Highly-Touted Running Back Kurt Taylor takes in Indiana Practice
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Photo Credit - NewtonRamsFootball.com
Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)
Running back prospects all-around the nation have the Hoosiers on their radar, and for good reason. Anytime a coaching staff can boast that their offense produced a 2000-yard rusher that is likely to be drafted in the first couple rounds of the upcoming NFL draft, it makes for a great selling-point and causes recruits to sit up and take notice. That's why is was not much of a surprise to me when I spotted one of the top running backs in the 2017 class inside of Memorial Stadium Thursday evening during the Hoosiers last spring practice.
Georgia native Kurt Taylor was in Bloomington to take a closer look at Coach Wilson's rising program. While the 5-foot-9 running back had a good sophomore season, carrying the ball 74 times for 462 yards and four touchdowns while making three receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns per Maxpreps, it's his performance at camps and combines that has really elevated his stock over the last few months.
During the National Underclassmen Combine All-American Performance Week the talented running back grabbed the attention of the event's founder, David Schuman. In a recent article written by Todderick Hunt of the NJ Advance Media, Schuman heaped plenty of praise on Taylor.
"I think he's very explosive," said Schuman. "He's rocked up, a muscular running back who really hits the hole hard. He runs stretch well, he's got very good speed, he's got nice vision. It was interesting watching him because he dominated down in Georgia where is. And when he was with a lot of really good players, at first, it took him a couple of seconds to feel his way. But once he felt his way, he was just awesome."
The versatile athlete was not only a factor in both the run and pass game for the Newton Rams, but also contributed on special teams as both a kick returner and making tackles on kickoff coverage.
Taylor is currently the No. 21 running back in the 2017 class and is the 28th best player in the state of Georgia. The three-star prospect holds offers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Navy, Rutgers, UAB, UNLV, and Vanderbilt, with more likely on the way as Taylor enters the second half of his high school career.