Michael Taylor (American football)

Last updated
Michael Taylor
No. 9      Michigan Wolverines
Born:c. 1968
Career information
Position(s) Quarterback
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight202 lb (92 kg)
College Michigan
High school Princeton High School, Sharonville, Ohio
Career history
As player
19871989 Michigan

Michael A. Taylor is a former American football player. He played at the quarterback position for the University of Michigan from 1986 to 1989, the final four years of Bo Schembechler's tenure as the school's head football coach. He was Michigan's starting quarterback in 1988 and 1989 and led the Wolverines to Big Ten Conference championships both years. He finished his career at Michigan as the school's all-time leader in passing efficiency.

Contents

Early years

Taylor was raised by his mother and grandmother in Lincoln Heights, Ohio. Taylor credited them for instilling his desire to win: "They gave me my sense of values and drive to excel. I have to do everything as well as I can to let them know how much I love and appreciate them for heading me in the right direction." [1] Taylor attended Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio where he led them to a Div I state championship in 1983. [2]

University of Michigan

1986 season

Taylor enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1985. As a redshirt freshman in 1986, Taylor appeared briefly in 4 games, rushing for 33 yards on 5 carries and scoring a touchdown against Illinois. [2]

1987 season

As a sophomore in 1987, Taylor appeared in seven games for Michigan, including two games as the starting quarterback. [3] Taylor threw his first touchdown pass for Michigan in a backup role against Wisconsin. He got his first start after junior quarterback Demetrius Brown broke the thumb on his throwing hand in the Indiana game. [4] Prior to Brown's thumb injury, Taylor had completed only 9 of 21 pass attempts for 133 yards, 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown. At the time, Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler expressed confidence in Taylor, telling the press: "Michael Taylor is a fine quarterback. He's smart. He's a good quarterback. If we have to play Taylor, we'll be all right." [4]

Taylor got the start at quarterback against Northwestern, but Schembechler kept to a running game due to the inexperience of his quarterback. Michigan rushed 50 times in the game for 374 yards and passed only 5 times the fewest pass attempts by a Michigan team since 1977. [2] [5] Despite the emphasis on the running game, Taylor proved to be the star of the game, as he rushed for 144 yards, averaged 10.3 yards per carry, and scored 2 touchdowns. [5] Taylor had a 65-yard touchdown run and had runs of 31 yards in the second quarter and 39 yards in the third quarter set up field goals by Mike Gillette. [5]

Despite the solid performance against Northwestern, Taylor pulled a leg muscle in the game, and Demetrius Brown recovered sufficiently to resume his role as the starting quarterback for the remaining four games of the 1987 season. Taylor also got the starting assignment in Michigan's 2824 victory over Alabama in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl, completing 2 of 4 pass attempts and rushing for 11 yards. [6]

1988 season

At the start of the 1988 season, Michigan faced a quarterback controversy. Demetrius Brown had been declared academically ineligible earlier in the year, but regained his eligibility before the season started. [7] Taylor had missed spring practice due to a hamstring pull, leaving Coach Schembechler worried about the quarterback position. [8] At the time, Taylor was considered the team's best option offense quarterback, but he had completed only 41% of his passes in 1987. [8]

Shortly before the season opener against Notre Dame, Schembechler announced that Taylor would be his starting quarterback. Schembechler noted that Taylor "has thrown well, has run well, knows the offense and is getting us into the right plays." [9] Taylor ended up starting 9 of 12 games for the 1988 Michigan football team that finished the season with a 921 record (701 in the Big Ten), won the Big Ten Conference championship and defeated USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl. [10] Taylor completed 76 of 122 pass attempts for a 62.3% completion percentage and was intercepted only twice.

In the season opener against Notre Dame, Schembechler kept the ball on the ground, with 52 running plays and only 11 pass attempts. Michigan lost a close game 1917, as Taylor completed 8 of 11 pass attempts for 74 yards and scored one of Michigan's two rushing touchdowns.

Taylor had his best game of the 1988 season in a 3130 loss to the No. 1 ranked Miami Hurricanes on September 17, 1988. Taylor nearly led the Wolverines to an upset win to break Miami's 33-game regular season winning streak, but the defense gave up 17 points in the final 5 minutes and 24 seconds to allow Miami to come from behind to win the game. Taylor did his part, completing 16 of 24 pass attempts for 214 yards and three touchdowns. The Washington Post praised Michigan's passing game:

"Employing a combination of its usual righteous conservatism with a startlingly effective passing game, the Wolverines incited an overflow crowd of 105,834 in the broad, intimidating sweep of Michigan Stadium by outright dominating the Hurricanes, the defending national champions, for most of four quarters. A mulish, persistent quarterback named Michael Taylor threw scoring passes of five, 18 and 16 yards, the latter to take a 3014 lead with 10:32 left." [11]

The Associated Press also praised Taylor's performance: "Miami's comeback overcame a brilliant performance by Michigan quarterback Michael Taylor, who was shaken up twice but returned to throw three touchdown passes." [12]

After losing the first two games of the season, the Wolverines were 901 in the final ten games. [10] One sports writer praised Taylor's performance in the first 8 games as follows: "Taylor has been everything Brown wasn't. He has a better understanding of the offense, is more poised, reads defenses better, and runs better. He was intercepted just twice in 122 passes this season." [13]

After playing well in the first 8 games of the season, Taylor broke his collarbone on the first offensive play in the Minnesota game and had to undergo surgery two days later. [13] [14] He was unable to play in the final regular season games against Illinois and Ohio State and in the 1989 Rose Bowl game against USC.

Taylor was the Big Ten's passing efficiency leader for the 1988 season. [15]

1989 season

As a senior, Taylor started 8 of 12 games for the 1989 Michigan football team that finished the season with a 102 record (80 in the Big Ten), won the Big Ten Conference championship and lost to USC in the 1990 Rose Bowl. [16] Taylor completed 74 of 121 pass attempts for 1,081 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1989. [2]

In the weeks before the season opener, the press focused on Taylor's physical condition. He had been nursing a sore shoulder in his throwing arm two weeks before the opener and missed the first week of practice. [17] Coach Schembechler called it "the great Michael Taylor scare," [18] and with news that Taylor would play, the Associated Press reported, "The Michael Taylor scare is over." [17] Taylor noted, "I can throw freely and it doesn't hurt. I'm close to 100 percent and never even thought of not playing." [19] Assistant coach Gary Moeller explained that Taylor's injury problem had been caused by the fact that "he didn't know how to throw properly until he came to Michigan." [19] Taylor had been "flinging the ball with his arm," Moeller noted, instead of using his whole body and sometimes reverted to that habit. [19] Despite the pain, Taylor vowed to give it his best effort against Notre Dame, saying, "I was raised to play football only one way, and that's giving 110 percent." [19]

Michigan and Notre Dame entered the season opener as the No.1 and No. 2 ranked teams in college football. [20] Taylor started the game against Notre Dame and completed 5 of 6 passes, including a touchdown, but he left the game after injuring his back. Taylor was replaced with freshman Elvis Grbac in the Notre Dame game.

After the loss of Taylor, Schembechler questioned his decision to let the injured Taylor play: "I suppose if I had to do it all over again, I probably should have started Elvis and let the chips fall where they may. To be honest with you, Taylor didn't throw a pass all week. He's got a bad arm right now. But he's a great competitor. He wanted to go. He felt he'd be able to throw the ball all right." [15] Schembechler added, "Michael Taylor is a fifth-year quarterback. He's the leader of our team. Hell's afire, we send him out there with a bad arm. If Michael's healthy, you'll see a difference." [15]

Taylor was unable to play in the following four games against UCLA, Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan State. [2] Grbac performed well as Taylor's replacement, leading to speculation that he might retain the starting job even after Taylor recovered. [21]

Coach Schembechler denied there was any controversy, and Taylor returned to the line-up in the fifth game against Iowa. Taylor was impressive in his return, completing 11 of 15 pass attempts, including 2 touchdown passes, and also scored a rushing touchdown as the Wolverines beat the Hawkeyes 2612. After the game, Taylor said, "I think I did all right. I took what the defense gave me." [22]

The following week, Taylor again performed well, completing 11 of 18 pass attempts against Indiana and threw touchdown passes of 18 yards to Greg McMurtry and 43 yards to Derrick Alexander. [23] As Michigan continued to win under Taylor, Schembechler noted, "We've been more productive on offense since Michael came back, because he's so dangerous on the option play. I don't have any problem with Grbac at quarterback, but we're a better team when Taylor's in there. He's a fifth-year senior who makes few mistakes. We were counting on him in spring practice, gearing the season toward him." [1]

Taylor had the best game of his career in a 4915 victory over Minnesota on November 18, 1989. Taylor completed 12 of 16 pass attempts for 231 yards. He also tied a Michigan record with four touchdown passes, including three touchdown passes to Greg McMurtry of 49, 34 and 25 yards. [24] [25] [26]

In the final game at Michigan Stadium for Taylor as a player and for Schembechler as head coach, Taylor led the Wolverines to a 2818 victory over Ohio State. Taylor played the entire game and ran for 57 yards on 8 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry. He was also 8 for 16 passing, completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jarrod Bunch. Taylor also had 2 turnovers in game, fumbling the ball at Ohio State's 22-yard line and throwing an interception on the second play of the second half. [27]

1990 Rose Bowl

The Wolverines won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the Rose Bowl. As the starting quarterback in the Rose Bowl, Taylor was the subject of extensive pre-game publicity. [26] [28]

In a pre-game profile of Taylor published by USA Today , Michigan offensive coordinator Gary Moeller said, "He's kind of a Joe Kapp, throw-it-end-over-end guy. He's not a great physical thrower. We all know that." [26] At the same time, Moeller praises Taylor's instincts and intelligence: "He's good because he goes back there and finds the right receiver to throw to and gets it there." [26] On hearing about Moeller's comments, Taylor said, "I never saw Joe Kapp, but what I know is that I just go out and play, and I don't listen to the critics. I know I can move this team." [26]

As the game approached, media attention focused on reports that Taylor's right shoulder was sore. [29] Taylor said, "A lot of people question my health and my arm, but I just put that out of my mind. I don't really care what people say. I'm just going to go out and do my job." [26]

In the Rose Bowl, Taylor was held to 10 of 19 passing for 115 yards. [2] In post-game coverage, reporters credited USC's coaches for letting loose the "full complement of defensive linemen and pass-rushing linebackers at Michigan quarterback Michael Taylor during the final series," with the result that "Taylor ended the Rose Bowl on his back, the victim of a sack." [30]

Career totals

In his three years as a quarterback at Michigan (19871989), Taylor completed 163 of 275 pass attempts for 2,194 yards and had 17 touchdown passes, 7 interceptions, and a career completion percentage of 59.3%. [2] At conclusion of his career at Michigan, he ranked first all-time among Michigan quarterbacks in passing efficiency, and his 59.3% completion percentage ranked second all-time, trailing only Jim Harbaugh. [2] [26]

Related Research Articles

John Robert Navarre is a former American football quarterback who was a three-year starter for the Michigan Wolverines from 2001 to 2003, leading the Wolverines to the 2003 Big Ten Conference championship in his final year of eligibility. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2004 NFL Draft and played for the Cardinals in 2004 and 2005.

Tony Rice is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and World League of American Football. Rice is perhaps best remembered as the dynamic option quarterback of the University of Notre Dame's 1988 National Championship Team under coach Lou Holtz. Rice played professional football for three seasons for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Barcelona Dragons of the World League from 1990 to 1992. He also played for Munich Thunder in the FLE in 1994.

The 1990 Rose Bowl was the 76th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 1. The game was a rematch of the previous year, won by Michigan, 22–14. Gaining a measure of revenge, the USC Trojans upset the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines, 17–10. USC junior running back Ricky Ervins was named the Player Of The Game. This was Bo Schembechler's final game as Michigan's head coach, and he finished with a 2–8 record in Rose Bowls.

The 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1947 Big Nine Conference football season. In its tenth year under head coach Fritz Crisler, Michigan compiled a perfect 10–0 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, and defeated the USC Trojans by a score of 49–0 in the 1948 Rose Bowl game. Although ranked second in the AP Poll at the end of the regular season, the Wolverines were selected as the nation's No. 1 team by a 226–119 margin over Notre Dame in an unprecedented AP Poll taken after the bowl games. The 1947 team outscored its opponents, 394–53, and has been selected as the best team in the history of Michigan football.

The 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl, part of the 1987 bowl game season, took place on January 2, 1988, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The competing teams in the second edition of the Hall of Fame Bowl were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. In what was the first ever meeting between the schools, Michigan was victorious by a final score of 28–24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan–Notre Dame football rivalry</span> American college football rivalry

The Michigan–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1980 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 12th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 10–2 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, defeated Washington in the 1981 Rose Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a total of 322 to 129. The Rose Bowl victory was Schembechler's first in a bowl game, following seven bowl games losses. After falling out of the rankings for four weeks, the 1980 Wolverines ended up being ranked No. 4 in both the AP and UPI polls.

The 1969 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1969 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled an 8–3 record, played in the 1970 Rose Bowl, and finished the season ranked No. 9 in the final AP poll and No. 8 in the final UPI poll.

The 1981 Rose Bowl was the 67th Rose Bowl game and was played on January 1, 1981, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. The game featured the Michigan Wolverines beating the Washington Huskies by a score of 23–6. The game marked the first time Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler won a bowl game after seven prior bowl game losses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 1981 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 13th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 9–3 record and outscored all opponents by a total of 355 to 162. Ranked No. 1 by both the AP and UPI in the preseason polls, Michigan lost to Wisconsin in its season opener, then defeated No. 1 Notre Dame the following week, and ended its season with a victory over UCLA in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. The Wolverines were ranked No. 10 in the final UPI poll and No. 12 in the AP Poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 1986 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its 18th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the team compiled an 11–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, outscored opponents by a total of 379 to 203, and was ranked No. 8 and No. 7, respectively, in the final AP and UPI polls. Late in the season, Schembechler passed Fielding H. Yost as the winningest coach in Michigan football history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 17th year under head coach was Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 10–1–1 record, outscored all opponents by a combined total of 342 to 98, defeated five ranked opponents, suffered its sole loss against Iowa in a game matching the #1 and #2 teams in the AP Poll, defeated Nebraska in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, and were ranked #2 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. In its 100th season of intercollegiate football, the 11th under head coach Bo Schembechler, Michigan compiled an 8–4 record, lost to North Carolina in the 1979 Gator Bowl, was ranked No. 18 in the final AP Poll, and outscored opponents by a total of 312 to 151.

The 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 10th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 10–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, outscored opponents by a total of 372 to 105, and were ranked No. 5 in the final AP and UPI polls. The defense allowed only 94.6 passing yards per game and ranked second in the country in scoring defense, allowing an average of only 8.75 points per game.

The 1971 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled an 11–1 record, outscored opponents 421 to 83, won the Big Ten Conference championship, and were ranked No. 4 in the final UPI Poll and No. 6 in the final AP Poll. Defensive back Frank Gusich and center Guy Murdock were the team captains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Brown (quarterback)</span> American football player and coach

Dennis M. Brown is a former American football player and coach. He played at the quarterback position for the University of Michigan from 1966 to 1968, the final three years of Bump Elliott's tenure as the school's head football coach. In his first start at quarterback, Brown broke two Big Ten Conference single-game records with 338 yards of total offense and 61 plays. At the end of his playing career at Michigan, he held most of the school's career passing records, including passing yards (2,534), pass attempts (388), and touchdown passes (20). He later served as an assistant football coach at Michigan (1972–1979), West Virginia University (1980–1987), and Arizona State University (1988–1990).

John "Johnny" Wangler is a former American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1980. During the 1979 and 1980 seasons, Wangler and Anthony Carter formed one of the most successful passing combinations in Michigan Wolverines football history. Wangler's game-ending touchdown pass to Carter in the 1979 Indiana game led Michigan's famed radio announcer, Bob Ufer, to exclaim, "Johnny Wangler to Anthony Carter will be heard until another 100 years of Michigan football is played!" After suffering what appeared to be a career-ending knee injury in the 1979 Gator Bowl, Wangler came back and led the 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team to a Big Ten Conference championship and its first victory in the Rose Bowl Game since the 1964 season. Upon completing his career at Michigan, Wangler ranked second all-time among Michigan quarterbacks in most career passing statistics, including passing yardage, touchdown passes, yards per completion and completion percentage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Michigan Wolverines football in the Elliott years</span> Aspect of history

The History of Michigan Wolverines football in the Elliott years covers the history of the University of Michigan Wolverines football program during the period from the promotion of Bump Elliott as head coach in 1959 through his resignation after the 1968 season. Michigan was a member of the Big Ten Conference and played its home games at Michigan Stadium during the Elliott years. During the 10 years in which Elliott served as head football coach, Michigan compiled a record of 51–42–2 (.547) and claimed one Big Ten championship, one Rose Bowl victory, and two Chicago Tribune Silver Football awards for the most valuable player in the Big Ten. However, the Wolverines finished higher than third place in the Big Ten only twice.

Demetrius Brown is a former American football player. He was a quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1985 to 1989 and a starting quarterback for the 1987 and 1988 teams. Brown was the first Michigan quarterback to lead the Wolverines to bowl victories in consecutive seasons, with victories over Alabama in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl and USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl. During the 1987 season, Brown also set Michigan school records with seven interceptions in a game and 16 interceptions in a season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 2019 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the sport of college football during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolverines competed in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan was coached by Jim Harbaugh, who was in his fifth season.

References

  1. 1 2 Bob Logan (1989-11-09). "Taylor has Michigan on right track". Chicago Daily Herald.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2007-11-12.
  3. "1987 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  4. 1 2 Harry Atkins (1987-10-28). "Broken Thumb Shelves 'M' Quarterback Brown". The Argus Press (AP story).
  5. 1 2 3 "BACKUP QB LIFTS MICHIGAN PAST NU". Chicago Tribune. 1987-11-02.
  6. "Michigan overcomes Tide rally". Times Daily. 1988-01-03.
  7. Robert Markus (1988-08-31). "MICHIGAN IS MISSING JUST ONE THING: A QUARTERBACK". Chicago Tribune.
  8. 1 2 Dave Woolford (1988-08-28). "Michigan's Schembechler in quarterack quandary". Toledo Blade.
  9. "'M' Will Go With Taylor". The Argus Press (AP story). 1988-09-08.
  10. 1 2 "1988 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  11. Sally Jenkins (1988-09-18). "No. 1 Hurricanes Stun Michigan in Last 5:23". The Washington Post.
  12. "Miami rallies for 3130 triumph". Lawrence Journal World (AP story). 1988-09-18.
  13. 1 2 John Gugger (1988-11-07). "Taylor injured, but Michigan wins". Toledo Blade.
  14. Robert Markus (1988-11-07). "MICHIGAN TO DUEL ILLINI WITH SUB QUARTERBACK". Chicago Tribune.
  15. 1 2 3 John Strege (1989-09-20). "New age: Michigan discovers forward pass, then loses QBs". Orange County Register. p. D.01.
  16. "1989 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  17. 1 2 "Taylor's Ready For The Irish". The Argus Press (AP story). 1989-09-08.
  18. Karen Allen (1989-09-13). "Notre Dame to test Taylor". USA Today.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Taylor 'close to 100 percent'". The Argus Press (AP story). 1989-09-15.
  20. Don Markus (1989-09-16). "Clash of Titans: Raging Rice leads No 1. Notre Dame against No 2. Michigan today". Austin American Statesman.
  21. Robert Markus (1989-10-18). "Quarterback controversy at Michigan? Not unless Bo says so". Chicago Tribune.
  22. "Michigan Keeps Iowa Off Stride In Sewing Up Taylor-Made Win". Omaha World-Herald (AP story). 1989-10-22. p. 12.C.
  23. "Wolverines Roll Past the Hoosiers". The New York Times. 1989-10-29.
  24. "MICHIGAN AIR STRIKES FLATTEN U: 3 TAYLOR-TO-MCMURTRY PASSES KEY 4915 WIN". St. Paul Pioneer Press. 1989-11-19. p. 1C.
  25. "Michigan's passing surprises Minnesota". Chicago Sun-Times. 1989-11-19.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 David Leon Moore (1989-12-29). "ROSE BOWL; Taylor looks for a high note". USA Today.("He has done it well enough this season to lead the Big Ten in passing efficiency and tie a school record with four touchdown passes against Minnesota. Plus, he will leave Michigan as the school's all-time leader in passing efficiency and second in career completion percentage (59.8 percent).")
  27. "UM survives Buckeye scare". The Blade, Toledo, Ohio. 1989-11-26.
  28. Mal Florence (1990-01-01). "ROSE BOWL NOTES Taylor Finally Can Play in Pasadena". Los Angeles Times.
  29. Wojnowski, Bob (1989-12-29). "Taylor Insists He's OK". Detroit News. p. D2.
  30. Allan Malamud (1990-01-02). "Notes on a Scorecard". Los Angeles Times.