By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
BOSSIER CITY — Committed since August to Northwestern State, Airline High School quarterback Ben Taylor wasn’t absolutely sure about it as early signing day approached Wednesday.
But he is now.
Conversations with Northwestern’s first-year coach, Blaine McCorkle, and offensive coordinator Norman Joseph encouraged him and ultimately erased any doubts. Tuesday night, Taylor affirmed his decision.
Just before dark Wednesday afternoon, he made it official, signing to play college ball for a Demons’ program that is struggling even more than the Vikings were four years ago when Taylor took over as the starting quarterback as a freshman in the midst of a 1-9 season.
Since Justin Scogin took over as head coach for the 2022 season, Airline went 28-7, including 11-1 this season. Taylor developed into the second-most prolific quarterback in state history with 12,395 passing yards and threw for 135 touchdowns. After leading the state in passing as a junior, he finished this season with 4,378 yards and 47 TDs.
But it didn’t get him much attention from Division I schools, at least, no offers from the FBS level, and just a few from FCS schools. It infuriated Scogin last winter and still astounds him.
“His understanding of the game and leadership will make a lot of people regret not giving him a chance out of high school. Northwestern State will be the winner in this deal and will look very smart for doing due diligence while everyone else stuck to their cookie-cutter quarterback recruiting,” said the Vikings’ coach, who was offensive coordinator at Parkway when QB Brandon Harris was a national recruit just over a decade ago.
“Passing on a guy who won like Ben did, who threw for 12,000-plus yards and 135 touchdowns, is crazy to me,” Scogin said.
Taylor (6-1, 185) acknowledged that as the calendar moved toward early signing day, his plan to head to Natchitoches for college went through rigorous reconsideration.
“It’s been a whole lot of stress in the past week, thinking about it, processing it all. The (NSU) coaches were talking and texting me every day, and they walked me through everything, my options, where my head was at, and reassured me.
“I was always leaning that way, knowing I could go there and compete for a starting spot my freshman year. It’s been a lot of crazy emotions but as of tonight, it’s been a lot of excitement with my family. This whole journey has been a lot of fun.”
He relied on his faith to navigate the lack of college offers commensurate with his credentials.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me I didn’t get looked at the way they thought I should, and that was nice to hear. But first of all, I trust God, and I know whatever route he puts me on, that’s the right path for me,” he said. “It’s all in His plan.
“I wanted to prove myself through high school, that I can play at any level. The coaches at Northwestern stuck with me for the entire season. I love the atmosphere there, I love the coaches, and I’m very excited about it.”
Taylor added to his attributes, not just those credentials, this fall.
“He got better learning coverages and understanding the game,” said Scogin. “He spent a lot of time in the offseason working on getting more athletic and ran on our 4×1 and 4×2 relay teams in track last spring.”
Scogin also mentioned another vital element successful quarterbacks need – and Taylor explained it.
“The main thing is that I became a leader, and a lot of that has to do with age, growing up and maturing, but also, being a senior quarterback. Knowing that guys were looking at me, and wherever my head’s at was an example to everybody else. If I threw a pick or something, I learned not to get down, just keep going and be a leader.”
After playing a lot of golf in the spring, he plans to head down I-49 to help lead another rebuild, along the lines of how Airline’s fortunes changed for the better in the past three seasons.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com
