Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1476228
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M TAYLOR: We're just now figuring that out. He's the No. 8 linebacker in the country [according to On3.com] and has never really played much linebacker. His sophomore year, we played a spring COVID season here in Virginia. It was only six games, so we used that season to kind of figure out, "Alright, where is Tony going to be as a junior?" So, he played two games at corner, two games at linebacker and two games at defensive end and did well at all of them. He could cover anybody, did well at linebacker and then obviously was a force at D-end. We went with D-end his junior year, mainly just because of the people we had around him. That was our biggest need. This offseason, with the shift to line- backer, obviously it's been a learning pro- cess. He's been learn- ing the keys, the reads and all that kind of stuff, because it's still pretty new to him. What has amazed me is how quickly he's picked it up, and then the speed with which he does it. The first couple of weeks, he was just trying to track guards and fig- ure out what open windows and closed windows look like, all that kind of stuff. Now, he's beating the running back to the point of attack. BWI: Let's talk Penn State a little bit. I believe you had a big hand in his recruitment. I know you took him on several visits. TAYLOR: Yeah, we ended up taking him to most of his camps and stuff during the summer. I actually was the one who took him up to the Penn State camp in July last year. That was when [James] Franklin offered him. I've known [safeties coach Anthony] Poindexter for years, going back to when he was at Virginia. He always re- cruited our area, so we go back many years. I texted him and said, "Hey, I'm bring- ing this kid up. He's got all these offers, you guys need to take a look at him." When we got up there, they took us on a tour and Dex asked, "Is this kid really gonna run a 4.4?" I'm like, "Well, we just got out of the car, but that's what he did everywhere else." Sure enough, he runs a 4.4 that day and had a 4.12 in the pro agility and they offered him immediately. That's really how it all started. BWI: You took him on some other visits, too. What can you share about his recruitment as a whole, especially last fall when he was just getting started? TAYLOR: Yeah, Tony is interesting because he knew nothing about college football. He wasn't a college football fan. He doesn't have a favorite team or any- thing like that. Maryland was the first place that offered him, and he had never been to a college football game. So, that fall, we took him to some campuses to see some of the places that offered him. We took him to the Maryland–West Virginia game first last year. He goes to the game he's like, "Wow, that's incredible. I want to commit." Of course, I told him to pump his brakes. We had him scheduled to go elsewhere. I knew I was taking him up to the Penn State-Auburn game, which was the first White Out since COVID. We took him out to Mississippi for a game, too, so I told him he needs to see these other places. He needs to compare. So, of course we go up to the Auburn game at Penn State. We're in the stadium, eating dinner with all the other recruits. Then we got to go down on the field, saw all the fireworks and it's the White Out at night. Really, after that, his eyes were just starstruck with Penn State. He loved everything. From the warmups to the en- ergy of the coaches to the facilities. It re- ally checked every box for him. BWI: What was it about Penn State that made the difference in his recruit- ment? TAYLOR: I tried to stress to coaches early in the whole process that, if you like Tony, do yourself a favor and offer him early. It's kind of like Tony's time at Fair- fax. He had opportunities to go to other high schools in the area that are more successful, but he chose to stay home at Fairfax. I told coaches that I think that same kind of thing is going to apply at the next level. He's going to have a sense of loyalty to the guys that offer him early, that are in on him early. For the most part, it played out that way. I also think the personality of the coaches at Penn State [made a dif- ference]. I know his mom likes how close it is and just the staff altogether. That was the only visit that his grand- parents were able to go to because they drove up and didn't have to fly. I think the proximity and the family atmosphere were big. BWI: Both Clemson and Georgia are major programs that pushed hard for him toward the end. What was Tony telling you at the time about those schools? You said that Penn State was in a good spot, but those schools certainly gave him a lot to think about. TAYLOR: Georgia and Clemson both came after him pretty hard. He had good relationships with those coaches. I think the difference, again, was the length of time that he had to get to know the Penn State coaches. He said several times that Penn State feels like home. I think that's what it was. I went with him to both Clemson and Georgia. Their fa- cilities are on par or better than any place in the country. Penn State didn't have to wow him with facilities and all that kind of stuff. I think it really was the relation- ships and just the sense of comfort that he felt at Penn State. ■ "This offseason, with the shift to linebacker, obviously it's been a learning process. … What has amazed me is how quickly he's picked it up, and then the speed with which he does it. The first couple of weeks, he was just trying to track guards and figure out what open windows and closed windows look like, all that kind of stuff. Now, he's beating the running back to the point of attack." T A Y L O R