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Mrs. Kyle and I went to Las Vegas for a week on the 17th, so naturally, a recruit commits on the 18th. I'm just surprised it was only one.
According to CF.c roughly a week ago, Washington State has added JC safety Paris Taylor. Cougfan is reporting he signed Financial Aid papers, and that he is expected to enroll this summer. Having only spent one year in junior college, Taylor will still have four years to play his remaining three, preserving his redshirt status if needed. I'm not sure he'll need it.
The embeddable video below is of Taylor as a HS Senior, so if you want more up-to-date stuff to watch, you can check out his Hudl page here. I'd recommend the latter.
The first thing that jumps out is his size. Scout lists Taylor at 6'4 and 205 pounds, making him a rather large, Kam Chancellor-esq safety. I kept hearing talk of moving him to linebacker eventually, and while that may still exist as a possibility, the thought of him lighting up Pac 12 receivers and TEs coming over the middle makes me smile. I say keep him at safety. Mike Breske would have a toy on defense that not many other schools could dream of having.
Taylor hits like a ton of bricks, plain and simple. Most big hitters in HS and JC always go for the kill shot and disregard fundamentals and form tackling. While Taylor isn't textbook 100% of the time, he doesn't just forget how to tackle in going for the big hit. He stays low, leads with his shoulder, and attempts to wrap up. It's something you don't see often, and that tells me he understands there's more to playing football than knocking the snot out of someone.
He's fair in coverage, but he could improve a bit in that area. As could almost every DB coming out of HS and JC. So, really, I'm pleased with his overall game and think he can contribute on Special Teams in 2013. Eventually, I think he'll work himself into a starting safety. This is a nice, under-the-radar pickup for those of you who swoon over every "diamond in the rough, WSU type recruit". Welcome Paris, and Go Cougs.
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