Early in the second quarter at Vanderbilt two weeks ago, Juwan Taylor bypassed a Commodore blocker immediately following the snap of the football, whereupon he walloped running back Khari Blasingame for a three-yard loss. With Taylor’s tackle, for most Bulldog enthusiasts—the ones even familiar with the sparingly played inside linebacker—they had been introduced to a “hit man,” so to speak. However, for others, they were already fully aware of junior’s hard-hitting style.
“He’s been a hard hitter ever since he got here,” said senior and fellow linebacker Davin Bellamy of Taylor earlier this week. “A lot of guys just didn’t see it because he wasn’t getting the playing time he is now. We always see those big hits from him.”
Taylor appeared in 17 of Georgia’s 26 combined games in 2015 and 2016, totaling just 11 tackles. Playing behind juniors Roquan Smith and Natrez Patrick, senior Reggie Carter, and with the emergence of true freshman Monty Rice, he found himself in the familiar role as a reserve to start the 2017 campaign. However, after Carter suffered what was believed to be a concussion in a victory at Tennessee and Patrick was arrested two days prior to the Vanderbilt game for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Taylor was thrust from his backup role to Georgia’s starting “Mike” linebacker.
“I’m just going to be a team player—play my role and continue to get better,” Taylor said this past week in preparation for the Florida Gators. “When my number is called, that’s when I need to step up.”
After his number was called in Nashville, Taylor indeed stepped up, making two more teeth-rattling tackles in the second quarter—or a total of three in a span of only nine Vanderbilt plays—while upholding a reputation he has had his entire football career.
“Ever since I started playing the game, I just love to hit,” said the normally soft-spoken Taylor, who suddenly appeared excited. “And every time I hit somebody—I don’t know—it’s a feeling I get, like an adrenaline rush.”
Playing football beginning at the age of four, Taylor credits his brother Clarence Murphy—a one-time linebacker and defensive end at Maryland—for roughing him up when they were younger, making him tougher. The Hollywood, Florida, native is quick to point to his tackle for loss at Vanderbilt as his favorite hit while at Georgia; however, when asked for his most cherished while a three-star prospect at Hallandale High School, Taylor was left pondering: “I don’t remember—I hit so many people, man,” he finally replied with a laugh.
While he’s been at Georgia, the hits have kept on coming, especially at practice, where Taylor has had to be reminded to protect not only himself but keep teammates out of harm’s way, as well.
“Sometimes at practice, I get a little hat-heavy (lead with his helmet more than he should), and Coach [Kirby] Smart gets onto me about that,” Taylor said. “I just try to keep my head up at all times.”
Taylor has had to keep his head up in more ways than one. After seeing 35 snaps at Vanderbilt, he relented the starting position at “Mike” to Rice. In Georgia’s 53-28 win over Missouri, Taylor was in for 17 snaps, making only a single tackle.
Nevertheless, during the open week, Taylor remained focused while aspiring to get better fundamentally—particularly, according to him, improving reading his keys and hand placement. And, of course, he seemingly was ready to go hit an opposing ball carrier—something he had to wait an additional week for, or not until this Saturday against Florida in Jacksonville.
“He has that ‘I-don’t-care attitude’ when it comes to hitting somebody,” Bellamy added regarding Taylor. “He practices like that and it shows up on Saturdays."
