Darius Taylor Makes A Statement
11/4/2012 10:37:00 AM | Football
Darius Taylor didn't waste any time returning to form Saturday when the Bearkats blasted Southeastern Louisiana 70-0 .
Taylor, who had been suspended by the Southland Conference the previous week against Lamar, found his way into the Southeastern backfield on the Lions' first play from scrimmage to bring down running back Xavier Robinson for a loss of 4 yards.
He jumped up and roared to the crowd, the most attentive of which knew his situation. The other half of the Taylor twins was back and making sure it was known.
After the first quarter, Taylor had four tackles, two for a loss, and more than anyone on either team. By halftime, Taylor still had a game-high in tackles with nine. Since the game was never close, Taylor and the rest of the starters watched from the sideline by the midpoint of the third quarter. But he had already put his stamp on the game as the team's leader in tackles.
"I was just trying to give my team my all because I wasn't able to help them on the field last week," Taylor said. "I just wanted to come out and play a good game, show them that I was back and ready to play."
Taylor was suspended for what was called targeting a defenseless receiver when Sam Houston played Nicholls on Oct. 13. The Southland Conference also suspended Southeastern Louisiana defensive back Kevin Roberts the same week for a similar hit.
Roberts played a decent game Saturday, too. Three of his four tackles came in the first quarter when the Lions were still in the game. Roberts perhaps showed the most disappointment publicly in having to miss a game, since it was the final homecoming of his college career.
On Twitter, he said it was "eating him up inside" being suspended for what he considered to be a legal hit.
Neither school's athletic administration agreed with the suspensions of their players.
Taylor and the Bearkats are moving on, though. That much was clear with his performance against the Lions, and Sam Houston's drubbing of Lamar in Taylor's absence, then Southeastern with the linebacker on the field again.
"He did a really nice job last week of working hard, staying positive, helping the younger guys, which is what he should do," SHSU coach Willie Fritz said. "I was very proud of his attitude last week.
"It was great having him back. He's a very good football player, so we like having those good players being able to play. It was good to have him back."
For Taylor, it was good to be back. He said he spent most of the week working with the younger players and trying to stay in shape so he wouldn't miss a beat upon his return.
One thing the Bearkats are having to pay more attention to is how they hit and where they target a player, just to avoid illegal hits or anything that could be interpreted as such.
The Sam Houston defense sticks out not just for what it does schematically, but for how hard they hit. It's a defense full of sure tacklers and physical players, making it all the more important to be mindful of the rules when it's time for a dangerous collision.
"The coaches have told us that anything from the shoulder up is going to get called," Taylor said. "They just want us to keep playing physical, but do it the right way and make sure we aim for the chest or lower. That's what we've been preaching."
There's only one game left on the conference schedule for Sam Houston, winners of six straight and five consecutive conference games after starting the season 1-2 and 0-1 in league play. Taylor is back, but so is the team Bearkat fans came to know a year ago.
"It was tough coming out, but these last few weeks we've been playing some good ball offensively, defensively and on special teams and it's showing," Taylor said.
"We're trying to get back to our old selves and we're doing it. 70-0 is huge. I've been playing football for a long time and I've never beaten anybody that bad."
Taylor, who had been suspended by the Southland Conference the previous week against Lamar, found his way into the Southeastern backfield on the Lions' first play from scrimmage to bring down running back Xavier Robinson for a loss of 4 yards.
He jumped up and roared to the crowd, the most attentive of which knew his situation. The other half of the Taylor twins was back and making sure it was known.
After the first quarter, Taylor had four tackles, two for a loss, and more than anyone on either team. By halftime, Taylor still had a game-high in tackles with nine. Since the game was never close, Taylor and the rest of the starters watched from the sideline by the midpoint of the third quarter. But he had already put his stamp on the game as the team's leader in tackles.
"I was just trying to give my team my all because I wasn't able to help them on the field last week," Taylor said. "I just wanted to come out and play a good game, show them that I was back and ready to play."
Taylor was suspended for what was called targeting a defenseless receiver when Sam Houston played Nicholls on Oct. 13. The Southland Conference also suspended Southeastern Louisiana defensive back Kevin Roberts the same week for a similar hit.
Roberts played a decent game Saturday, too. Three of his four tackles came in the first quarter when the Lions were still in the game. Roberts perhaps showed the most disappointment publicly in having to miss a game, since it was the final homecoming of his college career.
On Twitter, he said it was "eating him up inside" being suspended for what he considered to be a legal hit.
Neither school's athletic administration agreed with the suspensions of their players.
Taylor and the Bearkats are moving on, though. That much was clear with his performance against the Lions, and Sam Houston's drubbing of Lamar in Taylor's absence, then Southeastern with the linebacker on the field again.
"He did a really nice job last week of working hard, staying positive, helping the younger guys, which is what he should do," SHSU coach Willie Fritz said. "I was very proud of his attitude last week.
"It was great having him back. He's a very good football player, so we like having those good players being able to play. It was good to have him back."
For Taylor, it was good to be back. He said he spent most of the week working with the younger players and trying to stay in shape so he wouldn't miss a beat upon his return.
One thing the Bearkats are having to pay more attention to is how they hit and where they target a player, just to avoid illegal hits or anything that could be interpreted as such.
The Sam Houston defense sticks out not just for what it does schematically, but for how hard they hit. It's a defense full of sure tacklers and physical players, making it all the more important to be mindful of the rules when it's time for a dangerous collision.
"The coaches have told us that anything from the shoulder up is going to get called," Taylor said. "They just want us to keep playing physical, but do it the right way and make sure we aim for the chest or lower. That's what we've been preaching."
There's only one game left on the conference schedule for Sam Houston, winners of six straight and five consecutive conference games after starting the season 1-2 and 0-1 in league play. Taylor is back, but so is the team Bearkat fans came to know a year ago.
"It was tough coming out, but these last few weeks we've been playing some good ball offensively, defensively and on special teams and it's showing," Taylor said.
"We're trying to get back to our old selves and we're doing it. 70-0 is huge. I've been playing football for a long time and I've never beaten anybody that bad."
Players Mentioned
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