Zac Taylor, the former Nebraska quarterback, will never be a speedster. Not in this lifetime. But in the time since his Husker career ended in the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl, the quarterback has gotten serio
STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 6:00 pm
His lack of speed essentially became a running joke.
When the topic was broached, he typically would make a few self-effacing remarks and deftly move to the next subject.
Zac Taylor, the former Nebraska quarterback, will never be a speedster. Not in this lifetime. But in the time since his Husker career ended in the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl, the quarterback has gotten serious about improving his speed.
“As much as I’d like to think it’s not all that important once a game starts, it is somewhat important for the NFL Combine,” said Taylor, referring to the annual event in Indianapolis that invites more than 300 NFL hopefuls to partake in a battery of physical tests and interviews. This year’s combine begins Thursday at the RCA Dome and lasts six days.
Taylor has run the 40-yard dash in five seconds but hopes to cover the distance in the 4.85-second range in Indianapolis.
“Let’s face it, I’m not going to go in there and run a 4.65,” he said. “The main thing is, I don’t want to go in there and hurt my draft stock by running a five-flat.“
To that end, Taylor has emphasized a strong start to the 40 during recent workouts with Nebraska head strength coach Dave Kennedy.
“You can shave off a couple tenths of a second just by improving your start,” Taylor said. “Coach K. has me right where I need to be.“
Taylor, the 2006 Big 12 offensive player of the year, will be joined at this year’s combine (an invite-only affair) by four former Nebraska teammates — linebacker Stewart Bradley, running back Brandon Jackson and defensive ends Adam Carriker and Jay Moore.
In position rankings compiled by ESPN, Taylor is the No. 14 quarterback in the NFL Draft, meaning he could slip into the late rounds of the April 28-29 event in New York. Mostly, he just wants a chance to make a team.
“I love to play football, and I’d be really disappointed if my career ended Jan. 1 — that would be hard for me to stomach,” he said of Nebraska’s 17-14 bowl loss to Auburn. “I hope I can catch on with an NFL team. There are a lot of quarterbacks you’ve never heard of who have been in the league for 10 years. That would be fine with me.
“If I go in and work as hard as I can and hang around for 10 years, I’d be pretty happy with myself.“
The 6-foot-2 Taylor has gained about 10 pounds since Jan. 1 and now weighs about 220, he said. He runs three days a week and lifts weights four days out of seven. He stays sharp by throwing passes to current and former Huskers.
Taylor knows that NFL talent evaluators will be looking to see if he can make certain throws.
“I know one of the throws they want to see you make is that 12-yard ‘out’ route,” he said. “It’s a tough throw because it’s all timing. A lot of quarterbacks don’t make that throw in their college careers, but it’s something we did a lot of at Nebraska. We didn’t always throw it 10 times a game. But in practice we did it over and over and over.
“It’s something I feel really good about heading into the combine. It’s something Coach (Bill) Callahan has been helping me develop for the last two years.”
In addition to his physical preparation at Nebraska, Taylor feels the Huskers’ version of the West Coast offense prepared him intellectually for the NFL because “a lot of the stuff we did in our offense is what a ton of NFL teams are doing. There are a dozen or so teams that are running exactly what we’re running at Nebraska.
“I feel like when I go and do the interviews in Indianapolis that I’ll really know what I’m talking about. Hopefully a lot of the guys who I’m competing against won’t have the same level of experience that I can draw upon.”
His intellect and savvy — they are traits that helped Taylor overcome his lack of overall athleticism. However, he is confident he has improved his speed, thanks mostly to Kennedy, who recently completed his third season at Nebraska. Taylor said he wanted to make clear his appreciation for Kennedy.
“I felt like Coach K could get me ready better than anyone else,” Taylor said. “He knows me better than anyone else, and I didn’t want to go away and train somewhere and have someone else mess with my (techniques) who didn’t really know me.
“Now, I feel like I’m just as ready as anybody who paid a lot of money to go away and train for this combine.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.