Clemson Freshman Will Taylor 'Special' Kind of Player

Freshman quarterback and two-sport star Will Taylor has been turning heads early on in Clemson's fall camp.

Will Taylor was one of the more intriguing prospects in Clemson's 2021 recruiting class.

The two-sport star out of Dutch Fork is a proven winner, on the football field, as well as the baseball diamond. Last season Taylor quarterbacked his high school team to a state title, with a 28-6 win over T.L. Hanna in the championship game.

Although, at one time, it appeared that Taylor's stay at Clemson would be a short one. Many mock drafts had him as a first-round pick in last month's MLB Draft, but Taylor favored the college experience over a pro career at this stage of his life.

Standing just 5-foot-8, and weighing in at 175-pounds, Taylor isn't your prototypical quarterback. Head coach Dabo Swinney insists, that when it comes to Taylor, looks can in fact be deceiving.  

"Will Taylor is special, I mean he is special," Swinney said. "We know what he is from an athletic standpoint. This kid can play quarterback... at a high level. That's gonna serve us well for a long time."

Swinney went as far as comparing Taylor to another well-known undersized quarterback in Doug Flutie. After an amazing collegiate career at Boston College, Flutie went onto spend eight seasons in the CFL and 12 in the NFL.

"He can do anything," Swinney said. "I called him Doug Flutie the other day. I would imagine that's what Doug Flutie looked like, he doesn't even know who Doug Flutie is. Just electric. Makes all these throws from all these crazy arm angles. You're like 'how in the world can he even see that guy.' Sees them all and gets the ball off. I mean, I'm sure that's what people said about Doug Flutie back in the day."

The plan for Taylor has been for him to spend his freshman season at quarterback, then have him make the move to receiver. As for now, with Taisun Phommachanh recovering from an Achilles tear, Taylor is one play away from being second on the depth chart behind redshirt freshman Hunter Helms.

However, quarterback isn't the only plan Swinney has for Taylor this season. The Tigers are planning to take full advantage of Taylor's versatility, hoping the freshman can also contribute in the return game, something his baseball background has helped prepare him for.

"He's a natural, you know," Swinney said. "He plays centerfield, knows how to get behind the ball, knows how to see it off the foot, you know, understands elements of the game. I mean he's just easy coaching, it's so easy. He's a very natural guy, so you're definitely seeing him returning some punts this year."

On top of what he brings to the table from a physical standpoint, Swinney also raved about Taylor's mental toughness, saying his versatility will pay dividends for the Tigers for years to come.

"He's a special dude, you know, just ice water in his veins. We got us a good one right there."