Blue and Gold Illustrated

BGI March 2019

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2019 81 BY LOU SOMOGYI G oing through newly hired Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor 's biography is like re- viewing a Who's Who of college football the past five decades. Taylor's father, James (not the singer), played for leg- endary Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, and rushed for 289 yards and four touchdowns for the 1973 unit that lost the national title to Notre Dame (24-23) in the Sugar Bowl. Born in Mt. Vernon, Ala., the younger Taylor as a fresh- man walked on in 1999 for the Crimson Tide — where he would earn a scholarship and become a special teams captain — and played wide receiver two seasons for an assistant coach who also was a former walk-on wideout there: Dabo Swinney, who has coached Clemson to two of the last three national titles. Following his 2003 graduation with a degree in manage- ment, Taylor returned to his alma mater in 2007 to begin his new career as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban, who was hired that same year. After cutting his coaching teeth at Appalachian State (2009) — serving under Hall of Fame coach Jerry Moore, who won three straight Division I-AA/FCS national titles from 2005-07 — Taylor then moved up as an intern/qual- ity control and eventual tight ends coach with the New York Jets (2010-12) under Rex Ryan before getting tabbed as assistant wide receivers coach for the Carolina Panthers (2013) by Ron Rivera. In 2014, he returned to the college game at Stanford to coach running backs under David Shaw. There, he men- tored Christian McCaffrey to a runner-up Heisman cam- paign in 2015, and recruited another Heisman runner-up in Bryce Love. Named the 2015 FootballScoop.com Running Backs Coach of the Year, Taylor saw the Cardinal set a school record that year in rushing yards (3,132), and two of the other 13 best rushing seasons in Stanford history came under his guidance. He returned to the NFL as Carolina's wide receivers coach (2017-18), but the call from head coach Brian Kelly to replace 2015-18 running backs coach Autry Denson brought him back to royalty roots. "I've been blessed to work at some incredible places in my career, but Notre Dame is truly special," Taylor said in the university released announcement. "I'm honored and humbled to represent this incredible university as its running backs coach." "He recruited at an extremely high level during his time at Stanford, and he worked with the very best in the NFL," Kelly summarized. "His ability to bring both of those experiences together makes him a perfect fit on our staff." ✦ PROUD PEDIGREE New running backs coach Lance Taylor has been around football royalty LANCE TAYLOR: HIS POTENTIAL IMPACT Getting more production from the running back position in the pass game would be a welcome addition to the offense, and Lance Taylor's background as a receivers coach could help. Notre Dame running backs had just 24 catches for 134 yards in 2017, but this past season those numbers improved to 37 catches for 463 yards, thanks in part to converted wide receiver Jafar Armstrong (14 catches for 159 yards) moving there. When Taylor was at Stanford from 2014-16, Cardinal running backs aver- aged 52 receptions, 600 receiving yards and five touchdowns per season, highlighted by Christian McCaffrey hauling in 45 passes for 645 yards and five scores in 2015. Stanford totaled just 54 catches — combined — for 516 yards and two touchdowns in the two years after Taylor left. If Taylor and offensive coordinator Chip Long can incorporate more screens and improve the ability of the backs to get out on check downs, the production should improve, which will make the offense much better as a whole. Notre Dame's backs must also upgrade as pass blockers. Where Taylor needs to have the biggest impact, however, is on the recruiting trail. Predecessor Autry Denson struggled as a recruiter, and the Notre Dame roster won't have a single Rivals four-star running back prospect in 2019. Two of Notre Dame's five backs in 2018 (Armstrong and Avery Davis) were converted from another position. If Taylor can excel on the recruiting trail the way he did at Stanford, and if he can help get a jump in pass game production, he could end up being a home run hire for Brian Kelly. — Bryan Driskell Taylor has played or coached for Alabama's Nick Saban, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Stanford's David Shaw and NFL coach Rex Ryan. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH DIGITAL MEDIA

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