Arizona tailback J.J. Taylor has sharp mind, sharp cuts

Arizona’s coaches knew freshman tailback J.J. Taylor would be good — at some point. They had no way of knowing he would be this good, this soon.

The diminutive running back from Corona, California, has been one of the Wildcats’ breakout players since fall camp began earlier this month. Taylor has impressed coaches and teammates with his fancy footwork, studiousness and passion for football.

In the course of just a few weeks, UA coach Rich Rodriguez has gone from saying “I doubt that he’s redshirting” to “he’s going to play early.” Taylor already has earned Rodriguez’s trust, which is no easy task.

“The biggest challenge is just learning what we’re doing and understanding the speed at this level,” said Rodriguez, whose team opens the 2016 season a week from Saturday against BYU. “But he’s very conscientious. Very smart guy.”

That’s at least half the battle for any incoming freshman. They all possess high-level athletic traits; they wouldn’t be in the Pac-12 without them.

The ones who contribute immediately spend the most time immersed in the playbook — and are able to translate that knowledge to the field. Taylor has shown that ability, at least so far.

“The drills we’re doing, he picks them up pretty quickly because he can handle them,” running backs coach Calvin Magee said. “Then he’s applying that to live action, and that’s a good thing. He really understands the game.”

Taylor played several other sports as a youth, including basketball, baseball, soccer, roller hockey and gymnastics. He didn’t love any of them as much as he loved football.

“We’ve got a lot of guys like that,” Rodriguez said. “But J.J. was one where you could tell, the way he played, recruiting him, he had an obsession with the game.”

It takes an extreme level of devotion to thrive in a big man’s sport when you’re not a big man. Taylor is listed at 5 feet 6 inches and 170 pounds.

Despite rushing for more than 2,000 yards and scoring more than 40 touchdowns as a senior at Corona’s Centennial High School, Taylor had only two offers from Power Five schools: Arizona and Washington State. His lack of size might have had something to do with that.

“It’s something I’ve been hearing my entire life,” Taylor said. “There’s not much I can do about it. There’s nothing I can do to change it. So I just have to do whatever I can do with whatever God gave me.”

What Taylor has is nifty feet — the best on the team, according to teammate and fellow tailback Nick Wilson. Rodriguez said Taylor has “great open-field awareness and quickness” and is “probably one of the best open-field guys on the team as far as making people miss.”

In that regard, Taylor’s size works to his advantage. He is difficult to locate, harder to corral. As he puts it, it’s a “new task” for defenders to tackle him; they essentially have to recalibrate their sensors.

“I know how to tackle him because I’ve seen him,” said Arizona freshman safety Chacho Ulloa, who played with Taylor at Centennial. “They think he won’t do this in college. But I’m telling you, J.J. is a special kid.”

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Running back is one of the positions where height-challenged players can thrive. Maurice Jones-Drew, listed at 5-7, earned All-America honors at UCLA in 2005 before becoming a second-round draft pick and playing nine seasons in the NFL.

Jacquizz Rodgers, listed at 5-6, rushed for 3,877 yards and 46 touchdowns in three seasons at Oregon State. Rodgers plays for the Chicago Bears, where he’s competing with former Wildcat Ka’Deem Carey for playing time. (Related fun fact: Taylor is wearing Carey’s old number, 25.)

Former Oregon State coach Mike Riley once said of Rodgers: “He’s not small. He’s just short.” Rodgers has thick, powerful legs that made him a menace in Corvallis.

Taylor has no fear when it comes to running between the tackles, and the coaches have no hesitancy to deploy him that way.

“I really don’t see any limitations with him right now,” Magee said.

About the only thing holding back Taylor is what’s in front of him on the depth chart. Arizona has two returning tailbacks it really likes in Wilson and Orlando Bradford. The challenge is finding enough touches for all three.

The coaches view Wilson, a junior, and Bradford, a sophomore, as co-starters. Both played meaningful snaps as freshmen, especially Wilson, who rushed for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns. Which makes what Wilson said about Taylor truly eye-opening:

“He’s picked up on the offense a lot faster than I did as a freshman.”

That doesn’t mean Taylor will usurp Wilson or Bradford. But the freshman clearly is in the mix and brings a different set of skills to the position.

“He’s so versatile,” Wilson said. “He can be put on the outside, at running back, on the wing. He can be really effective and a dangerous weapon in our offense.”

Taylor appreciates all the praise. Mainly, it motivates him. He now has a higher set of expectations to live up to.

Not that he’s setting the bar low for himself. Asked to name his favorite running back, Taylor quickly cites Barry Sanders. Taylor’s dad is from Detroit, where Sanders starred for the Lions en route to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A reporter mentioned to Taylor that there’s never been a player quite like Sanders.

“Not yet,” Taylor said.