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#47: Kolby Taylor - Wide Receiver
Well, Gary Andersen said he would like to start airing it out, so here comes our first wide receiver on the countdown. Unless you follow the recruiting side of things, you probably don’t know much about Kolby Taylor. He comes from one of OSU’s most impressive pipelines out of Chandler High School, former home of other current Beavers Darrell Garretson, Hamilcar Rashed Jr., and Mason Moran (though the most notable alumni for Beaver fans would be Marcus Wheaton). He’s also comes from a family of football players as his father, Keith Taylor, and uncle, John Taylor, played in the NFL. His oldest brother, Kerry (who also joined the football staff at OSU), played at Arizona State and his other brother, Kendyl, played at Washington and Northern Arizona.
Taylor had a standout year as a junior where he made the all-state first team after collecting 69 receptions for 879 yards and 10 touchdowns, plus 6 more scores on the ground. He drew plenty of interest from colleges (including offers from Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Arizona State), but his junior season was cut short after he broke his leg during the playoffs and then he was sidelined again his senior season after breaking the same bone before the first game. This likely cost him from getting a consensus fourth star on his recruiting profile, but that didn’t matter as OSU remained committed to his spot on the team. He enrolled early in January, so he will have a head start on the playbook and chemistry with teammates before fall camp.
Their are many receivers ahead of Taylor at this point, but with the sudden departure of Hunter Jarmon, recovery of Seth Collins, and the nature of football injuries, don’t be surprised if he lines up in the slot at some point as a true freshman. Though durability will surely be brought up, he’s got the strength (benches 320 pounds), hands, and speed to make an impact if his name is called.
The List So Far:
#47: Kolby Taylor - WR
#49: Jordan Choukair & Adley Rutschman - K
#50: Thor Katoa - DT/OLB