UTEP Football Feature - Jadrian Taylor

Jadrian Taylor

By Mark Brunner Strategic Communications

UTEP starting defensive end Jadrian Taylor didn’t arrive to El Paso with m u c h fanfare. Upon his departure from Kilgore College, there wasn’t a ton of interest in the Lufkin, Texas, na-

tive. “I came from JUCO to walkon (at UTEP),” Taylor said. “There were no offers, no nothing, no looks, or anything and no scholarship.” In spite of that, it didn’t deter him from blossoming into the player who led the Miners with 6.5 sacks in 2021. “I always had a great work ethic and I always bet on myself,” Taylor said. “I stayed patient, worked hard. I finally got my starting job after two years. I just thank God for giving me this opportunity. When I play, I put a lot of passion. It was kind of not easy (to wait to become a starter), but it was kind of God’s work, so it made it easy for me.”

Even though it took time to break through, there were never any doubts in Taylor’s mind that he would experience success. “I knew once I started getting more playing time that I was going to be on the path (to success),” Taylor said. “I knew I just had to stay down. Once I started, they already knew I was going I was going to play hard.” He produced in a big way in 2021, garnering Honorable Mention All-Conference USA honors. He started at defensive end in all 13 games for a team that went to the program’s first bowl game since 2014 and ultimately finished with a winning record at 7-6. He also recorded 33 tackles, eight quarterback hurries and sevenand-a-half tackles for loss. Even with his individual accolades from a year ago, Taylor remains humble and is hungry for more. “I’m nowhere near where I want to be or need to be to make it to the NFL, which is my dream,” Taylor said. “Six sacks, that’s not enough. I’m going to need to get in double digits. So, that’s how I stay humble. I’m not the best yet.” As accomplished as Taylor is now, when he first started playing football it wasn’t even on the defensive side of the ball. “My first position was left tackle at six years old,” Taylor said. “I was a bigger kid, so I played left tackle but after practice I was crying because I wanted to play running back. It was like, man, just put him at running back and see what he’s got. My first play at running back, I scored. It was like a 60-yard touchdown or something, and I was the running back from then on. So, my first position was running back and then linebacker.” He eventually ended up at defensive end because of the way he got to the quarterback. “They saw me when I was

blitzing at linebacker,” Taylor said. “They saw how I pass rushed, even though they didn’t teach me any pass rush moves per se. I was just a natural kind of pass rusher. So, once I learned moves and everything, it kind of made it easier.” Taylor is respected by his teammates, who also appreciate him having an all-around game. “A lot of people think he’s just a pass rusher,” defensive tackle Kelton Moss said. “His numbers in the weight room don’t lie. He can play (the run). He’s as physical as anyone else. He’s an all-around guy to me. He’s very vocal, very passionate about the game. If we’re not doing our job on defense, he’s the guy that’s going to speak up.” He has been a standout at defensive end for the Miners, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying to return to his roots as a running back. He’s even gone to head coach Dana Dimel and pleaded his case for a few carries. That hasn’t happened, of course, but Taylor remains confident he could get the job done in certain situations. “People say (I could get) one (yard), I say five yards,” Taylor said. “I’m going to score, man, I’m going to get the first down or something. I’m one of the fastest guys on the team, so I know I could play running back.” There’s still debate in his mind as to whether making a sack or scoring a touchdown has a better feeling. “Oh, I guess it depends on the sack,” Taylor said. “Probably a touchdown feels better (than a normal sack), but a clutch sack that’s the best feeling ever.” Taylor relishes the chance to close out games with the rest of the defense, something they had the opportunity to do in the victory against I-10 rival NM State. “Oh man, it was a wonderful feeling,” Taylor said. “Our coach already knew how to win a game on defense. Their defense did a good job that game, so we had to outplay their defense and that’s what we ended up doing to win the game. It was a great feeling.” If football doesn’t work out for Taylor, he aspires of become a professional wrestler. “I’ve been talking to the WWE people,” Taylor said. “They were interested. There’s a chance I could be a WWE superstar one of these days. But if not, my dream is to be a coach. I already have that in line too.” Taylor has already graduated from UTEP with a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies, and he now is pursuing a women’s studies bachelor’s degree. The success in the classroom isn’t a surprise to him. “Growing up, I was really good in school,” Taylor said. “I just didn’t really like it. I had a 3.3 GPA throughout my high school career, 3.4 in JUCO and I graduated with a GPA over 3.0 at UTEP.”

With the remainder of Conference USA play just around the corner, Taylor is focused on helping the team achieve some lofty goals. “We want to get the conference championship,” Taylor said. “A bowl game, of course, is always a good thing. That’s what we’re working on as well, but we’re trying to win a conference championship.”