After welcoming in six members of his first Wisconsin recruiting class earlier this year, Badgers head coach Luke Fickell saw the remaining nine members join the program in mid-June to begin summer conditioning, the next step building up to the anticipated 2023 season opener against Buffalo. One of those players is La Grange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy defensive back Justin Taylor.
A 6-foot, 185-pound three-star prospect, Taylor committed to Wisconsin in May 2022 over 17 other scholarship offers. One of six projected defensive backs in the Class of 2023 for Wisconsin, Taylor spoke with BadgerBlitz.com before arriving on campus about his journey to Madison and the expectations of his Badgers career.
BB: How do you feel your game and you as an individual grew throughout your varsity football experience? What part of the game do you feel made you the player that you are today?
Justin Taylor: It made me realize that I got smarter in the game, picking up on things faster. My game speed has really evolved. I feel that everything comes more naturally every time I play out there on the field, especially on defense. I’m picking up keys, understanding what the opponent wants to do and just getting smarter, so I feel my IQ and my speed has grown over the years.
BB: Since you committed prior to your senior season, did you feel you were able to play your final varsity season freer and more relaxed because you didn’t have to deal with those recruiting burdens?
JT: Senior season is hard to describe. It started off slow for me. My junior year, we had a lot of different kind of energy on the team. I still was a leader junior year, but I felt senior year I really had to lead the team and grow into that leadership role more than I ever had been at the varsity level. For me, it was adjusting to figuring out what guys need what, how to help other guys, how to be transparent, how to communicate.
My junior year, we had an abundance of senior leaders, and I was learning from them. I was a second-hand leader, but I feel it was a really a big role for me, especially only having 11 seniors on the team. We were really, really young. It was a majority of freshmen and sophomores, so my senior year for me was finding that leadership role. That was the biggest thing for me starting off.
BB: What have the past few months been like in terms of preparing your body for college football? Did you try to work on some things to get your body and mind in the right state of mind?
JT: To get my mind right, first of all, I started doing a little journaling to prepare myself mentally. Knowing that I’m going with great coaches and a lot of talent around me, just trying to learn right away, get into the playbook right away, and establish a routine. That’s the biggest thing mentally to get in that groove of things. The faster you do that, the faster you’ll be able to make plays, the faster you’ll become more comfortable with the new scenery, the new coaches, the new playbook.
Physically, I’ve just been lifting, working on my speed, an abundance of things, injury prevention, trying to stay healthy, starting different diets. I’ve gained 10 pounds since the end of the season and currently sit at around 192, and I feel great honestly. I’ve been getting faster and stronger. I’ve been working on my skill level, working on my DB stuff, watching film, things like that. I feel like that is going to give me a great head start into the game.
As soon as I get there, knowing I’m going to be keeping up the same routine as I am at home, just implement that before I get on campus so I don’t miss a step. I’m used to waking up at six o’clock in the morning. That’s really what I’ve been doing since the end of the season, so I am used to the schedule now, but it’s always different when you get on campus with more distractions, opportunities to go out and have a social life, you don’t have your parents with you every second, but I’ve been really locked in and really excited to get started.
BB: What would you list as some of your other strengths and what are some weaknesses that you know you need to address to see the field early in your career?
JT: The biggest strength for me is versatility. I am the type of player you can move around, plug, and play. It does not matter if it’s outside corner, nickel, safety. I feel like I can make plays anywhere on the field, especially the defensive back end. That’s the biggest thing for me and my IQ, just picking up on things right away, playing fast, and playing aggressive. How I do anything is how I do everything. My effort on every play, just my will to compete, those things are going to be really good strengths for me.
The only weakness I would say is my experience in the position. I’ve only played defensive back primarily for two years on the varsity level. I’ve primarily been an offensive player always getting the ball in my hands. I feel like that’s a gift and a curse. Certain things that a defensive back will see or experience I may not have experienced yet. The thing is, with me being on offense primarily my whole high school career, I know what the offense wants to do, what pieces they have, and how they are going to try to implement the game plan against the defense. It goes hand and hand, so I feel like my weaknesses will go away fast with (Cornerbacks Coach Paul) Haynes will develop me into the player that I need to be and that they want me to be to help the team contribute right away.
BB: Even when Coach Chryst was there, was the plan for you to start on defense, or did that change once Coach Fickell took over?
JT: With Paul Chryst and his staff, I was going to be playing safety for Jim Leonhard. Now with the new staff, when I sat down with Fickell for dinner, he was completely transparent with me and wanted to know if my heart was on the offensive side or the defensive side of the ball. I told him straight up that I saw myself playing defense for the Badgers. I see myself being a key contributor on the defensive side of the ball for the Badgers but, if need be, if anything comes up and you need me to play offense, I’m more than willing to play offense. My big thing was contributing to the team wherever they needed me at. That’s where I wanted to play, but I plan on playing nickel this upcoming season. That might change with my versatility. I might play outside corner, boundary corner, or safety. I trust the staff, but I’m an athlete at heart.
BB: How important was that for you that Coach Fickell asked you where you wanted to contribute instead of telling you where he wanted you to play?
JT: It’s actually kind of funny. When he was at Cincinnati I was getting recruited by Cincinnati at receiver by (current Wisconsin receivers coach Mike) Brown. I really liked Coach Brown and had a good feel for him already. When I heard the news that Coach Fickell was going to be coming, it was still bittersweet to see Coach Chryst leave, but at the same time, I knew the kind of guy and the kind of coach who was coming over to the Badgers. I thought it was a great fit. I was excited to meet with him and talk to everybody. I really wasn’t worried but when we all sat down, it was me, (former linebacker coach Bobby April), Coach Brown, Coach Fickell, and my parents, it was very reassuring that he had the same plan and mindset that I had.
BB: From the time you committed to Wisconsin in May 2022 to now, what has stayed the same and what has changed?
JT: The things that have stayed the same are the tradition. Coach Fickell is not trying to change the system and how we go about things at Wisconsin. The only thing that has changed in my eyes are some of the people, the logistics, and the x’s and o’s. Coming to the spring game, everybody seeing the offense changing and different defensive formations, but what has made me choose Wisconsin is still here. How we go about things, the tradition, the culture is still rich and still the same. Nothing has changed in that aspect. Even though the people have changed, they still go about things the same way as the old staff. It’s different faces but same mentality.
BB: When do you think you knew you were good enough to play college football? When did it become more than just a hobby for you?
JT: It’s been two moments where I’ve really seen it. Going way back to when I used to train with (NFL receiver) Kyle Prater my seventh-grade year. He pushed me to a limit that I didn’t think I would be able to reach. Going through that phase and competing with those guys, competing with guys like (Michigan players) Tyler Morris and J.J. McCarthy who are successful college athletes, I knew that one day I could grow into a player like them or even be better than them. Just really seeing, learning, and being around those guys, those traits always rub off on you. When I was that young, I was like, yeah, this is what I really wanted to do. I told my dad that we were going to sacrifice whatever we needed to do to make this happen. That’s when I really found out.
My sophomore year, there was a lot of guys my age getting offers. I thought to myself that I was always outworking these kids, when is my opportunity going to come? I stopped thinking about the college stuff and went back to having fun and realizing what the game was about. That’s when I really started playing my best and out of nowhere, I started going to camp and picking up offers from big-time schools. Going through that whole phase made me realize that I can do this, that I can be the top dog, and really work harder than anybody else.
BB: Do you think you get your biggest support from your family, friends, coaches, teammates or somewhere else?
JT: Family is the biggest thing for me. I feel like my mom and dad are the people that motivate me every day, seeing how much they sacrificed for me to be here. Seeing how hard they work and all the lessons they instilled in me, taught me growing up, I feel like I can’t do anything more to repay them. Every day I wake up, I think about family. The goals that I have in life that I want to achieve, those are the things that motivate me every day. God and faith are a big thing for me. I feel like God has given me a gift and it’s only right that I use it to right way. It’s only right that I wake up in the morning and take everything as seriously as possible and treat every day as my last.
BB: How excited is your family that you are playing college football in the Big Ten just a couple hours’ drive from your home?
JT: They were truly shocked. They thought I was going to wait a little longer. I committed pretty early in my recruitment and when I got to Wisconsin, they thought I was going to wait and let other people offer me. When I committed in Coach Chryst’s office two days after they offered me, (my parents) were really shocked and star-struck at that moment. When I got up and shook his hand and all the coaches came out of their offices and started celebrating, my mom almost broke down in tears and my dad was really proud with a smile from ear to ear. Seeing that reaction and how happy they were for me, that’s another reason why I am so motivated to be great and to keep working at the game.
BB: How big of a goal is it for you to be on the field this fall and to start making an impact for Wisconsin?
JT: I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for the University of Wisconsin. Coming to a school that has a great education and a great football team, I’m not trying to waste any time. I feel like I have been preparing for this since seventh grade. It’s in God’s hands and it’s up to me to put in the time and the sacrifices to learn and grow as a player to be where the staff needs me to be on the field and make a contribution right away. It’s definitely on my goal board, but I have to take it step by step and not rush it. There’s no skipping steps to greatness, so I am going to do those steps that are necessary. If that opportunity comes, I am going to make that opportunity worth it.
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook
