2021 Recruiting Profile: Florida Gators DT Target Leonard Taylor
Leonard Taylor, defensive tackle
School: Miami Palmetto, Miami (Fla.)
Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 245 pounds
247Sports Composite Rating: Five stars, No. 3 defensive tackle, No. 5 state, No. 27 national
Recruitment History
Taylor's recruitment began to take off locally during his sophomore season, receiving offers from Miami and Florida in November of 2018.
A domino effect ensued, as SEC powerhouses Alabama, Georgia, and LSU, and other major schools such as Ohio State followed suit through the summer leading into Taylor's junior season.
Following an 11 sack, 26 tackle-for-loss campaign as a junior, Taylor's recruitment has continued to blow up on a national scale. On May 24th, Taylor released a top five schools list including Florida, Miami, LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee.
The disruptive defensive lineman most recently visited Florida for March's junior day event, along with several teammates from Miami Palmetto that Florida is also trying to get into their 2021 haul. Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., safety Corey Collier Jr., wide receiver Brashard Smith, and fellow defensive tackle Savion Collins were also in attendance.
Taylor also unofficially visited Florida multiple times during 2019, twice during the season and also for a summer camp. The elite talent stands as Florida's No. 1 defensive line recruit on AllGators' board.
Where He Fits
Taylor primarily lines up at 3-technique defensive tackle for Miami Palmetto, and that's where he best projects at the next level. He will have to add weight in college which shouldn't be an issue, as Taylor carries great length with plenty of room to fill out.
Playing with a relentless motor and utilizing his length to defeat blocks, Taylor consistently applies pressure in opposing backfield against the run and the pass. With generally good explosion out of his stance and solid pad level, Taylor doesn't struggle to get off blocks with lower-body strength, leverage, and polished rush moves to beat offensive linemen.
Those traits will continue to come together and sharpen under college coaching, which will allow Taylor to grow as a future pro prospect. He'll naturally continue to develop pass rush moves, but Taylor already utilizes a clean swim move, a developing and disruptive swipe move, and he possesses the upper-body strength to simply rip offensive linemen out of their stance to get into the backfield.
Taylor has the body control and balance to absorb contact and bend towards ball carriers, which provides confidence that low pad level will become more consistent, and beneficial, over time.
His length also provides a play-making element against the pass in the trenches. Taylor has a knack for deflecting passes at the line of scrimmage, which led to two interceptions during his junior season. Showing off his impressive athleticism for a defensive lineman, Taylor returned one of those batted passes-turned-interceptions into a near-30 yard touchdown.
The Gators continue to stockpile talent on the defensive line under second-year position coach David Turner, and Taylor would be one of the highest-profile additions to the room under Turner should he end up in Gainesville. Florida also has a pledge from 2021 defensive tackle Christopher Thomas Jr. from Dunbar (Fla.), along with defensive end commits Tyreak Sapp (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) and Justus Boone (Sumter, SC).
In the 2020 class, Turner added five defensive linemen to his room in five-star defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, to go with defensive tackles Jalen Lee, Johnnie Brown, and Lamar Goods, as well as defensive end Princely Umanmielen. Brown, however, will end up attending junior college.
Despite the recent additions, Taylor is still a candidate for early playing time at three-technique should he end up in the class. The top of Florida's current 3-technique position is slim, with rising senior T.J. Slaton set to start and no proven depth behind him.
Once Slaton and Marlon Dunlap Jr. graduate following the season, Dexter, Lee, and any 2021 signees or transfers would compete for the position. Lee is a great fit at 3-technique, Dexter has the ability to shift across the line, and Goods is better suited at nose tackle. Florida is known to rotate players all over the roster to keep contributors fresh, so each signee and recruit should find ways onto the field.
The roster outlook has to be appealing for Taylor, providing good reason as to why Florida is near the top of his recruitment and why Turner and the coaching staff are in hot pursuit.