Rivals100 QB cuts list to five

With many other Rivals100 quarterbacks committing early, quarterback Tyrod Taylor out of Hampton, Va. is beginning to prepare for a decision of his own. The 6-foot-1, 193-pounder has taken the first step by narrowing his list of favorites to five schools.

"My five schools are Virginia Tech, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina State and Tennessee," he said. "I like North Carolina State because Marc Trestman is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach there. Florida interests me because the coaches are coming on really strong and I'm very interested in their offense. I like Tennessee and South Carolina because of their quarterback situation and the fact that they'll be graduating soon, that could give me a chance to play earlier. I also am intrigued by Steve Spurrier's offense at South Carolina.

"As for Virginia Tech, they have been recruiting me since day one. They have made it clear I am their number one guy and have not offered any other quarterbacks. I really like the fact that they recently hired Mike O'Cain too. My favorite player is Ronald Curry and I've talked to him a bit and he told me that he felt he could have done a lot more if coach O'Cain stayed on at UNC longer."

Currently Taylor has plans to announce a decision sometime before the season. Has he begun to narrow it down to a specific date?

"I'll probably make my decision based on whether I get invited to the Elite 11," he said. "If I do, I'll probably do it sometime just before it takes place on July 24th. If I don't then I'll go on the road with the Boo Williams basketball team and make my decision sometime before the season.

"I'd be really honored to be chosen in the Elite 11, but if it doesn't work out I'm still very satisfied with what I learned from the coaches at the camp at Penn State. It was really great to get hands-on experience with coach Johnson and others. I took so much from that experience and I got to throw over 300 balls that day. I also got to meet last year's winner Cody Hawkins out of Boise. It was pretty neat meeting him because he knew who I was and thought I'm a great player. He also gave me a lot of tips."

With an early decision coming in the next couple months, the Commonwealth quarterback is now beginning to think about graduating high school in December.

"I'm talking about graduating early with my family," he explained. "It's an option I'm definitely considering, but I'd say it's a 50/50 chance right now. I know my mother doesn't want me to leave home yet. I am qualified though with a 3.5 GPA and 1200 SAT."

This summer Taylor will attend camp at Florida in June and is considering camps at South Carolina and Virginia Tech as well.