2016 Missouri athlete AJ Taylor might be one of the more underrated prospects in the country and according to Ruckhurst head coach Tom Severino, Taylor can do it all. Taylor will visit Notre Dame on March 18th with his parents and is hopeful an offer is right around the corner.
“AJ is the real deal,” Severino stated to Irish Sports Daily. “He would fit in extremely well at Notre Dame without a doubt. He is a great kid, hard worker, polite and has that look in his eyes. He is really just taking everything in at this point. He is a five-tool player, he can catch, run, play defensive back, return kicks and that’s why all these schools are recruiting him at different positions. He is an athlete that can fill many needs a program might have.”
Not only have his football skills impressed many programs across the country, but his physique and maturity have surprised too. Taylor is a brick wall at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds and he is only 16 years old.
“He has a good head on his shoulder and he is a bright kid,” said Severino. “His mom is very big into education and that will be a big thing for him. I know he got offered by Nebraska the other day and he has probably eight or nine offers on the table, but I am sure a lot more will start coming in before the spring recruiting season is over. Everyone that sees him is extremely impressed with him.
“He is smooth and does everything so effortless. The great thing about him, is he is young. AJ has so much more ahead of him. He will be a young senior, so you know the growth factor is still there. He definitely looks that part. If he was sitting in your locker room now, you wouldn’t know he is a 16-year-old kid.”
Taylor is a true gamer and that makes it hard for even Severino to project which position would suit him in college.
“It’s really hard to project him at the next level,” he explained. “I see him as an all-purpose running back and a return guy. He catches the ball great out of the backfield and runs great routes. He truly possesses great power and vision. He could play wherever you needed him to play within your offense. I could even see him being a second-and-long, third-down type of back. Similar to Darren Sproles and do that kind of stuff.”
Severino doesn’t see too many weaknesses in his star player’s game, but Taylor could use a few more reps at defensive back with him not playing there too much.
“If he needs to improve anything before his senior year, it would be as a defensive back,” said Severino. “He simply needs more time back there. The people that want him at a defensive back, he would just need a lot more reps and getting to do one thing. AJ does so many things for us. That would be his weakest area now, but that’s only because of the time we play him there.”
Notre Dame was in to see Taylor in the winter, but with his recruiter taking an analyst role, the three-star prospect is now being recruiting by defensive line coach Keith Gilmore.
“I haven’t spoken to Notre Dame since I talked to Coach (Bob) Elliott when he was here in the winter,” Severino stated. “I know they like him and like what he looks like. They just got to get him up there, so people can see him. I know he loves Notre Dame and he has told me that.”
For Taylor, education will be a large part of his college decision and his family has driven that home. Severino also feels the similarities between Rockhurst and Notre Dame are a big draw for him as well.
“Northwestern has offered him, so it shows that schools see he values education,” Severino explained. “They are pretty high on his radar now. His mom is a lawyer and she knows the value of an education. They know football in college and the NFL are a means to a higher purpose. It’s not a livelihood for most kids and we had that conversation last week.
“Growing up in private and Catholic school here at Rockhurst also adds to his interest in Notre Dame. He understands that value. Notre Dame, Stanford and Northwestern are high on his list for those reasons. Almost all of the Big Ten has come in and started making offers to him, so it will be interesting. They are going to get out and see a lot of schools.”
