Wisconsin leaves lasting impression on Taylor

Rivals250 athlete A.J. Taylor has doubled his offer total in the last couple months, forcing the Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst four-star to take a fresh look at his recruitment.

"I still want to make my verbal commitment in early to mid-June," Taylor said. "But in the way that it has changed, I need to go out and see colleges now and visit them."

Two weekends ago, Taylor made his way out to see Northwestern, Wisconsin and Notre Dame. He added an offer from the Badgers while in Madison.

"It exceeded my expectations," Taylor said of Wisconsin. "I came in just cruising and checking out a college on spring break. When we got there everything was nice, was clean, was well built. It's a liberal campus and I like that. It's a place with a lot of space and it has a good atmosphere.

"The coaches were all welcoming and friendly. You could tell they really wanted me there. The offer topped it off and made it that much better."

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Taylor could project to several positions in college. Many are recruiting him to play running back, but Wisconsin sees him fitting another role in their offense.

"They want me to play receiver," Taylor said. "Coach (Ted) Gilmore is the new receiver coach and he's coming in from the Raiders. I talked to him about how he saw me and he said, 'you're a guy who can separate and make big plays for us.'

"Then, coach (Paul) Chryst, the head coach, is coming from Pitt and you know they are going to throw it and they are going to run it. Obviously it's Wisconsin which is known for their running backs, but I feel like they are really trying to incorporate their receiver corps and I feel that is a good spot to go to help them out."

While Wisconsin left a lasting impression on Taylor, the Kansas City native is still a ways from identifying his top teams among his eight current offers.

"I've got a few more visits to take and then coaches can start coming in around April 15," Taylor said. "I think a little more might happen offer-wise, and I am still open to anything right now. The process is still going right now."

While he does not have any additional visits scheduled, Taylor is looking at visiting Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska and Missouri before the spring is out.

The No. 128 player in the Rivals250 presented by Under Armour, Taylor accumulated nearly 1,500 all-purpose yards and scored more than 15 touchdowns as a junior.