Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
Is it twilight for Taylor?
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
DALLAS - Given his superb senior season at Nebraska, it comes as something of a startling reality to digest the truth about Monday's Cotton Bowl for quarterback Zac Taylor.
Click to Enlarge
Is the Cotton Bowl the last game NU quarterback Zac Taylor will play? If not, he'll have to prove himself again before the NFL draft.
It might be his last real football game. Ever.
OK, Taylor is scheduled to participate in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 20, but you get the drift.
The Huskers' senior quarterback is no lock to play in the NFL.
In fact, he'll have to prove himself all over again before the April 28 and 29 draft. It's the same task a few hundred pro prospects face each winter and spring.
But for Taylor, failure to play at the next level would represent an unusually abrupt ending after a breakout four months that earned him the Big 12 offensive player of the year award.
Taylor, as is the norm, said he's not thinking about anything other than Auburn, the 22nd-ranked Huskers' opponent at 10:40 a.m. on New Year's Day.
Blackshirt exodus • In addition to quarterback Zac Taylor, five NU defenders appear in position to get a look for the NFL draft in April. The Huskers haven't had more than five drafted in a single year since 2001.
• Stewart Bradley, linebacker, 6-4, 250: Size alone should give former walk-on a chance to keep playing.
• Adam Carriker, defensive end, 6-6, 295: Good shot to become just Nebraska's second first-round pick in eight years.
• Barry Cryer, defensive tackle, 6-2, 280: Showed solid improvement and impressive quickness as play-maker in the middle.
• Ola Dagunduro, defensive tackle, 6-2, 300: Stout run stopper has been solid but unspectacular in first year as starter.
• Jay Moore, defensive end, 6-4, 280: Pre-draft workouts could help two-year starter become early-round pick.
The quarterback remains intent, after a three-interception performance Dec. 2 in a Big 12 title game loss to Oklahoma, simply not to end his Nebraska career with two consecutive poor outings.
Still, his NU teammates and at least one prominent NFL draft expert said they believe Taylor can extend his playing career beyond his 24th birthday next May.
"I like everything I see with this guy," said Gil Brandt, former longtime personnel director for the Dallas Cowboys. "I think he has some pluses going for him. The bottom line with him is he's a good decision maker.
"I don't think he has a great arm, but neither does Chad Pennington (of the New York Jets). Taylor has a good arm, and he really understands the offense."
Therein lies the key for Taylor. The second-year Husker, a transfer from junior college and originally Wake Forest, has mastered coach Bill Callahan's complex offensive system.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound QB earned his reputation as an intelligent and level-headed quarterback.
And according to Brandt, in today's NFL, when the line is so thin between the top and bottom of the league, clubs look for players like Taylor.
For example, he said, look at the 5-10 Arizona Cardinals, who are two bad plays against St. Louis and Chicago from needing a win today to potentially make the playoffs.
"Everybody is trying to cut down on mistakes," Brandt said. "They're looking for people who understand football."
Taylor threw just four interceptions in 12 games before facing Oklahoma, and he rarely put the Huskers in tough positions. Of his seven picks this year, only one occurred in Nebraska territory - and it was on the 49-yard line.
"I think he's got a great shot to be in the NFL," NU wide receiver Maurice Purify said. "He knows the system. He's smart. He gets us out of bad plays. He tells the linemen what to do. He's running an NFL system right now."
Senior defensive end Jay Moore said he's discussed future hopes with his QB roommate. Taylor wants to play in the NFL, of course, Moore said, but the quarterback has never lost perspective.
It's part of what makes him so effective in college. And with such an attitude, Moore said he believes Taylor is as motivated as ever to make amends for his most recent game.
It was a loss that hit Taylor harder than most.
"I knew it bothered him," Moore said. "A lot of times after games, we'll sit around and (talk). He went into his room after that game, spent a lot of time by himself. But the next day, he was a lot better. He gets over it fast. That's a good quality, but I know he felt bad about it."
Though he may hide it, Taylor still struggles to erase the memory of that game.
"You think about it over and over. It's tough to get out of your head," he said. "You wish you could have it back, but I can't. I have to move on."
So you see, it really is first things first with Taylor.
"(The NFL) is for after this game," he said. "It's more important for me to go out on a high note and get a 10th win for our team. Then, I'll worry about everything else."
After the Shrine game, Taylor is likely to get an invite to the NFL scouting combine in late February. There, he'll endure a battery of tests, physical and cognitive.
"Quarterbacks are hard to evaluate anymore," Brandt said. "For some reason or another, the guys who you think are going to be good, they don't turn out to be good. And the guys who are questionable, they turn out great."
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
DALLAS - Given his superb senior season at Nebraska, it comes as something of a startling reality to digest the truth about Monday's Cotton Bowl for quarterback Zac Taylor.
Click to Enlarge
Is the Cotton Bowl the last game NU quarterback Zac Taylor will play? If not, he'll have to prove himself again before the NFL draft.
It might be his last real football game. Ever.
OK, Taylor is scheduled to participate in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 20, but you get the drift.
The Huskers' senior quarterback is no lock to play in the NFL.
In fact, he'll have to prove himself all over again before the April 28 and 29 draft. It's the same task a few hundred pro prospects face each winter and spring.
But for Taylor, failure to play at the next level would represent an unusually abrupt ending after a breakout four months that earned him the Big 12 offensive player of the year award.
Taylor, as is the norm, said he's not thinking about anything other than Auburn, the 22nd-ranked Huskers' opponent at 10:40 a.m. on New Year's Day.
Blackshirt exodus • In addition to quarterback Zac Taylor, five NU defenders appear in position to get a look for the NFL draft in April. The Huskers haven't had more than five drafted in a single year since 2001.
• Stewart Bradley, linebacker, 6-4, 250: Size alone should give former walk-on a chance to keep playing.
• Adam Carriker, defensive end, 6-6, 295: Good shot to become just Nebraska's second first-round pick in eight years.
• Barry Cryer, defensive tackle, 6-2, 280: Showed solid improvement and impressive quickness as play-maker in the middle.
• Ola Dagunduro, defensive tackle, 6-2, 300: Stout run stopper has been solid but unspectacular in first year as starter.
• Jay Moore, defensive end, 6-4, 280: Pre-draft workouts could help two-year starter become early-round pick.
The quarterback remains intent, after a three-interception performance Dec. 2 in a Big 12 title game loss to Oklahoma, simply not to end his Nebraska career with two consecutive poor outings.
Still, his NU teammates and at least one prominent NFL draft expert said they believe Taylor can extend his playing career beyond his 24th birthday next May.
"I like everything I see with this guy," said Gil Brandt, former longtime personnel director for the Dallas Cowboys. "I think he has some pluses going for him. The bottom line with him is he's a good decision maker.
"I don't think he has a great arm, but neither does Chad Pennington (of the New York Jets). Taylor has a good arm, and he really understands the offense."
Therein lies the key for Taylor. The second-year Husker, a transfer from junior college and originally Wake Forest, has mastered coach Bill Callahan's complex offensive system.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound QB earned his reputation as an intelligent and level-headed quarterback.
And according to Brandt, in today's NFL, when the line is so thin between the top and bottom of the league, clubs look for players like Taylor.
For example, he said, look at the 5-10 Arizona Cardinals, who are two bad plays against St. Louis and Chicago from needing a win today to potentially make the playoffs.
"Everybody is trying to cut down on mistakes," Brandt said. "They're looking for people who understand football."
Taylor threw just four interceptions in 12 games before facing Oklahoma, and he rarely put the Huskers in tough positions. Of his seven picks this year, only one occurred in Nebraska territory - and it was on the 49-yard line.
"I think he's got a great shot to be in the NFL," NU wide receiver Maurice Purify said. "He knows the system. He's smart. He gets us out of bad plays. He tells the linemen what to do. He's running an NFL system right now."
Senior defensive end Jay Moore said he's discussed future hopes with his QB roommate. Taylor wants to play in the NFL, of course, Moore said, but the quarterback has never lost perspective.
It's part of what makes him so effective in college. And with such an attitude, Moore said he believes Taylor is as motivated as ever to make amends for his most recent game.
It was a loss that hit Taylor harder than most.
"I knew it bothered him," Moore said. "A lot of times after games, we'll sit around and (talk). He went into his room after that game, spent a lot of time by himself. But the next day, he was a lot better. He gets over it fast. That's a good quality, but I know he felt bad about it."
Though he may hide it, Taylor still struggles to erase the memory of that game.
"You think about it over and over. It's tough to get out of your head," he said. "You wish you could have it back, but I can't. I have to move on."
So you see, it really is first things first with Taylor.
"(The NFL) is for after this game," he said. "It's more important for me to go out on a high note and get a 10th win for our team. Then, I'll worry about everything else."
After the Shrine game, Taylor is likely to get an invite to the NFL scouting combine in late February. There, he'll endure a battery of tests, physical and cognitive.
"Quarterbacks are hard to evaluate anymore," Brandt said. "For some reason or another, the guys who you think are going to be good, they don't turn out to be good. And the guys who are questionable, they turn out great."
