In My Own Words: DJ Taylor
In the last couple of seasons under Herm Edwards, ASU hasn’t shied away from playing true freshmen. Just last year, under a dozen players who were newcomers to the program took to the field on Saturday and avoided a redshirt season. That number could be matched again with the current crop of first-year players. Versatility is one component that can aid your chances in skipping a redshirt year, and it’s a trait that DeAngelo (DJ) Taylor certainly possesses.
As a senior at Tampa Catholic High School, the Sun Devils’ incoming freshmen not only tallied 68 tackles during and 957 yards of total offense but was also second on his team with nine touchdowns which included three kickoff returns, two punt returns, and a pick-six.
Taylor discusses the benefits of playing on both sides of the ball, why a coaching change in Tempe didn’t affect his cross-country decision, and his expectations from his freshman year with ASU.
Note: this interview was conducted before Taylor’s arrival at ASU
“I was probably like five or six when I started to play football. I tried to play football earlier, but they wouldn’t let me because of how young I was. So, I had to wait another year, and the first sport I started playing was soccer. I started playing flag football, and then I just start getting more and more into it. After two years of flag and I went into Pee Wee and then just kept going from there. I was really serious about running back all the way until I got to my freshman year of high school. All I played was running back. One of the most memorable plays was playing running back in flag football. One of the boys that tried to tackle me missed my flag and pulled my pants down but I still ran and scored a touchdown.
“In eighth grade, I had broken my leg. The high school I went to before I went to TC (Tampa Catholic) was Brandon. I could have started playing on varsity there, but my parents wanted to see how I was going to be in my first year of recovery. So, they wanted me to play JV my first year at Brandon, see how I would do and only then move up (to varsity).
“I transferred to TC in the second semester of my freshman year. I started (practicing) on varsity that spring. You could say it was an upgrade in competition. It was also a big culture shock because I always had been in public school. Once I moved to a private school, it was a big change, just getting the feeling of how that was. I was told I’d have more exposure there than with the school I was going to before that. So, I went with it, and it worked out.
“When I was at Brandon, I was playing both sides of the ball. And then once I transferred to TC, they were deep at wide receiver and told me, ‘we need you at DB (defensive back).’ So, I just went with it, and I started liking DB. I knew that is what I wanted to play in college because I started getting offers from both sides of the ball. In my senior year, I was playing both sides of the ball, and I was doing special teams too, so I was maybe off the field for just ten snaps each game. I was running track too, so I kept in good shape.
“I liked DB better than playing wide receiver. I had the speed to play both positions, and I wanted to make plays, and sometimes it’s easier to make a play as a wide receiver. I wanted to do whatever I could help the team get that W. Sometimes, I was out there as a decoy so others would make plays. Playing so much on offense helped me be better on defense. I know what to look for when I cover a wide receiver. You have to have that instant reaction, so he doesn’t make a play on you.
“ASU offered me in 2019 after my junior season had ended. I was offered by (former defensive backs) coach Tony White. Before my recruitment started, I knew I want to leave Florida, but I don’t want to go (west) past Texas. ASU was my first Pac-12 offer. Coach White talked to me about the defense, the (3-3-5) scheme they run, and ASU started to seem like a good move for me. Coach White told me that this was a young team and he mentioned how good of a head coach Herm Edwards was.
“I knew about Herm Edwards a little bit. Two of my coaches in high school were coaches by him (both at Tampa Bay and Kansas City). So, they told me a lot about coach Herm. In that first meeting with him, what really stuck out to me was when my mom asked him what made him come back to college football and what he said was that he wanted to impact young men’s lives, help them reach their goals. So that stuck with me. And then I see him in that HBO show (featuring ASU). And on that show, he said the same exact thing.
“When coach White and coach Gonzales left, and I knew ASU weren’t going to play with five DB’s, I was a little worried because he (White) recruited me, and I thought that I wouldn’t get a lot of snaps. But then I wasn’t worried. I understood why they both left because that is the business aspect of it and everybody has to provide for their family. I still liked the team, the program, and the coaches that they had. I knew that everything was going to work out.
“I talked to (first-year defensive backs) coach Chris Hawkins plenty times with, and he came down to see me too. He sees me as a cornerback. He also said that he’s seen my film, and he knows what kind of player I am and that Arizona State recruited me for a reason. They’ve seen the level of potential that I have and how athletic I am. They know what I’m capable of. He and the other coaches just told me to ‘come in here and just do your job’ and make sure I learn the playbook. They said I’ll definitely get a shot returning (kicks and/or punts) on special teams.
“The Coronavirus didn’t impact my workouts. I was still was working out with my trainer, making sure I kept my weight. I am at 193 lbs. and I’ve been getting stronger, but I’ve been losing weight because of those (conditioning) workouts, and my goal is to play at 185 lbs. I know I’ll lose that weight in the (ASU) workouts. I’ve been working a lot on my conditioning because I know coming in as a freshman, I need to have my conditioning down. For almost a month, I’ve been doing straight track workouts with my old track coaches to get my conditioning up. My fastest 40-time is a 4.44.
“I’m cool with all the other freshmen coming in. We’re all still getting to know each other, but I have bonded with a lot of them. I talk to some of them almost every day. We are all excited to get in that work there. I’ve been talking to some of the freshmen that were there in spring, see what they have been doing so I can get used to everything. I was working out a little in Florida with Chad Johnson Jr. when he was down here. He was visiting his dad down in Miami, so I drove down there. Its always fun doing those one-on-ones against each other.
“In my freshman year, I think I got a good chance to not redshirt because I’m going to play defense and special teams. I just got to put in the work, show them I can play right away, show them that I can do everything they want me to do in practice, and then show them that I can do that in a game too. I know I need to learn from the seniors Jack Jones and Chase Lucas and get a feel for the game. If I do start on special teams, and I’m on kick return, my goal is that the first kick return I get, I’m going to try to score a touchdown for sure.”
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Jesse Morrison contributed to this article
