QB commit Taylor Powell says Wake "checked all the boxes"
Taylor Powell isn’t just a competitor. He’s a winner.
Watch his film, look at his impressive football resume, or just chat with the soon-to-be senior Arkansas high school quarterback and it becomes evident.
Most days, he’s winning on the football field, but last weekend, while visiting the Deacs in Winston-Salem, he also proved it on the ping-pong table, outlasting some of the best competition on campus.
“I hung out with John (Wolford), Alex Bachman, Zack Wary and a bunch of other guys that I can really gel with,” Powell said. “We played ping pong a bunch, and it was fun to win a bunch of ping pong games against them. Dom or Alex Bachman are pretty good, but I beat Alex Bachman pretty bad.”
In addition to beating some guys in ping pong, Powell also gave Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson his verbal commitment Sunday.
Powell chose Wake over more than a dozen other offers, including Vanderbilt, Maryland, Indiana and Purdue.
“Getting back to the campus and getting to know the players,” Powell said about what put Wake over the top.”It checked all the boxes of what I’m looking for in a college.
“Education, ability to come in and compete for the job early, the type of offense coach Ruggiero likes to run and the family atmosphere.”
Suddenly, a huge position of need for the Deacs a couple years ago is starting to look like a position of strength. Already embroiled in a three-way battle between John Wolford, Kendall Hinton and Kyle Kearns for the 2016 starting job, the Deacs suddenly have youth and depth as well. Jamie Newman will likely redshirt this season, and they’ve added verbal commitments for 2017 from both Powell and Tayvon Bowers.
“I think the QB room is going to be really competitive, and that’s something I really enjoy is the competition,” Powell said. “It only makes you better.”
Powell has light up the scoreboard and stuffed the stat sheet the last two years at Fayetteville High School, passing for more than 6,000 yards and nearly 70 touchdowns combined. He led his squad to a state championship last season, and is looking to repeat in 2016.
“Our senior class has been working really hard to come together and compete for another state championship,” Powell said. “We want to leave a legacy of getting to the state championship and winning it. I want to continue to grow as a leader and a person. I feel like I can fill the leadership gap that’s needed to make a run for the state championship.”
Powell has also had a successful run at summer camps held by Rivals and others.
“I feel like I’ve been the underdog through all of my recruiting process. I’ve been under evaluated, and it’s put a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “You go to these camps with these top guys with folks who are ranked “ahead of me” by the recruiting services, and I come out and compete and show I can hang with them. I prove that I am a top quarterback in the country, by competing against those guys and beating them out.”
He’s sold on the future of the football program at Wake Forest, and believe he can have an immediate positive impact.
“With the recruits coach Clawson is bringing in, if I had to buy stock in any program in the county, it would be Wake Forest,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I committed.”
He’s also impressed with the Deacs commitment to facilities.
“It’s one of the better indoors I’ve seen. Coach Clawson is trying to make football really big at Wake, and you can see the community is really behind him. He’s working to make Wake a powerhouse football program, Powell said. “You can see that with the indoor and the upcoming football complex. The program is rising. Wake is on the rise, and I guarantee there’s going to be a bright future.”
Much like ping pong last weekend in Winston-Salem, Powell said he wants Wake fans to know he’s a winner at everything he sets his mind to accomplish.
“I want Wake Forest fans to know they’re getting a great kid, on and off the field. They’re getting a hard worker. I want Wake Forest fans to know that I’ll work to turn this program into something it’s never been before,” Powell said. “I’m mobile, can throw at all angles, can make all the throws. I have good feet, good pocket awareness. With my size, I often get comparisons to Drew Brees in the way I play.”