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With 51 days left until the Hokies face the Yellow Jackets, we turn our attention to #51 on the roster Mr. Bruce Taylor. Taylor suffered a season ending Lisfranc injury that has caused him to miss not only the last six games of the 2011 season but all of spring practice as well. According to a recent Andy Bitter blog, Taylor is rehabbing this summer at home in South Carolina and head trainer Dr. Mark Goforth believes that the All-ACC caliber linebacker should be back to 100-percent by the start of fall camp.
The Scoop
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 253 lbs
Position: MIKE Linebacker
Year: R-Senior
High School: Myrtle Beach High School
How Did He Get Here?
Although not a national recruit, Taylor was heavily recruited by most of the schools in his region including Clemson, South Carolina, Florida State, UNC, Virginia Tech, Georgia, and a few others. He was a four star out of high school and ranked 224th in the nation by Rivals.com. In a way, he was one of Tech’s most important prospects in 2008 along with of course Ryan Williams, Dyrell Roberts, and Vinston Painter. However, Taylor committed early and never rethought his commitment. He gave his pledge to the Hokies on September 14th, 2006.
2011 Season Rewind
Had it not been for an unfortunate foot injury, Taylor could have ended up with a terrific statistical season in 2011. At the time of his injury, the MIKE linebacker had 73 tackles, 12 quarterback hurries, seven tackles for loss, and five sacks. Give him another four games and he could have easily topped 100 total tackles and eight sacks.
2012 Prediction
When healthy, I would put Taylor up against any linebacker in the ACC. However, the key words there are when healthy. There’s no doubt that the health of Taylor will be a hot topic when fall camp begins this August. The Hokies have capable backups at MIKE linebacker but the defense is much more complete when no. 51 is anchored in the middle. Bruce has a knack for taking savvy angles and knifing his way into the backfield. I like Jack Tyler a lot but Taylor has a future of playing on Sunday if he can exit with a good senior season.
But all of that depends on how he moves after suffering what many consider to be a worse injury than an ACL these days. Lisfranc injuries are no joke and they require almost nine months of full rehabilitation. Sometimes, you never completely regain full strength again, which is cause for concern. This is the same injury that ended Kevin Jones’s career in the NFL. Hopefully Bruce can get himself healthy in time for the start of the season. This defense has a chance to be special and it only gets better when he’s in the lineup.
Comedian Bruce Bruce
Due to his joking personality, Bruce has earned the nickname "Bruce Bruce" according to his teammates. Thankfully, Bruce is a little leaner and more athletic than the comedian is nickname is derived from.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
We locked up Chung which was somewhat expected but definetly needed. I am hoping by the end of the day we get 1 or 2 more. After looking at twitter there is a lot of talk about Kendall. He is still rocking the clemson paw and the VT sign and his mom said no matter what he choses she will be a VT fan. Justin whats your take have you heard anything? I think he choses after next week and as big of a hokie fan as i am i dont feel good about it.
I feel good about it but something tells me this isn’t as much of slam dunk as some of us originally predicted. But I still think he commits here. He looked like he was having fun today hanging out with Holmes, Gayle, Corey Fuller, and a few other guys.
Brandon Facyson committed to the Hokies not to long ago. Welcome to the Hokie Nation.
I love the Facyson commit great player, I’m getting very nervous about fuller as well he’s bringing his mom with him next week to clemson which isn’t good for us. I think he commits soon as well and i use to be confident but not anymore we need to really kiss his butt this weeknd and hopefully his brothers are in his ear as well.
Honestly, at this point what else can we do to sway him. He’s been here over 20 times, we’ve recruited him the best we possibly can, and we’ve had his brothers on him for the last few years. If he goes to Clemson, it just because he feels like Clemson is the better fit.
With that being said, I still feel good. He likes Clemson a lot but I still think he picks VT when he has to make a decision.
OK, Chung jumped on board…dont expect to see him on the field for 3/4 years, but I love Facyson as a WR.. I know he is not ranked at that position but he is going to be better than Harris and Parker before it is all said and done!
Was Teller at camp?
I agree with you, there is nothing else we can do to wrap up Kendall. We laid out the red carpet we have sent 1 brother to the NFL and are about to send another. We have great coaches and an all around awesome university where academics and athletics are top notch. We have made it known since day 1 he was out top target in this class so the rest is up to him. If i was his recruiter id tell him, look we want you, we need you, but hey, we are going to win with or without you. You have a chance to get playing time as a true freshmen, play with your brother for a university who has done amazing things for your family, compete for championships, and put yourself in a situation to be a first round draft pick. If Clemson is a better fit for you, by all means go there cause we are gonna whip thier ass next year and for years to come….period, bring on the the season i’m ready!
I agree with John and Justin, We’ve been lucky to have 3 of the 4 Fullers so far. I will be one of many to say, I wanted this kid since he was a Sophmore, but if he chooses Clemson… There is nothing else we can do. We have to continue to move on. It won’t be the first and it sure won’t be the last time that we got or will get burned by a recruit. Let’s face it, these things happen all the time. All we can do is continue to hope that our program takes the next step towards winning a National Championship and unfortunately one player won’t make or break a TEAM…point, blank, period! As what John said, “Bring on the season I’m ready!!
Agree with all of you guys…let’s get it over one way or another. Kendall please chose a school. I would prefer that if it wasn’t VT that it be anywhere but Clemson though! If he does chose Clemson it bring up the same old point concerning our recruiting…that we can’t land a 5*, even when our coaches have known him personally since grade school and have done amazing things for his family. What is it about VT that does not satisfy the top 2 percent of HS football players? (Tyrod Taylor is the only one) Logan does not count as a graded out TE. Even when a lock is it’s not a lock with us? Clemson won one ACC championship after being an average program for years and then gets totally embarrassed against WVU? A top SEC team I can understand but not much else. KF there is still time to live the dream and avoid the nightmares
Calm down. We can have this conversation IF Fuller commits to Clemson. Right now this is very premature.