Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography
Gameday Feature: A Desire to Mentor, A Will to Coach
10/20/2017 4:12:00 PM | Football
Senior tight end Will Taylor knows exactly what he wants to be doing after he graduates, he has had a desire to coach and mentor young football players for a while now
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Many college students, even those who are seniors, aren't exactly sure what they want to do upon graduating, despite having a major chosen. That is not the case for senior tight end Will Taylor. His vision is clear and his desire is strong, he wants to coach football.
A kinesiology major with a minor in history, Taylor is on pace to graduate next summer. A part of head coach Clint Conque's first recruiting class in 2014, Taylor arrived in Nacogdoches with his mind already made up on what he wanted to be doing after his time as a student-athlete.
"Ever since I was little, my calling has been coaching," said Taylor. "I've known since I was little that I wanted to coach. I don't know why, it's either God or at least He's given me my plan, 'You're going to coach, you're going to impact kids or you're going to impact college kids'. Wherever that takes me to, whether high school or college or if maybe one day, the NFL."
Hailing from Euless, Texas, and a product of Euless Trinity High School, Taylor was not heavily recruited coming out of high school but found his way to Stephen F. Austin through coach Conque. Getting plenty of interest letters from big name programs such as Missouri, Baylor, Texas Tech and LSU, Taylor wasn't offered by any of the FBS schools, but did go on a few unofficial visits. He went to Louisiana-Monroe, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M on unofficial visits but could not get any official visit offers. With coach Conque taking over the Lumberjack football program and in need of a tight end, SFA became the only FCS school to recruit Taylor.
It took just one weekend visit for Taylor before realizing that SFA was the place he was supposed to be.
"I came down here, spent the whole weekend in Nacogdoches and by the end of the weekend I was like this is the place I want to come," Taylor remarked. "I didn't want to go do the junior college route. I knew I had something for sure here and I loved the campus. The campus is awesome, it's so beautiful and I like the atmosphere around here."
Taylor's experience as a college football player has been a real eye-opener from the get go. He had the rare opportunity of getting onto the field in his first ever college game as a true freshman. Stepping out in front of over 52,000 fans at 20th-ranked Kansas State, Taylor got to experience college football at the highest level, something he will never forget. In one regard, it was a ton of fun, in another, he says it wasn't too fun getting beat so bad.
It would be the first of 12 games, which was the entirety of the regular season, Taylor would get to play in his freshman year as the 6-foot-3, 248-pound tight end was a part of SFA's last playoff team. In fact, Taylor is just one of nine current 'Jacks who were on the roster in 2014 when SFA advanced to the FCS playoffs. Although not playing in the Lumberjacks' playoff contest at Northern Iowa, Taylor got to travel with team and reflects fondly on the memory.
"The experience was pretty cool," commented Taylor. "I had never really flown anywhere for football playoffs so it was an experience, and especially when it was like 15 degrees in Iowa. When we landed it was just ice on the ground. It was an indoor stadium so luckily we were inside but it was awesome."
Not only was the trip to the playoff game a memorable one, but the events leading up to the postseason appearance have also stuck with Taylor.
"I remember we hit the game-winning field goal for the Chief Caddo trophy against Northwestern State and that's what propelled us into the playoffs," Taylor added. "We walked into the team room and they had it on ESPN for the NCAA selection show. We all went crazy, I've never seen the team that ecstatic for it, 'Yeah we made the playoffs, yeah! We're going to have Thanksgiving together'.'
Fast forward to senior year and Taylor has played in a total of 41 games in his four-year career at SFA, including making 15 starts. While serving primarily as a blocking tight end, Taylor has hauled in 14 passes for 154 yards and is the primary starter for the Lumberjacks this season. However, he is already planning for life after football and where he wants to be after graduating.
"My plan is to try to find a job either in Dallas/Fort Worth or if not there, the Houston area," commented Taylor. "If that doesn't work, then east or west, somewhere."
Although he doesn't have a ton of experience coaching to this point, Taylor has observed his coaches throughout his career and takes note of how they interact with players. He got to help out at a camp in Duncanville, Texas, during the summer of 2016 and was able to work side-by-side with SFA assistant coach Jeremy Hammock, who is Taylor's positional coach. Taylor had the opportunity to see first-hand what exactly coach Hammock was telling the kids and tried to soak up as much information as possible for future reference. Currently, Taylor is in a unique situation with junior quarterback Ryan Cottingame working on playing tight end due to the number of injuries the 'Jacks have suffered at that position. He jokes that he is trying to teach Cottingame the position but can probably impart his knowledge of playing tight end to his teammate.
"Ideally I want to become a graduate assistant somewhere but if that doesn't work, then I could always go to a high school and work my way up," contributed Taylor. "That's why my minor is history, in case I have to teach in high school. I've already thought about that. History has always been my easier subject, I'm not any good at math and science is kind of hard. I like the stories of history and I kind of wish I was there to see the stories. Sometimes in class I get caught up in the story and don't take notes because I am too intrigued."
Whether he is coaching and teaching at the high school level, a graduate assistant or a full-time collegiate or professional coach, Taylor wants to be mentoring kids on and off the field.
"Something has always drawn me to coaching and to help kids," Taylor continued. "I grew up where my parents were divorced and I didn't really have anyone to look up too until I got into the church. For me, if I can be that dad and role model for these kids and try to help them out, that's where I come from. I think that would be ideal for me."
Taylor credits a lot of his desire and passion for coaching to the mentorship and guidance he received from a pair of coaches while in high school at Trinity. Former Euless Trinity head coach Steve Lineweaver, who was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame earlier this year after claiming three 5A state titles with the Trojans, is one of them. Amassing a 259-43-2 record and tallying 65 playoff victories as a Texas high school coach, Lineweaver earned the respect of Taylor early and was viewed as a father figure to Taylor and many of his teammates. While also being a mentor, Lineweaver served as a motivator and inspired Taylor.
"If you ever had a problem, you would just walk into his office," Taylor said.
Taylor's offensive line and tight ends coach in high school Craig Cansler, who is now the assistant head coach at Euless Trinity, also played a large role as a mentor to Taylor.
"Cansler did a lot for me too," added Taylor. "He would always pray for me and check on how my dad was doing because my dad has Chron's disease. He would always come up to me and say, 'Hey man, how's your dad doing?'. He would always check up on me and that's why I look to those guys. That's why every time I go home I try to see coach Cansler."
For Taylor, his drive to become a coach started in junior high when he looked up to high school and saw coach Lineweaver and coach Cansler in action. Immediately Taylor thought to himself, "Man, that's what I want to do for my life". He realizes that coaching football may not make him a lot of money but it's going to make him happy.
-SFA-
A kinesiology major with a minor in history, Taylor is on pace to graduate next summer. A part of head coach Clint Conque's first recruiting class in 2014, Taylor arrived in Nacogdoches with his mind already made up on what he wanted to be doing after his time as a student-athlete.
"Ever since I was little, my calling has been coaching," said Taylor. "I've known since I was little that I wanted to coach. I don't know why, it's either God or at least He's given me my plan, 'You're going to coach, you're going to impact kids or you're going to impact college kids'. Wherever that takes me to, whether high school or college or if maybe one day, the NFL."
Hailing from Euless, Texas, and a product of Euless Trinity High School, Taylor was not heavily recruited coming out of high school but found his way to Stephen F. Austin through coach Conque. Getting plenty of interest letters from big name programs such as Missouri, Baylor, Texas Tech and LSU, Taylor wasn't offered by any of the FBS schools, but did go on a few unofficial visits. He went to Louisiana-Monroe, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M on unofficial visits but could not get any official visit offers. With coach Conque taking over the Lumberjack football program and in need of a tight end, SFA became the only FCS school to recruit Taylor.
It took just one weekend visit for Taylor before realizing that SFA was the place he was supposed to be.
"I came down here, spent the whole weekend in Nacogdoches and by the end of the weekend I was like this is the place I want to come," Taylor remarked. "I didn't want to go do the junior college route. I knew I had something for sure here and I loved the campus. The campus is awesome, it's so beautiful and I like the atmosphere around here."
Taylor's experience as a college football player has been a real eye-opener from the get go. He had the rare opportunity of getting onto the field in his first ever college game as a true freshman. Stepping out in front of over 52,000 fans at 20th-ranked Kansas State, Taylor got to experience college football at the highest level, something he will never forget. In one regard, it was a ton of fun, in another, he says it wasn't too fun getting beat so bad.
It would be the first of 12 games, which was the entirety of the regular season, Taylor would get to play in his freshman year as the 6-foot-3, 248-pound tight end was a part of SFA's last playoff team. In fact, Taylor is just one of nine current 'Jacks who were on the roster in 2014 when SFA advanced to the FCS playoffs. Although not playing in the Lumberjacks' playoff contest at Northern Iowa, Taylor got to travel with team and reflects fondly on the memory.
"The experience was pretty cool," commented Taylor. "I had never really flown anywhere for football playoffs so it was an experience, and especially when it was like 15 degrees in Iowa. When we landed it was just ice on the ground. It was an indoor stadium so luckily we were inside but it was awesome."
Not only was the trip to the playoff game a memorable one, but the events leading up to the postseason appearance have also stuck with Taylor.
"I remember we hit the game-winning field goal for the Chief Caddo trophy against Northwestern State and that's what propelled us into the playoffs," Taylor added. "We walked into the team room and they had it on ESPN for the NCAA selection show. We all went crazy, I've never seen the team that ecstatic for it, 'Yeah we made the playoffs, yeah! We're going to have Thanksgiving together'.'
Fast forward to senior year and Taylor has played in a total of 41 games in his four-year career at SFA, including making 15 starts. While serving primarily as a blocking tight end, Taylor has hauled in 14 passes for 154 yards and is the primary starter for the Lumberjacks this season. However, he is already planning for life after football and where he wants to be after graduating.
"My plan is to try to find a job either in Dallas/Fort Worth or if not there, the Houston area," commented Taylor. "If that doesn't work, then east or west, somewhere."
Although he doesn't have a ton of experience coaching to this point, Taylor has observed his coaches throughout his career and takes note of how they interact with players. He got to help out at a camp in Duncanville, Texas, during the summer of 2016 and was able to work side-by-side with SFA assistant coach Jeremy Hammock, who is Taylor's positional coach. Taylor had the opportunity to see first-hand what exactly coach Hammock was telling the kids and tried to soak up as much information as possible for future reference. Currently, Taylor is in a unique situation with junior quarterback Ryan Cottingame working on playing tight end due to the number of injuries the 'Jacks have suffered at that position. He jokes that he is trying to teach Cottingame the position but can probably impart his knowledge of playing tight end to his teammate.
"Ideally I want to become a graduate assistant somewhere but if that doesn't work, then I could always go to a high school and work my way up," contributed Taylor. "That's why my minor is history, in case I have to teach in high school. I've already thought about that. History has always been my easier subject, I'm not any good at math and science is kind of hard. I like the stories of history and I kind of wish I was there to see the stories. Sometimes in class I get caught up in the story and don't take notes because I am too intrigued."
Whether he is coaching and teaching at the high school level, a graduate assistant or a full-time collegiate or professional coach, Taylor wants to be mentoring kids on and off the field.
"Something has always drawn me to coaching and to help kids," Taylor continued. "I grew up where my parents were divorced and I didn't really have anyone to look up too until I got into the church. For me, if I can be that dad and role model for these kids and try to help them out, that's where I come from. I think that would be ideal for me."
Taylor credits a lot of his desire and passion for coaching to the mentorship and guidance he received from a pair of coaches while in high school at Trinity. Former Euless Trinity head coach Steve Lineweaver, who was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame earlier this year after claiming three 5A state titles with the Trojans, is one of them. Amassing a 259-43-2 record and tallying 65 playoff victories as a Texas high school coach, Lineweaver earned the respect of Taylor early and was viewed as a father figure to Taylor and many of his teammates. While also being a mentor, Lineweaver served as a motivator and inspired Taylor.
"If you ever had a problem, you would just walk into his office," Taylor said.
Taylor's offensive line and tight ends coach in high school Craig Cansler, who is now the assistant head coach at Euless Trinity, also played a large role as a mentor to Taylor.
"Cansler did a lot for me too," added Taylor. "He would always pray for me and check on how my dad was doing because my dad has Chron's disease. He would always come up to me and say, 'Hey man, how's your dad doing?'. He would always check up on me and that's why I look to those guys. That's why every time I go home I try to see coach Cansler."
For Taylor, his drive to become a coach started in junior high when he looked up to high school and saw coach Lineweaver and coach Cansler in action. Immediately Taylor thought to himself, "Man, that's what I want to do for my life". He realizes that coaching football may not make him a lot of money but it's going to make him happy.
-SFA-
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