Tory Taylor Fine-Tuning His Game

Veteran Iowa Punter Key Piece in '23 Hawkeye Plans

Iowa P Tory Taylor warming up before a game against Illinois on Oct 8, 2022 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. (Rob Howe/HawkFanatic.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Tory Taylor is on a quest for consistency.

Taylor has been one of the nation’s best college punters in his three seasons at Iowa — he was a first-team All-American last year by three media outlets and a second-team All-American by the Associated Press — but he knows that he can be better.

Which is why he passed up entering the NFL draft to come back for another season with the Hawkeyes.

The spring, and the summer, have been about minor tweaks to his game.

“It’s kind of like golf, really,” Taylor said on Tuesday. “Some days you’re on, some days you’re not. Everything is about consistency, just being a specialist. So just narrowing the gap between my good and bad balls has been the biggest focus.”

Taylor punted 82 times for a 45.4-yard average last season, dropping 38 kicks inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. He had three games with punts of 60 yards or longer, including a 70-yarder at Purdue.

But it’s all about precision, and Taylor knows he can fine-tune what he does.

“Just minor things, just trying to get a little more hang time on punts, and more so on location, because it’s all well and good to just go out there and just hammer a ball, but if it’s down the middle it’s usually coming straight back,” he said. “So location has been a big factor in the offseason.”

Taylor wants more direction, but that can be a mental challenge.

“It’s mostly making sure my steps go where I want,” he said. “I know if I’m going to kick to the right, like most punters I’m … you’re so scared of kicking it out of bounds you kind of drop it in the middle. More so, it’s a mental battle, trusting myself and trusting my line. ‘Swinging through the gate,’ is what I like to call it.”

Taylor has also lost 10 pounds, another offseason goal he has accomplished.

“You don’t have as much weight behind the ball,” Taylor said. “But certainly leg speed has been a big focus this year. I’m slowly starting to see the differences, but it’s kind of hard to notice right away.”

Taylor pondered whether to leave after last season. The resumé was certainly there to take a chance at the NFL, but Taylor wanted more certainty.

“That was a personal decision I had to make,” he said. “ Kind of like what I said in January after the bowl game, had you guys asked me in December, I was pretty much more than likely gone. I just felt it was the right thing to do.

“But I spoke to the right people, received the necessary information, and put all of the pieces together. I wanted to come back and make sure I was making the best decision, and I haven’t regretted it at all. Because there are so many things that I’ve worked on in the offseason, and will continue to do so as long as I’m playing.”

Still, Taylor got the realization that his college career is nearing its conclusion.

“It hit me pretty hard when I saw guys like (linebacker Jack) Campbell and (tight end Sam) LaPorta leave here last year,” Taylor said. “Those guys, I was pretty close to. You think it’s never going to end. But yeah, it does, and it will in six months’ time. So just trying to make the most of it, while I can.”

His career started during the COVID-19 pandemic season, when he had to quarantine after arriving from Australia. Now Iowa, he said, is just like home to him.

“It’s just been unbelievable,” Taylor said. “I’ve will have been here three years in August. It just goes like that. The first couple of years were kind of hard — I couldn’t get my family over here. But last year was pretty special, having everyone come here. It’s been a special experience.”