Zac Taylor

Taylor is a second generation football player in his family, as his father, Sherwood, lettered at Oklahoma from 1977-79, serving as the Sooners' captain in 1979. He would serve as a graduate assistant at his alma mater before going on to coach defensive backs at Kansas State from 1984-86. Zac Taylor was a bit of an unknown product when he arrived on campus at Nebraska in 2005. After two frustrating seasons at Wake Forest, where he saw only limited action in three games, Taylor transferred to Butler County College, where he would go on to earn second-team All-American honors. Recruiting services labeled Taylor as a player with adequate arm strength, a fact he and the coaching staff quickly disputed. In just two seasons at Nebraska, he went on to set the school career record for passing yardage, produce the top two passing seasons in school history and register the top three passing games in Huskers annals. Taylor was a first-team All-District and All-Conference selection at Norman High School, where he set 12 team records, including career passing yards and career touchdowns. Super Prep ranked him as the 41st-best prospect in the Midlands Area and he was rated the 21st-best pro-style quarterback in the country by Rivals100. He was named to the Midwest Region's "Fab 40" team and was a Blue Chip Top 10 in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor passed for 1,950 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior at Norman High. He also lettered in basketball and served as student council senator. He was a member of the Homecoming Court and the National Honor Society. Taylor enrolled at Wake Forest in 2002, spending the season on the scout team. He saw limited action in three games behind Cory Randolph in 2003, completing his only pass attempt for three yards while adding nine yards on three carries. After the season, he decided to transfer. Taylor's next stop was Butler County Community College, where he was a second-team All-American selection in 2004. The All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference first-team pick led the team to an 11-0 record. He connected on 194 of 305 passes (63.6 percent) for 2,956 yards, 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He lost 83 yards on 36 carries, but ran for one score and gained 2,873 yards in total offense. He threw for more than 200 yards in 10 contests, including a pair of 300-yard performances. Taylor then enrolled at Nebraska, choosing the school over offers from Memphis and Marshall in 2005. After joining the team in January, he was inserted as the starter by spring drills. He easily broke Nebraska's 33-year-old single-season passing record by throwing for 2,653 yards in 12 games, bettering the previous record of 2,074 yards by Dave Humm in 1972. He also set season records for pass completions (237) and attempts (430). In 2006, Taylor earned All-Big 12 Conference first-team and Offensive Player of the Year honors. The team MVP was a second-team Academic All-Big 12 choice, as he broke his own school single-season records with 3,197 yards and 26 touchdowns on 233 of 391 passes (59.6 percent) in 14 games. In 26 games at Nebraska, all starts, Taylor amassed a school career record 5,850 yards with 45 touchdowns and 20 interceptions on 470 of 821 passing (57.2 percent). He lost 73 yards on 136 carries (-0.5 avg), but scored twice. On 957 chances, he gained 5,777 yards in total offense and recorded a pair of solo tackles.

positives

Has a thick lower body, but needs to add more upper body muscle tone...Has the functional arm strength to have success in the West Coast offense, but is not the type who can consistently threaten the deep secondary...Has enough mobility to step up and avoid pressure...Gets adequate depth in his pass drops and does a decent job of stepping into his throws...Has a compact release that comes off his fingers with good ease, maintaining that velocity even when throwing on the move...Even when throwing under duress, he has an efficient follow-through...Will force or loft the ball up every so often, but is much better at making progression reads and throwing the ball away rather than force the issue like he did in the past...Has good pocket toughness and gets up quickly after getting bounced around...Lacks zip on his long throws, but has become better at keeping the receivers in their routes rather than have them adjust (showed good improvement here in 2006 over the previous season)...Not afraid to run with the ball when his targets are covered, squaring his shoulders and lowering his head to drive through the pile...Has better placement and timing on the intermediate routes than when going long...Has decent touch on screens and fades, where the receiver has a better chance to compete for his throws...Shows good timing firing the ball over the middle and was a much better progression reader as a senior, showing the ability to find his second and third targets...Can throw on the run, especially from the right hash, where he puts better velocity on his passes than from the left side...Can find the rush lane, but is not much more than a short-area runner...Good at improvising when forced out of the pocket and makes proper pre-snap judgments...Efficient at getting tough yardage on bootlegs, making him a good fit for the West Coast system he has had success with the past two years...Scans the field well and, despite playing in three different offensive systems during his career, he is quick to grasp the playbook.

compares to

KELLEN CLEMENS-New York Jets...Like Clemens, Taylor needs to be in the right system. He is a good clock manager who improved his accuracy and timing in 2006, but lacks the size and bulk you look for in a drop-back passer. He has decent mobility, but won't scare any defenders when he decides to bolt the pocket.

negatives

Lacks the ideal height or arm strength you look for in a starting quarterback at the next level...Gets good depth in his pass drops, but needs to be quicker driving back from center (tends to get a bit lazy with his feet)...Does not have the arm strength to be effective in a vertical passing game, as he makes his receivers adjust and work too hard to get to comeback or out passes...Improved in 2006, but he was prone to taking a sack rather than throwing the ball away in 2005...Needs to improve delivery, as he will revert to dropping the ball down near his hip rather than keep it chest high, making his wind-up and release slow down...Lacks the speed to be a valid running threat out of the backfield... Lacks the muscle definition and power to absorb much punishment at the next level... When throwing deep, he is too inconsistent in attempts to get the ball to come out with a tight spiral...Must remain more patient in the pocket (improved in 2006), as he will generally bolt at the first sign of the opponent's colors...Has good velocity in the short-area game, but his long throws tend to wobble.

2007: Left the Kansas State game (10/14) in the fourth quarter after suffering a concussion.

Campus: 5.01 in the 40-yard dash. Combine: 5.01 in the 40-yard dash

1.71 10-yard dash

2.85 20-yard dash

4.6 20-yard shuttle

7.39 three-cone drill

30.5-inch vertical jump

9'2" broad jump.

Attended Norman (Okla.) High School, playing football for head coach Butch Peters

First-team All-District and All-Conference selection

Set 12 team records, including career passing yards and career touchdowns

Super Prep ranked him as the 41st-best prospect in the Midlands Area and he was rated the 21st-best pro-style quarterback in the country by Rivals100

Named to the Midwest Region's "Fab 40" team and was a Blue Chip Top 10 in the state of Oklahoma

Passed for 1,950 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior at Norman High

Also lettered in basketball and served as student council senator. He was a member of the Homecoming Court and the National Honor Society.

Graduated in December 2006 with a degree in Communication Studies

Son of Julie and Sherwood Taylor

Father was a defensive back at Oklahoma (1977-79), serving as team captain as a senior. Sherwood served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater and was the defensive backs coach at Kansas State (1984-86)

Zac's younger sister, Katheryn, competes in swimming in the Special Olympics in Oklahoma

Uncle,David Taylor,was a basketball player at Oklahoma State

Taylor spent part of his 2005 summer as an intern in the Huskers' Athletic Development Office, learning the administrative side of collegiate athletics

In addition to assisting with Nebraska's team hospital visits, Taylor has volunteered his time with numerous outreach activities, including being a volunteer with the Special Olympics, and serving as a speaker at Nebraska's 2006 "School is Cool" Celebration, a motivational program for all Lincoln eighth graders

.Born 5/10/83 in Norman, Oklahoma.