What hit the cutting room floor in our chat(s) with Trooper Taylor

Just because we ran not one, but two formalized Q&A’s with wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor in the print edition of the Opelika-Auburn News, doesn’t mean we’re lacking in juicy extras for you here on the blog.

We don’t have much, but we have something. And that becomes plenty when it’s June.

Remember Tiger Prowl? What were your thoughts?
We knew that it was either going to be good or bad. I didn’t realize the impact we were going to make…I walked into schools in Miami and they asked “Where’s the limo?“ That shocked me, but the coaches knew of it and referred to it as the Tiger Prowl. Recruits e-mail and ask the same thing. Where’s the limo? But it was all positive. It was a good thing. They were excited about it and wondering if it was coming to their place, too.

Are recruits disappointed when you don’t show up in a limo?
They wish it was there. It was them getting excited. But nobody said “Aww, guys, you didn’t bring the limo?“ It was pretty positive even with the local administrators. I can’t believe how many principals came out and classrooms were let out. That surprised me, I didn’t think it would go that good. Other than that, we had a pretty good idea that it would be good press for it.

What about some of that negative reaction?
I think some of the negative things that were said weren’t thought through. The first was about cost. To me, I’m not good at math, but I can figure out that if you put seven coaches in one car and take them around as opposed to those seven coaches going to seven different rental car places and staying at seven different hotels, and then obviously flying out seven different areas on airline tickets, it was a whole lot cheaper to do the limo then it would have to have all seven of us going somewhere else. Those kind of statements didn’t make a lot of sense to me. It was hard for us because we had to get up earlier. We got started at 5 a.m. That’s part of work and we’re not afraid to do that.

The other negative I heard was someone saying how the limo looked. To me a limo is a limo. We thought about it as a staff. What do most high school people want to go to prom in? A limo. You do it big, you do it in a limo. The kids we’re recruiting are the same age as those kids. That’s kind of how it snowballed and we put the idea together.

How nice would it be to have Montez Billings back in the fall?
Big. He has the most experience of anybody and the most catches of anybody. So that was a big blow to us. Again, you take the ones that you got and get them ready. Life throws you curveballs. When I woke up to say goodbye to my daddy one day, I never saw him alive again. You either got two choices. You can shut it down and make excuses and say “Woe is me.“ Or you can pick up your straps and buckle them up and move on. That’s what I’ve been telling those guys. Life’s not fair and it never will be. That, to me, is the difference. Your attitude about everything. Some guys’ attitude I love and other guys I’d never give up. That’s something I’m trying to teach these guys. It’s something to being an Auburn man and an Auburn football player and you shouldn’t have to go out there and beat your chest. They should tell by the way you walk.

What’s it like being an assistant head coach?
I’ve known I wanted to be a coach since I was 13 years old and that hasn’t changed. I look at the success of some of the guys I’ve put in the NFL. It’s changing. I also want to be because I’m the best qualified coach, not because I’m the best African American coach. That’s why I’m paying my dues now because that’s going to happen. You can write that down. I will be a head coach some day because that’s my goal and I’m never going to give up on it. And this has been a great experience for me even in a short period of time because you’re building from the ground up and being apart of all the decision-making has been a difference.

How much busier are you?
100 percent more than any other place I’ve been. Discipline for different things, making policies. I’m making one right now. Those type of things make a big difference. You don’t see on this staff where there is seven guys with some type of head coach by their name or associate or head coach of this. There’s only one assistant head coach and that makes a difference.

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)