This pro baseball prospect has one goal this week: Help Dutch Fork football win title
Will Taylor is used to juggling two sports, but he’s not going to do it this week.
As the Dutch Fork High School senior prepares for the biggest football game of his career, he is hitting the pause button on any talk about baseball and next year’s Major League Draft.
Taylor and the Silver Foxes will go for their state-record fifth-straight Class 5A championship Friday against T.L. Hanna.
“I have (MLB) scouts texting me this week. I said, give me a week and I will get back with you next week,” Taylor said. “I’m focused on Friday and winning a state championship. That is my main goal. Just want to slow down and smell the roses a little bit and enjoy it.”
Taylor said he has heard from almost all 30 MLB teams since the summer. Scouts and teams typically conduct in-home visits with prospects over the winter before their spring baseball seasons begin. Those visits might be virtual more often this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taylor is ranked as top outfielder and overall No. 1 prospect in South Carolina by Diamond Prospects and played in the Under Armour All-American Baseball Game in September. He’s considered a high-round prospect for the 2021 MLB Draft.
247Sports ranks Taylor as the 18th-best football prospect in the state. Taylor is committed to play baseball and football at Clemson and will sign with the Tigers later this month, but he won’t enroll until the summer.
There is a chance Taylor will be taken high in the MLB Draft and pass on Clemson, but that is a decision he won’t have to worry about for a few months.
Taylor is in his first season as Dutch Fork’s starting quarterback and had big shoes to fill replacing Ty Olenchuk, who was the record-setting starting QB for the Silver Foxes previous three title teams and is now a freshman baseball player at Clemson.
Olenchuk, who was at Friday’s game against Sumter, texted Taylor before the playoffs to “get it done and don’t screw it up.”
Taylor spent his first three years playing football at Ben Lippen before transferring to Dutch Fork in January. Taylor threw for 1,647 yards and rushed for more than 1,549 yards with 25 total touchdowns in his junior season at Ben Lippen.
He had nothing but good things to say about his time at Ben Lippen but felt this was the best move for his athletic career. Taylor’s family lives in Irmo and had a relationship with Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts before he arrived at the school. Knotts’ wife is a dental hygienist for Taylor’s father, and Taylor attended a couple Dutch Fork games each year while playing at Ben Lippen.
Knotts was hoping to get Taylor to come over before his junior football season but was glad to have him and brother Paul, a sophomore defensive back, on the roster in 2020.
“We have known the Taylors since I have been here and were kids up to my waist,” Knotts said. “It wasn’t a shock to me that (Will) came here. ... The Taylors are a welcome addition.”
Having a prior relationship with Knotts and talking to other players helped him know what to expect coming into the season, Taylor said. Knotts admitted after Friday’s game that his coaching style and the program’s approach aren’t for everyone. He is very hands-on, especially with the quarterbacks.
“Playing for him, nothing is perfect. It can be frustrating at times,” Taylor said. “In the end, he is going to get you right. I kind of like a hard-nosed football coach, and that is what I got.”
Taylor is a dual-threat quarterback, which fits perfectly in Knotts’ offensive system. He was bothered by an ankle injury suffered in the first game against White Knoll and didn’t run too much until the postseason.
Taylor ran for 224 yards and five touchdowns in the second-round win over Carolina Forest. For the season, he has completed 67% of his passes for 2,090 yards and accounted for 30 touchdowns. The Silver Foxes’ offense, which also features two Division I prospects at receiver in senior Elijah Spencer and junior Antonio Williams, is averaging 44.2 points and 409 yards per game.
“Will is a dynamic quarterback. He can throw it, he can run it,” Knotts said. “The question was with the COVID delays and not doing much in the offseason: Could he master our system and be a real leader like quarterbacks are supposed to be? He not only has met my expectations but exceeded them. He is one of the main reasons we are sitting here right now.”
2020 SC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SCHEDULE
Friday’s game
▪ Class 5A: Dutch Fork vs. TL Hanna, 7:30 p.m., at Benedict College (WACH Fox 57)
Saturday’s games
▪ Class A: Southside Christian vs. Lake View, 11:30 a.m., at Benedict College (www.nfhnetwork.com)
▪ Class 3A: Camden vs. Daniel, 3:30 p.m., at Spring Valley HS (WACH Fox 57.2/1250, www.nfhnetwork.com)
▪ Class 4A: AC Flora vs. North Myrtle Beach, 7:30 p.m., at Benedict College (WACH Fox 57.2/1250, www.nfhnetwork.com)
Dec. 18
▪ Class 2A: Marion vs. Abbeville, TBD at venue to be determined (www.nfhsnetwork.com)
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 12:59 PM.
