The tight end also nominated as Army All-American
By Kyle LoJacono
Before he runs his first route, makes his first block or even opens his mouth in any game or practice, Land O’ Lakes senior Kent Taylor stands out from the crowd.
Not only does the 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end tower over every Gator teammate or opposing player, but Kent is also constantly working to improve his game.
“This offseason it’s been making sure I run my routes precisely,” Kent said. “I don’t want to give anything away with how I’m lined up, and I don’t want to get lazy and round off anything in the route. It’s just to make sure the defender has no idea what I’m going to do.”
Even if his opponent knows what Kent is going to do, it is unlikely the defender, or in many cases the multiple defenders, will be able to do a thing to stop him.
On deep routes, defensive backs aren’t tall or strong enough to stop him from picking up huge chunks of yards. Linebackers cannot keep up with him when Kent goes over the middle. When he stays in as a blocker, defensive linemen find out he is more than just a pass-catching threat.
Basically, Kent has taken every part of his role as a tight end to heart.
“If you want to be a valuable tight end, you have to be able to block and catch,” Kent said. “All the best tight ends in the NFL can do both. I think it just adds another aspect to your game if you can block a 290-pound defensive end and outrun a linebacker or safety to catch the ball.”
Kent, who is also an outfielder for the Land O’ Lakes baseball team, started playing football at age 9 with the Tampa Bay Youth Football League’s Westchase Colts and cannot get enough of the sport.
“The excitement and adrenaline is something I can’t find anywhere else,” Kent said.
Kent’s bloodline made playing on the gridiron almost inevitable before he ever picked up the oddly-shaped ball.
His father Rob was on offensive lineman in the NFL, playing eight seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1986-93.
“I don’t pretend to be an expert at who’re the best players, but I do know I’ve always been impressed with the catches Kent makes,” Rob said. “He certainly can run better than I can.”
Rob may not be an expert talent evaluator, but Kent has been going nowhere but up in most national college recruiting charts. He is rated No. 68 nationally by Rivals.com. Scouts.com, Rivals and Maxpreps.com all rank him as the top tight end in the country. He currently has more than 40 scholarship offers, many from BCS conference schools.
“It’s humbling,” Kent said. “A year ago no one had any interest at all, and now there are more offers than I can remember.”
As a sophomore, Kent saw limited playing time, recording only seven catches for 68 yards, but hauling in four touchdowns.
The catch-to-touchdown ratio remained high in Kent’s junior year as his touches increased. He posted 35 receptions for 571 yards and nine touchdowns in 2010. Mix that in with his blocking and the combination has Division I coaches and offensive coordinators salivating. Kent said he will likely wait until after the season before picking a school.
Kent has seen an increase in notoriety in the past few months, but his coach Brian Wachtel said the added attention has not changed him.
“Kent is a great kid,” Wachtel said. “He has amazing talent on the field, but he’s great off the field too. As a football coach I’m thrilled to have somebody like that on the team, but what’s special about him is he brings a unique balance.”
His attention even makes things easier for the Gators defense.
“He helps us a lot on the defense,” said Land O’ Lakes linebacker Shadow Williams. “Not only does he get us points, but the other team will focus on stopping him. If they’re worried about just stopping him in practice, that’s less time they can work on getting through our defense. It helps us fly under the radar.”
Kent was recently nominated as one of 400 players with a chance to play in the 2012 Army All-American all star game. He will learn in November or December if he makes the final cut.
“To get invited to play in the game was kind of a surprise,” Kent said. “It’s something I wanted to do and it would be really cool to play against the best kids in the country.”
Gators quarterback Ryan Bird is thrilled for Kent and also with the prospects of throwing to an All-American this fall.
“I was really excited for him when I heard,” Bird said. “I mean how many people can say they’re an Army All-American? Not many.”
Kent and the Gators will have their first challenge of the 2011 season in their kickoff classic at Anclote on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. Their first regular season game is at Zephyrhills on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
