Despite injury, Tayor looking forward to UA game

Rivals100 defensive back Garrett Taylor has not had a run-of-the-mill senior year. The Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher's star was poised for a big year after committing to Michigan in the offseason, but an ACL injury put Taylor out of commission.

"I'm actually pretty far along," said the 6-foot-1, 188-pound Taylor. "I'm ahead of schedule. I'm doing a lot of strengthening exercises on my knee. I'm about a month out from surgery and am walking around in a knee brace. The doctors and my physical therapist are really happy and excited about my progress.

"I've been talking to [Michigan cornerbacks] coach [Roy] Manning because he went through the same type of thing as a player," he said. "I've also been in contact with the Michigan trainer and he has been giving me some advice on what I can do at home."

Taylor's skill set and play on the field made him an Under Armour All-American. He received his jersey at a ceremony at his school on Thursday.

"It means a lot to me," Taylor said. "It has kind of been my goal ever since I started playing football. You hear a lot of the big names that have played in the game like Julio Jones and Vernon Hargreaves III. Being considered one of the best football players in the nation is really important to me. It just shows my hard work is paid off."

While Taylor won't be able to play in the game, he is looking forward to interacting with the players off the field.

"I'm definitely looking forward to bonding with some of the players and talking about their schools," he said. "I want to see why they chose where they chose. I'm really looking forward to the speed and athleticism that's going to be on display. I know we don't get all a lot of that here in Richmond, but it'll be cool just to see what it will be like at the next level.

"Marcus Lewis and I are really close," said Taylor. "I keep in contact with him a lot. When I'm down there I'll definitely be looking to see what he does and we'll be talking a lot. As far as the wide receivers, the size will be a lot different and the speed will be different too. I'm looking forward to seeing how they run their routes and how they break off their routes. Hopefully I can pick up on some keys."

Taylor's commitment, like the Michigan coaching staff, has been on shaky ground lately. He has set up official visits to Virginia Tech, Penn State and Ohio State for later this year.

"I know people are bouncing ideas around about whether coach [Brady] Hoke will be back next season or not and if the coaching staff is going to stay there," he said. "I know Michigan's program isn't where coach Hoke and people want it to be. We'll see how things go and see if they can turn things around.

"The coaches at Virginia Tech are telling me that nothing has changed," Taylor said. "They still feel the same way about me and are very excited that I'll be visiting. They want me at cornerback and I've been in touch with coach [Frank] Beamer a lot.

"I've been in contact with coach [Kerry] Coombs at Ohio State," said Taylor. "He tells me about the culture of Ohio State, what Urban Meyer has brought and where the program is headed. I'm really interested in seeing what they have to offer in Columbus.

"I definitely think Penn State is trending up as a program with what coach [James] Franklin did at Vanderbilt and what he's doing now at Penn State," he said. "I liked coach Franklin at Vanderbilt and he brought coach Shoop with him. Coach [Bob] Shoop knows a lot about the secondary. I'll see what they have to offer when I get up to campus."

Taylor is visiting Virginia Tech for the game against Miami, Ohio State for the Indiana game and Penn State for the Michigan State game.

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