Tory Taylor was the secret weapon for the Iowa Hawkeyes last season and his performance often changed games. His ability to constantly pin opponents deep and make them try to navigate a long field against the Hawkeyes’ top defense paid time and time again last year.
Due to his success last year and his decision to return to Iowa to continue giving Big Ten offenses fits, Tory Taylor has been named a 2023 Walter Camp Preseason Football Bowl Subdivision All-American.
Tory Taylor ➡️ Walter Camp Preseason All-American.#Hawkeyes
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) March 31, 2023
As a junior, Taylor earned first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, Phil Steele and Pro Football Focus and a second-team accolade from the Associated Press. Taylor was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the conference media and Phil Steele and a third-team honoree by the Big Ten coaches.
In a year that featured 82 punts, which is a number much higher than Hawkeyes’ fans would have hoped for, the silver lining is that Taylor averaged 45.4 yards per punt which completely flipped the field. His season-long was a punt of 70 yards.
Taylor doesn’t only have a monster leg as noted by his 27 punts of 50 or more yards, he has pinpoint accuracy as well. Of Taylor’s 82 punts, a whopping 38 of them or 46.3% pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line making them stare down 80-plus yards to punch one in the end zone.
As Iowa looks to make leaps and bounds of offensive improvement in this 2023 season, having Taylor ready to go is always a nice safety blanket in the back pocket. Paired with a dominant defense, Taylor epitomizes how important special teams are as a third of the game. He will look to capitalize on his 2022 season and continue the Iowa way that is punting is winning.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdcxf97xrgg1awc player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7