Tag: Darius Taylor

UNC-Minnesota pits two of country’s top running backs against each other

Saturday’s football game pits two of the country’s top running backs – Omarion Hampton and Darius Taylor – against each other.

UNC’s Omarion Hampton is carving out a name for himself as one of college football’s top running backs, mainly thanks to a record-breaking performance last week.

Hampton, the sophomore back out of Cleveland High School in Clayton, N.C., obliterated App State’s defense for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries, in a 40-34 comeback win for the Tar Heels. His final touchdown came in overtime – a response to App State’s first score – followed by a Ryan Coe extra point.

These numbers were good enough for Hampton to be the leading rusher in all of college football last weekend.

There’s another young running back by the name of Darius Taylor – and he’s coming to Chapel Hill today.

Taylor, the University of Minnesota’s star freshman running back, compiled 193 rushing yards and a touchdown on a nation-high 33 carries, in the Golden Gophers’ 25-6 win over Eastern Michigan last weekend.

When UNC and Minnesota face off at 3:30 p.m. today inside Kenan Stadium, the attention will be on two solid, undefeated teams trying to prove they remain at the top of their respective conferences. Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye has a lot of Heisman hype, but his performance in Week 1 and 2 are not up to Heisman standards.

If you ask me where the attention should be, however, it should be on Hampton and Taylor. Hampton gained 44% of UNC’s offensive yards last week, while Taylor gained 47% of Minnesota.

There’s a very good chance today’s game could come down to the last possession – and Hampton or Taylor breaking off one last final run to ice things.

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Top five true freshman running backs in the Big Ten for 2023

Top five true freshman running backs in the Big Ten for 2023 #GoBucks #B1G

It is always fun to look at recruiting rankings. The recruiting landscape receives more coverage every year and is a very important aspect of building a program. Still, it is important to remember these players and prospects are not defined by these rankings.

I was diving into the most recent class and trying to figure out which future Buckeye is going to shine brightest and fastest but noticed that the Big Ten as a whole was pretty interesting recruiting-wise this cycle, and we already looked at the top quarterbacks in the class and I wanted to dive into the running back position next.

The following are the top five running backs recruits ranked by 247Sports heading to Big Ten schools this fall.

Resetting Michigan State football’s RB recruiting board

Check out what Michigan State’s running back board might look like as the early signing period approaches:

Michigan State lost a huge commitment in the form of Kedrick Reescano yesterday. The longtime 4-star commit was a focal point of the class, and now the Spartan coaching staff will be forced to replace him.

There are still a lot of viable options for the Spartans to consider and running backs coach Effrem Reed will look to secure some of those options before the December early signing period.

Michigan State will look to take two running backs in this class, so expect a lot of heat to be turned up on this list:

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Iowa Hawkeyes target Darius Taylor to announce decision Tuesday

Iowa target Darius Taylor is announcing his commitment at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Iowa target Darius Taylor revealed that he will be announcing his college commitment on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT. The Walled Lake Western High School product out of Michigan is listed as a three-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and On3.

247Sports rates Taylor as the No. 31 running back in the 2023 class and the 12th-best player from the state of Michigan, while On3 ranks Taylor as the No. 25 running back and the No. 9 player from the state of Michigan. In addition to Iowa, Taylor has received offers from Big Ten programs Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin.

Other power-five programs that have offered Taylor include Boston College, Kansas, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Vanderbilt. Taylor also holds offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Ferris State, Howard, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Princeton, Toledo, Western Michigan, Yale and Youngstown State.

Taylor would represent the seventh Hawkeye commit if he chooses Iowa. The Hawkeyes have commitments from quarterback Marco Lainez III, athlete Alex Mota, edge rusher Chase Brackney, linebacker Ben Kueter, offensive lineman Leighton Jones and defensive lineman Maddux Borcherding-Johnson.

A pair of players earned offers from Iowa over this past recruiting weekend, class of 2023 offensive lineman Logan Howland and 2024 athlete Caleb Benning. With a quarterback already in tow in Lainez III, it would be great for Iowa to add another skill player to its 2023 commits list. Here’s a look at Taylor’s Hudl highlights from last season.

Taylor’s full recruiting profile is below.

In-state 2023 RB gets an offer from Michigan State football

Michigan State has extended an offer to a 2023 in-state running back

Michigan State football running backs coach Effrem Reed has extended an offer to a 2023 running back from inside the state of Michigan. Darius Taylor has reported an offer from Michigan State via his Twitter page.

Taylor is a native of Walled Lake, Michigan, and attends Walled Lake Western High School. According to 247Sports, he is a 3-star prospect that ranks as the No. 12 player in the state of Michigan.

Some other notable schools that are pursuing Taylor’s talents include Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

If Taylor commits, he would be the second running back in Michigan State’s recruiting class, joining 4-star Kedrick Reescano.

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