 after 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
"One of the biggest things that I got from him," Taylor said of his takeaway from their meeting, "is to make sure you find some things that you love to do outside of football.
"He also said make sure you take advantage of the opportunities that you have when you're playing football — opportunities that will help you do the things you later want to do."
Taylor did something this summer that he has never done before: water ski.
"I got coached-up: bend your knees and let the boat pull you up," he said. "The first time I didn't get up. The second time I got up and I was up for about five seconds. The third time, I didn't get up."
That he got up after each of his 307 carries last season is the only thing that matters. Especially going into his junior year — what potentially looms as his final year in college.
He knows that the subject will be broached in Chicago.
"It's like you prepare for a game — you have to focus on the task at hand," said Taylor, explaining his mindset on the thought or possibility of leaving Wisconsin after three seasons.
"When you start looking too far ahead that's when you can't see the things right in front of you and that's when you start having mishaps.
"You really have to take it game by game. It's the only way to get to where you want to go."
VIDEO: UNFILTERED - Featuring Jonathan Taylor and Joe Thomas, Part 3
Taylor will be making his first appearance at the conference's Media Days.
Understandably, he will gravitate to the other tailbacks in attendance: Illinois' Reggie Corbin, Maryland's Anthony McFarland, Minnesota's Mohamed Ibrahim and Iowa's Toren Young.
But he won't limit himself to his peer group.
"It's always fun to connect with guys you compete against," Taylor said. "I message and stay in contact with a lot of guys — guys from Michigan, Rutgers, Penn State. I know guys from all over and it's spread out over all the conferences, not just the Big Ten."
Ready to Jump Around?! 🙌 Join us at Camp Randall! Single-game tickets are on sale now. Want to be there for the action all season long? A limited number of season tickets are still available! 🎟 http://go.wisc.edu/gum1k4
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) July 16, 2019
There's one former running back from the league that Taylor has stayed in touch with: Saquan Barkley. They first crossed paths at an awards show when Taylor was a freshman.
"You see a lot of great running backs, but he's different," Taylor said of the former Penn State star who was a first-round draft choice (the No. 2 pick overall) of the New York Giants.
"He's a tremendous playmaker. You could put him anywhere on the field and he'd make a play from the slot, the backfield or on special teams. I appreciate what he has done."
If anybody could fill in the blanks for Taylor on making the transition to the NFL it would be the 22-year-old Barkley, who rushed for 1,307 yards and caught 91 passes for the Giants.
"Apparently, it worked out just fine for him since he was the offensive rookie of the year," Taylor said. "The sky is the limit for him. I can't wait to see what he does this year."
They're saying many of the same things about Taylor.
VIDEO: UNFILTERED - Featuring Jonathan Taylor and Joe Thomas, Part 4
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