Junior Taylor says he’s not about to let this opportunity
slip through his fingers. And that’s good to hear. Of course
if you’ve been watching Taylor the past two-plus seasons, you
already know he’s not exactly the most sure-handed
receiver.
But Taylor, now a junior, has a chance to put the past behind
him. The dropped passes. The injuries. The inconsistency. Those
will all be forgotten if he comes up big this month while injured
receiver Craig Bragg nurses his dislocated shoulder back to
health.
“This is why I came to UCLA,” Taylor said, “to
be the No. 1 guy and to be the main receiver. Now that Craig is
out, it’s my turn, and I’m looking forward to
it.”
It’s not that Taylor hasn’t been productive as a
Bruin. He caught 24 passes last season and has averaged more than
12 yards per catch throughout his UCLA career.
Yet how many of those catches can you recall? How many kept a
drive alive or set up a crucial touchdown? Very few. That’s
why you probably remember Taylor more for the balls he didn’t
catch than for the ones he did.
Taylor, who was hampered by a sports hernia last season, hauled
in just one pass in UCLA’s final four games: a forgettable
four-yard completion in garbage time against USC. He also dropped a
key fourth-quarter pass against Colorado in the season opener last
year, and he let a deep ball carom off his chest during last
month’s Oklahoma State loss.
Not exactly the All-American performance you expect from a guy
who will be asked to fill Bragg’s shoes next year.
But this season, the 6-foot-2-inch, 205-pound receiver is
determined not to succumb to injury or fade down the stretch again.
Taylor was in Bragg’s shadow during the offseason. He ran
with Bragg, lifted weights with him and picked his brain about the
nuances of the position.
Now that he’s injury-free, comfortable with the offense,
and in the best shape of his career, it’s probably no
coincidence that Taylor is finally showing signs of living up to
his prep press clippings.
Sure, he didn’t register a catch against Oklahoma State.
But he’s done more than enough to entrench himself in the
starting lineup, even after Tab Perry’s much ballyhooed
return to the Bruins after a yearlong hiatus. Taylor snared a pair
of balls at Illinois the following week and then caught four
second-half passes in UCLA’s 37-31 victory two weeks ago in
Seattle.
“Last season is behind me,” Taylor said. “It
was hard trying to learn a new offense and fighting through
injuries. This year I’m healthy, and I know the offense like
the back of my hand.”
Replacing Bragg won’t fall on Taylor’s shoulders
alone. Perry, tight end Marcedes Lewis and a steady dose of Maurice
Drew should help with that.
But expect Taylor to get his chance. Coach Karl Dorrell knows
Taylor is a talent, and he’s going to give him every chance
to live up to his potential.
That has to have the San Diego State secondary feeling a bit
uneasy, considering how Taylor torched them a year ago. He caught
seven passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, a 41-yard strike from
Olson that put the game out of reach.
Taylor hasn’t come close to those numbers since that game,
but he’d like to duplicate them again Saturday.
Now is the time for Taylor to prove he can sustain that
success.
There are no more excuses. He’s healthy. He’s facing
a familiar foe. He’s got a quarterback who will be doing
everything he can to find ways to get him the ball.
“I want to be the guy Drew (Olson) is looking for,”
Taylor said. “I expect to see a lot of balls.”
He can count on that. Of course, it’s still up to Taylor
to catch them.
Eisenberg’s column will appear every Monday during
football season. E-mail him at jeisenberg@media.ucla.edu.