DT Taylor pledges to NIU
East St Louis (Ill.) senior defensive tackle recruit Desmond Taylor (6-foot-3, 275 pounds) was able to add a summer camp offer from Northern Illinois University, and this weekend gave the in-state Huskies his verbal commitment. Taylor breaks down his decision here.
"I went and camped at NIU for the Big Dawg linemen camp and that's when they offered me," Taylor said. "I thought it over for a few days and then I decided to call up the NIU coaches and give them my verbal commitment.."
Taylor, who will be a rare four year varsity starter for the Flyers and head coach Darren Sunkett this coming season discusses why he decided to give NIU his verbal commitment.
"I was able to look around a bit when I was at the NIU camp and I really liked the school. I was also able to work with the NIU coaches in camp and I was also able to talk to them quite a bit. NIU has been recruiting me for a while now and it was a good feeling to go camp there. I got a really good feel for the coaches along with some of the NIU players. NIU just honestly felt like home to me. It's not too far away from home plus it's a winning program. I'm really comfortable with NIU and my decision."
Taylor, who was recruited and offered as a defensive tackle/nose guard recruit for the Huskies looked at several schools before making his college choice.
"I was in touch quite a bit with schools like Illinois, Missouri and also Kansas State. Indiana State offered me and I visited there not too long ago. NIU is offering me a chance to play at the D1 level and play against a lot of the best programs in the nation every year. I know that NIU's schedule this year is really strong and they play schools like Iowa, Florida State and Utah."
Taylor is also excited to be able to just focus on his team and his upcoming senior season without any distractions from recruiting.
"My plan was to always make a decision before the start of the season. We have a big year this year and I want to have all my attention towards the team and school."
Taylor and the Flyers also know a few things about touch scheduling.
"Our schedule is really tough every year and this year is no different. We play (Detroit) King in Detroit, then we host Trinity from St. Louis in the Classic. The following week we play Edwardsville so we will have some really big games especially early this year."
Desmond Taylor is now the sixth known in-state verbal commitment for the NIU Huskies Class of 2010. Taylor joins Al Raby DB Romel Goston, Solorio ATH Messiah Travis, Buffalo Grove LB Tom Trieb, Hillcrest OLB/DE Cam Mattox and Kenwood DB Mark Aitken.