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Call is right for USC's Taylor

When elevated to starting status, defensive end made himself heard

Devin Taylor lead vertical

South Carolina's Devin Taylor takes down N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson on Thursday.

Travis Bell/Sideline Carolina

Written by JOSEPH PERSON

jperson@thestate.com
Posted on 09.08.09
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After South Carolina defensive end Devin Taylor forced a fumble on his first college play last week at N.C. State, his mother received a few congratulatory phone calls at her home in Beaufort.

When Taylor blocked a punt on the Wolfpack’s next possession, Sylvia Cuyler’s phone began ringing again.

The plays — and phone calls — kept coming.

Stepping in for the suspended Clifton Geathers, Taylor had a debut for the ages. In addition to setting up the only touchdown in the Gamecocks’ 7-3 win with the forced fumble and blocking the punt, Taylor finished with six tackles and led USC with three tackles for loss.

The redshirt freshman was named the SEC defensive lineman of the week.

“I could see him making tackles, but we’re talking about all that he did. I was like, that’s my child,” Cuyler said. “I was ecstatic. I was getting phone calls from friends asking, ‘Did you see that?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I saw that.’”

Cuyler would have been at Carter-Finley Stadium, but she did not want to make the five-hour drive to Raleigh by herself. Plus, her friends had to work Friday morning. She plans to be at Georgia this week, when Taylor will make his second career start.

Taylor said watching video of his first start was a surreal experience.

“I was amazed at some of the plays that I did make because I didn’t realize I made it on the field at the time,” he said.

There were concerns about how the lanky Taylor, listed at 6-foot-7 and 232 pounds, would hold up against N.C. State offensive tackles who outweighed him by nearly 100 pounds.

When USC was recruiting Taylor, Gamecocks defensive line coach Brad Lawing had his own concerns whether the tall, quiet end was tough enough to play in the SEC.

Taylor answered those doubts at a USC camp before his senior year. Lawing put Taylor through “combative” drills, telling Taylor to come at him with his best pass rush and then jamming him hard in the face.

“The first time I punched him ... his eyes got red and he came at me. I thought he was going to whip my tail,” Lawing said. “That’s what I wanted to see. Because some kids, you punch ’em, and they’ll just stand there and back away.”

USC offered Taylor a scholarship that day, “and then the process lasted forever because he didn’t know how to say, ‘I’m coming,’” Lawing said. “That was too many words.”

Taylor chose USC over offers from N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He played on the scout team while redshirting last fall, providing a glimpse of his playmaking abilities by blocking punts in practice.

“So you know he has it in him,” linebacker Rodney Paulk said. “It was all a matter of going out in an actual game to see what he can do. He finally got his opportunity to go out there and make something happen, and he did it.

“He made the most of it, especially with Clifton being out. The pressure was on him. Everybody was looking for Clifton, and Clifton wasn’t there, so he had to step up a lot. And he did.”

With Geathers eligible this week, Lawing said the reps between him and Taylor would be split according to how each practices. Despite his opening-game performance, Taylor expects teams to continue to run at him.

“(Lawing) told me the whole week they were going to test me to see if I was big enough or strong enough to handle the run,” Taylor said. “It’s probably going to continue on throughout the whole season.”

Cuyler said her son’s lean frame is not from a lack of appetite.

“The boy can eat, now. If you ever see him eat, you’d (wonder) where does the food go,” said Cuyler, a single mother who works at Home Depot in Bluffton. “It’s not like he doesn’t put the calories in there.”

Lawing predicted Taylor would start filling out when he begins shaving regularly. In the meantime, the 19-year-old with the long arms and baby face will try to build on an impressive opener.

“I never expected to stand out as much as I did the first game. I just thought I was going to make a couple plays here or there,” Taylor said. “I didn’t know I would do like that.”

If he does so again, his mother better make sure her phone is fully charged.

Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.

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