Marian's Taylor brings intensity to NIU

H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com Marian Central's Scott Taylor breaks up a pass intended for Montini's Dimitri Taylor late in the first quarter during their IHSA Class 5A playoff game last season in Lombard. (H. Rick Bamman ())

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He wasn’t trying to kill the baseball. Just a steady stroke, smooth through the strike zone, solid on the way out – like he’d done thousands of times. Scott Taylor hit a home run in his previous at-bat against Kaneland in the IHSA Class 3A Rochelle Sectional semifinals. Here came another. If he could just … hit … the ball … square.

Clang!

Foul tip, just missed. Disgusted, Taylor chucked his bat. At least, that’s what everyone thought. It was etched on their expressions, until they realized he still was holding the handle.

The severed barrel bounced down the foul line.

“I’ve seen a top pop off the bat before, or a bat shatter because it was so cold,” said Taylor, a Marian Central senior from Marengo. “But I had never personally seen that myself. I was pretty proud of that because when we called [the bat manufacturer] to get a new bat – because that’s not supposed to happen – they said, ‘We get very few calls a year saying that someone has broken one of our bats while hitting.’ ”

Taylor always has loved baseball – his senior season is quickly approaching – but football is his future. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound guard is Northern Illinois’ top-ranked player by ESPN in its 2012 recruiting class. He was one of 31 high school seniors – including seven offensive linemen – to fax signed national letters of intent to the Huskies on Wednesday’s national signing day.

Division I defensive tackles are big. They aren’t made of aluminum.

“He’s a finisher,” NIU coach Dave Doeren said. “If he could put every guy on his back every play, he would. That’s the kind of mentality he plays with. He’s going to be a phenomenal leader for our offensive line someday because of what he stands for.”

Taylor’s leadership is what Marian football coach Ed Brucker will miss most. Brucker lost track of how many times he walked in at halftime and saw Taylor standing before his teammates, screaming and cursing and firing them up.

Brucker expects the same at NIU.

“I think he might go in as a freshman and be a little shy,” Brucker said, laughing. “But eventually, I think so.”

Taylor said he can’t help himself. It’s just his competitive nature. When Cincinnati withdrew its scholarship offer because it signed two other guards – “they thought they had two guards that were better than me,” Taylor said – he didn’t pout. Forget them, he thought. He considered options with his parents over the Fourth of July weekend last year and gave his verbal to NIU a week later, committed to proving the Bearcats wrong.

He takes the same mentality onto the field. In his final high school game, a Class 5A semifinal matchup against state-power Montini, Marian trailed, 42-14, at half. Taylor laid into his teammates at halftime, screaming and cursing and firing them up. Montini had ended Marian’s season the past two seasons. This was their time, he promised.

Marian scored two straight touchdowns to start the third quarter, but lost, 52-27. Taylor still thinks the Hurricanes should have won. He doesn’t like reliving the game, but he doesn’t regret the halftime speech.

“For someone to tell me that you’re not going to win, or that you’re down by too many points, or that this team is better than you – I don’t think anyone can ever say that to you,” Taylor said. “I just hate losing. I hate losing in gym and in basketball. I hate losing when I’m playing with my friends and family up in Wisconsin, or when I’m at my uncle’s family parties.

“I feel like when you play, you need to take the game into your own hands.”

Taylor represents what NIU’s 2012 class needed. Doeren focused on recruiting linemen, especially after losing four starters from the offensive line. The Huskies signed three 300-pounders Wednesday, and 10 players of at least 275 pounds.

Taylor knows ESPN rated him the top freshman in NIU’s class, and that certain expectations are attached. He said it’s all about winning. Living only 40 minutes from campus, he regularly attended NIU games at Huskie Stadium. He watched intently as the Huskies beat Ohio in Detroit for their first Mid-American Conference championship since 1983. They won after trailing 20-0 at halftime, the largest second-half comeback in modern team history.

Taylor smiled and wondered which player gave the halftime speech, assured he picked the perfect fit.

“Winning it after coming from down 20 points, they took the game into their own hands,” Taylor said. “Even though they were down 20 points, they said, ‘We’re not going to lose this game.’ They lost it last year on a last-second play, and they weren’t going to lose it this year. It means a lot to me that they’re like that. They’re exactly how I am as a player.”