Clemson’s Taylor hoping to bounce back

By Bob Wilson  |   Wednesday, February 14, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

Clemson Tigers
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Clemson wide receiver Rendrick Taylor will look to bounce back in 2007 from an injury-shortened sophomore season. Tiger fans expected big results from the talented Taylor after he set a team record with 174 yards receiving in the 2006 spring game. He made the play of the scrimmage when he took a hitch pass 95-plus yards for a score, thus putting to bed all doubts about his speed.

At 6-foot-2 and a chiseled 230 pounds, many experts had the Clio, S.C., native playing linebacker in college. However, the Clemson coaches believed Taylor could be a dangerous offensive weapon for them. Fortunately for the Tigers, it looks like the staff made the right call by putting Taylor's talents to work on the offensive side of the ball.

Last year, he had 12 receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown in six games. Taylor went down with a broken arm late in the Wake Forest contest, and the Clemson passing game never recovered. Had the sophomore not gotten injured, he likely would have surpassed 25 receptions and 300 yards for the year. When he was healthy, Taylor helped take some pressure off fellow wideout Chansi Stuckey.

Prior to last season, offensive coordinator Rob Spence and his fellow assistants spoke in great detail about the different ways Taylor would be deployed in '06. They envisioned using the physical specimen as a hybrid wide receiver/tight end/fullback. However, Taylor was primarily utilized as a wideout.

If Jacoby Ford and Tyler Grisham continue to improve and Aaron Kelly finds the consistency he had as a freshman, the coaches may be able to use Taylor as more of a hybrid-type player. There can't be too many defensive backs in the ACC who would want to try and tackle the 230-pounder on an end around.

Plus, with his speed, Taylor could be a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches if he lines up as a tight end or fullback.
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