Brandon Taylor Per the Times-Picayune: 18 AGAIN: Safety Brandon Taylor is happy to be back on the field after missing the last four games, including the Cotton Bowl, with a lisfranc injury to his right foot. Waiting for him in his locker was a new jersey, the coveted No. 18. Matt Mauck, Jacob Hester, Richard Dickson and Richard Murphy have all worn the jersey as a tradition, emblematic of a player who displays courage and character. Taylor traded in his No. 15 and becomes the first defensive player in the lineage. "When I was getting treatment, (trainers) Jack (Marucci) and Andy (Barker) called me into the office and said they put me in the running to get 18, and asked me if I'd wear it," Taylor recalled. "I told them I would. That's an honor to me. I'll be the first defensive player to wear it." Oddly enough, Mauck had the same lisfranc injury, and Taylor has already shown he deserves the jersey by rebounding faster than expected. "They put two screws instead of one; it made the healing process easier," he said. "It surprised me. I wasn't supposed to be off crutches until eight weeks, and I was off in three. I wasn't supposed to walk (without the boot) until after three months, and I was running." Taylor will wear a green jersey throughout spring, signifying no contact work for him. But he said it doesn't matter, because he is just happy to be off the sidelines. "That's bad on the nerves," he said. "It feels good to be running and sweating again. It's just that my ankle is weak. I've got to build this leg back up. My takeoff is kind of slow. Once I get rolling, I feel good."
cool, maybe he will have more luck with it than Murphy did. Speaking of Richard Murphy, and I hate to say this because of his injuries, but the only other player I can think of that went from hero to zero like he did, at LSU, from his freshman season to his senior season, was Cameron Vaughn. Sucks because I thought Murphy was going to be special, especially after the Ohio State game.
Really, Cameron Vaughn? Dude wasn't exactly All-SEC, but he was a full time starter his JR and SR years and was up there in tackles both years.
Yeah, he didn't fall off as much as Murphy did, but I remember after his freshman season, I thought Cameron Vaughn was going to be all SEC, and just an animal, and he may have had alot of tackles, but he missed alot of tackles too, and he was really weak in coverage. He did start, but I never thought he was the same. Now maybe playing next to Lionel Turner helped him out a bit, but in my opinion, he just was never the same guy he was in his freshman season. Maybe it's because he didn't start his freshman season, and he was an impact player coming off the bench, so all i remember was him making plays. if that makes any sense.... His stats did get better as he progressed but he played more also. It's almost like if Tyrann Mathieu is moved to the starting corner position and doesn't impact the game like he did in 2010. If that makes sense also.....
Yeah, I know what you mean. Tyrann Mathieu is probably a good analogy. Also, dead on with Justin Vincent. We still love you though, Justin!
Justin Vincent. Man, after his first season I remember thinking, "this kid is going to be freaking awesome!"... Incidentally it was later that I realized how special our O-line was in '03. To this day, Vincent is still one of my favorite Tigers though.
