The spotlight on Carmel quarterback Trae Taylor long preceded his first varsity start, which is still more than a month away.
As of Thursday night, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore had offers from 23 college programs — including Illinois, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and Oklahoma — and Notre Dame has expressed interest. He has also signed a deal with Leaf Trading Cards to monetize his name, image and likeness.
But Taylor is taking it all in stride.
“I enjoy getting to know the coaches and the recruiting process,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
“The position I’m in can only get better, and hopefully more attention will come if I stay on the same path.”
That path is keeping Taylor, as well as his family, very busy, according to his father, J.R.
“As a parent, it can be exhausting when there are so many things going on that can change your son’s life at a very early age,” J.R. Taylor said.
For instance, on Wednesday, Trae Taylor and his mother, Hilary, flew to Texas, and he received an offer from TCU the next day.
He has already attended numerous camps around the country and has unofficial visits lined up every Saturday during the season.
“My wife has basically become a part-time travel agent, planning out trips to all of these campuses,” J.R. Taylor said.
J.R. Taylor played football at Eastern Illinois, where he rushed for 3,705 yards and 51 touchdowns from 1999 to 2002, and he was inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. He understands this is a new era of amateur athletics but wants his son to keep something in mind.
“He has to remember that this is still a game,” J.R. Taylor said. “Eventually, this might turn into a real job. But for now, he still has to be a kid.”
NIL deals, which are permitted by the Illinois High School Association, are part of the new landscape. Trae Taylor’s agreement with Leaf, negotiated by Net Sports Management, requires him to sign 6,000 stickers annually. He said he shipped the first 2,000 autographs to the company earlier this week.
“It was a little rough at first signing them all. I had a little bit of a cramp,” Taylor said. “It’s something that you want to have as a football player — your own trading card — and to have it at such a young age is cool.”
Taylor has also partnered with clothing designer Seydehwon Nagbe, a relationship he forged on his own, and Nature’s EpickL Hydration, a locally owned company that sells beverages that Carmel coach Jason McKie introduced to him to help alleviate cramping.
“When I heard about some of the deals that he’s made, I wasn’t surprised because of the potential he has, and his work ethic is off the charts,” McKie said. “Him being so high-profile has created opportunities for teammates and elevated the status of the program.”
Despite all the attention, Taylor said his friends don’t treat him any differently.
“Of my core group of friends, I’m the only one who plays football,” he said. “There are guys that play volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball. They don’t think of me as anything except a regular guy.”
When Taylor steps between the lines, however, he’s not a regular quarterback. Nationally, he’s one of the top-rated players at his position in his class. He appeared in just five varsity games as a freshman last season, when he backed up three-year starter Johnny Weber. But Taylor was dominant in nine freshman-sophomore games, throwing for 2,687 yards and 29 touchdowns with just three interceptions despite playing past halftime only three times.
“What sets Trae apart is the way he sees the game and anticipates,” said Donovan Dooley, a private quarterback coach who works with Taylor. “We don’t want him to be robotic. We want him to be reactive and sudden.
“I may be biased, but what he brings to the table, you don’t see very often. He’s hitting on all cylinders right now, and when that happens, you know what time it is.”
Speaking of time, it’s before dawn when Taylor meets with his other private quarterback coach, Steve Wilson, for online sessions four times a week.
“Coach Dooley is the more cerebral part of quarterbacking, while coach Wilson and I watch practice film and break down the defenses of who we’re playing,” Taylor said. “We go over coverages and make sure my form and footwork is good.”
As he continues to work, Taylor is looking forward to Carmel’s season opener. The Corsairs (10-2), who lost to Nazareth in the Class 5A state quarterfinals last year, start the season with a nonconference game at Grayslake Central on Aug. 30.
“I don’t feel any added pressure, and any pressure I feel should come from myself, if anything,” Taylor said. “I feel ready for whatever comes my way because of the way I’ve prepared.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
