Projecting the Future: Trent Taylor
by Brad Shepard on Jan 10, 2012 6:30 PM EST
in Tennessee Volunteers Recruiting
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PrintTRENT TAYLOR, 6-3, 270 DT LAKELAND, FLA. [LAKE GIBSON HS]
Ratings: Rivals 3* No. 19 strongside defensive end, Scout 4* No. 29 defensive end, ESPN 3* No. 26 defensive end, 247 3* No. 40 strongside defensive end. Chose UT over Miami, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Auburn, South Florida.
STRENGTHS: Remember when we were all excited that we got a big defensive end that the Big Three in Florida wanted? Well, scratch that. Taylor has continued to grow, and according to his high school coach in a recent interview, despite what the services say, the mid-term enrollee is up to 270 and plans on playing defensive tackle in Knoxville. He wants to get up to 290. This is great news for the Vols, who love his versatility and athleticism. He can be an early-down run defender at end or an every-play athlete in the mold of Sentimore at tackle. He is very physical.
NEEDS WORK: Strength isn't always an issue with South Florida kids -- remember Marcus Jackson came into UT as the Vols' strongest offensive lineman [which was both a testament to his high school program and a black eye on our college program]. But Taylor is going to be getting used to a new body. His profiles, which are done at the end of their junior years of high school, list him at 245-250, so that will be an increase of at least 20 and maybe 30 pounds within two years. Taylor needs to extend his arms, though, and if he moves down, he'll have to adjust to the nuances of playing inside. A lot of times, those South Florida kids struggle with being so far away from home, too.
CREDENTIALS: After a standout junior season where he burst onto the scene with 96 tackles 13 tackles for a loss and 15 sacks, he garnered offers from the Big Three among others. Why he isn't more highly rated by three of the services, I don't know. He will be a great player in Knoxville. With an increased eye on him as a senior and talent all around him, Taylor's numbers dropped off a bit, but they were still excellent as he finished with 66 tackles and 14 sacks. He has been clocked at a 5.1 40-yard dash and had the best DT "power throw" according to ESPN [whatever that is] at 43.0. He was a member of the Super Southeast 120 according to the Mobile Register. According to the Orlando Sentinel, he is the 63rd ranked player in the state. Want another couple of accolades? He was picked as a First-Team member of The Associated Press' Class 6A All-State team. In Florida. He also was PolkPreps.com's 2011-12 Large School Defensive Player of the Year.
OPTIMISTIC CEILING: I'd love to leave Taylor outside, and I think either him or Darrington Sentimore will play out there. I do think he's better suited for the inside than Corey Miller. But if you really want to know what I think of Taylor, how about this: He and Jason Croom are going to be the steals of this class when it's all said and done. I believe Taylor is an incredible athlete for his size, and getting him on campus here at mid-term is a huge blessing. It was fantastic plucking him from the Miami Hurricanes the way we did Jackson last year, and I believe he'll have an early impact on the field like Jackson. Ideally, though, you'd always like to give them a year in the weight room if possible.
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Wow, he's really gaining a lot of weight.
That’s a good thing, but I hope it doesn’t cause him to lose a step.
I really like the talent we’re adding on defense. The size of these guys reminds me of the two defenses we saw play last night.
"Do the Titans have a miracle left in them in what has been a magical season to this point? If they do, they need it now. Christie kicks it high and short. Gonna be fielded by Lorenzo Neal at the 25; he dishes it back to Wycheck; he throws it across the field to Dyson. 30, 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, endzone...touchdown, Titans! There are no flags on the field! It's a miracle! Tennessee has pulled a miracle! A miracle for the Titans!"
by TennesseeTyrants on Jan 10, 2012 6:40 PM EST reply actions
Exciting...
I really believe championship teams are built on their defense, and a good defense is created by their line.
As an aside, Alabama fans are already becoming insufferable. They’ve gone into full martyr mode with the controversy over the game sucking and a call for a playoff.
and if you folks would prefer...
I suppose we could do an open thread fanshot every few days to keep the conversation on topic in here.
That would be a great idea.
by Displaced_Vol_Fan on Jan 10, 2012 8:00 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I like adding comments to Brad's posts personally.
We’re talking about the future*!
*or what’s on TV that night
Formerly 'snail. You get used to it after a while.
by Chris Pendley on Jan 10, 2012 9:26 PM EST up reply actions
Apparently Sunseri well be in town interviewing tomorrow
FWIW.
Lou Brock loves Lamp.
by birdjam on Jan 10, 2012 10:14 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
This is for bobo...
best tutorial on the internet about EU3.
Also, potentially NSFW… SomethingAwful can be pretty raunchy.
That game really intrigues me.
I actually started taking a peek at it, but took an arrow to the system requirements. Aargh.
by David Hooper on Jan 10, 2012 11:39 PM EST up reply actions
What have you got?
It runs fine on my netbook, but my old laptop got eaten alive by it.
The one thing it really requires is a healthy amount of RAM, but the latest expansion added support for multi-core processors which was a HUGE help.
if you are curious to test your computer
Download the demo for Victoria 2, it uses the same updated engine. If you can run that, you shouldn’t have any trouble with EU3.
And if you are that interested in the game, the previous expansions aren’t anywhere near as hardware intensive. Divine Wind isn’t neccessary to enjoy the game, it just upgrades quite a bit of things… but the experience itself doesn’t dramatically change if you just get the first 3 upgrades(Napoleon’s Ambition, In Nomine, and Heir to the Throne)
Which can be bought here...
REQS
Microsoft Windows XP/2000/Vista
1.9GHz Intel Pentium 4 or similar AMD
512MB RAM
DirectX9.0c compatible videocard with at least 128MB and support for Vertex- and Pixelshader 2.0
Chronicles lists 2.4 GHz, and that's my chokepoint.
I’m at 2.0. Everything else is ok,
by David Hooper on Jan 11, 2012 9:41 AM EST up reply actions
Let's try this again:
“I was going to be an EU3 player like you, but I took an arrow to the system requirements.”
Consistency is the key.
Formerly 'snail. You get used to it after a while.
by Chris Pendley on Jan 11, 2012 6:48 AM EST up reply actions
And in the SEC...
no upsets at all.
Vanderbilt wins at South Carolina 67-57, and Florida beats Georgia at home 70-48
Our RPI should go up a few more spots now.
sweet...
- Baylor stays undefeated with a 2 point win at #18 Kansas State, love to see the little guy trolling Texas and company. Providence smoked #15 Louisville by 21… The Cardinals have some real problems that weren’t exposed in non-conference play.
- Harvard(?!?!?) kept rolling with a 9 point win at 3-14 Monmouth. Harvard is getting WAAAAAAAY too much credit for a win over an FSU team that was ranked at the time but has turned out to be pretty bad.
Vandy was up 24 with a few minutes to go
USC scored a couple TDs against the backups. It was a much more thorough beating than the final score suggests.
I like Tennessee and Vanderbilt. There aren't many like me, and they're probably better off for it.
I always laugh when I see RPI
since my undergrad’s initials are RPI
Up to 215 after tonight's action
Look out, boys!
by Will Shelton on Jan 10, 2012 11:48 PM EST up reply actions
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