This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 4-star WR commit Talyn Taylor. He ranks as the nation’s No. 9 WR and the No. 64 overall prospect for 2025 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 8 WR and at No. 48 overall.
Talyn Taylor is rated as as the nation’s No. 8 and No. 9 wideout on the two largest national recruiting ranking services.
The Illinois native is a top 50 prospect for On3 and No. 64 overall on the 247Sports Composite. Rivals just updated his ranking to the No. 6 WR to No. 37 overall.
It has been minute since UGA signed a receiver prospect with rankings that high.
The last time came with Marcus Rosemy-Jackson and Arian Smith in 2020. Rosemy-Jacksaint was at No. 8 and No. 55 overall. Smith was regarded as the No. 9 WR and No. 58 overall.
Prior to that, the mercurial George Pickens was on the only WR rated significantly higher than that. The former 5-star slotted in as the No. 4 WR and No. 24 overall in 2019.
There’s a handful of names of that same stock going back 10 years prior to that, but that requires bringing in a pair of prospects rated as 5-star athletes in Mecole Hardman in 2016 and Terry Godwin in 2015.
Rankings are pretty sporty. Word of mouth is better. There has been plenty of buzz about Taylor since he worked out at UGA at the late July cookout with his peer 2025 commits.
“He’s pretty nice,” recent 4-star CB commitment Jontae Gilbert said. “He did some impressive things I’d never seen anybody do on a field before. It was good. Like catching over dudes. That was crazy.”
Then there was his sudden movements skills.
“It was like he just pulls out a 4.3 or a 4.2 [in the 40] on you,” Gilbert said.
Taylor is not that fast, but it seemed like it to another future Dawg cornerback in that workout.
“He’s a really good player, too,” 4-star CB commit Shamari Earls said. “I talked to him a bit, too. He’s really good. He’s a really good kid also. I followed him online and found his ranking. He’s a really underrated guy. I saw that he was a really good pickup for us. Really good.”
Underrated? After all this discussion about how highly is already ranked?
Earls believes so.
“Guarding him was tough,” Earls said. “He didn’t catch a ball on me, but there was one route he ran where he found a way to just turn his speed on. He’s just gliding and he finds another gear and it turns on instantly. I mean it really turns on.”
Earlso also saw him catch a few jump balls on other defenders.
“The kid is really athletic,” Earls said.
Check out Taylor’s junior film below.
Taylor was limited to seven games last fall to injury but had 32 catches for 512 yards (16 ypc) and six touchdowns. He tacked on another 745 yards and eight scores in 2022.
“People watch my film and would say that I play with a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “People say that I have very good ball skills. Like catching the ball. People say that a lot. They like my route running and they can see how fast I am on film.”
Smooth. Explosive. Those are the two words that best describe his game.
That’s a quick lap around some of the football stuff here, but there’s a lot more to unpack.
“I’m going to brag about him here,” his mother Venus Taylor said. “I know everybody does about their kids, but I’ve been blessed with an amazing son and I think the best part about it is he’s a great person. Naturally. Like I don’t have to teach Talyn how to be a great person. He just naturally is and I think that’s what I love about him and what impresses me.”
Tayln Taylor: The reason why he burns to be great
Let’s look at that first name first. His mother’s name is Venus.
“My mom gave me that name,” Talyn Taylor said.
“The biggest thing is I knew I wanted him to have a ‘T’ name and it is kind of funny that his last name starts with Taylor as well,” his mother Venus Taylor said. “So ‘talent’ kind of runs with it. But it just was one of those things where I was thinking of a unique name because obviously I have one, too. My Dad gave me my name and it meant a lot to me to have a unique name so I wanted him to have a unique name.”
“But it was just a strong name and when he came out I was like ‘this is who he is’ and it was pretty cool that it ended up going with ‘talent’ as well.”
It even brings up the image of an eagle’s talon.
“I thought about that, too,” his mother said. “I wanted him to have a really strong name that suited him.”
A bird of prey snatches things with its talons. Taylor snatches footballs and turns them into big plays. It fits. Especially while seeing those rankings and hearing the scouting reports of his future teammates.
DawgNation has learned the Georgia staff has been impressed by what they have seen in Taylor. He has true No. 1 ability for any school in the SEC.
And it does seem like a long time since the Dawgs have signed a talent quite like that.
The athletic DNA is another interesting facet to his story. Foot speed and athleticism runs in his family. Venus was a softball standout. She played in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League from 1997-2005 and was a three-time All-Star at that level.
She’s in the Western Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame after being a 4-time All-Conference pick and earning the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year in 1997. She set single-season marks for hits (68), runs (50) and stolen bases (42) for that program.
Since her playing days, she’s been an active coach at the collegiate and private level. She’s been the head coach at North Central College (NCAA Division III) in Illinois since 2021.
Taylor was also the head coach at Charleston Southern, Judson University and Bradley University. She was aan assistant at Georgia Tech in 2003. Prior to that, she led Lake City Community College in Florida to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Championship in 2001.
The fact his mother was a standout college athlete turned coach has aided Talyn’s career.
“She knows,” he said. “She’s been there. She’s been the athlete. She’s been to college. She’s been to the pros. To me, she knows everything. She’s knows the way.”
“She just wants to make everything right for me. Carve me the right way. To just know that, if I’m ever feeling down or if that was to ever happen, she will be there for me. She will know what to do in that situation and to know how to deal with it.”
His mother was a shortstop and a centerfielder. She hit at the top of the order. Venus said she’s never had to rev Talyn up to work. Or to go compete. It’s just in his blood.
“I’ve really try to drive this in oh him,” she said. “I’m like ‘Your talent is God’s gift to you but you do with it is your gift back to God’ and I’ve talked to him about that a lot.”
Taylor plays the game for a lot of reasons, including to one day retire his mother.
“My mom has worked very hard for me,” he said. “She’s sacrificed a lot for me in my lifetime and I want to give back to her by doing everything I can.”
She’s raised him his entire life.
“I play this game for my Mom really,” he said. “I play this game because I love it. I play this game because I want to succeed in it and I want to do great in it. That’s why I play.”
Why did Tayln Taylor choose to be a Dawg?
Taylor committed to UGA on June 11 soon after his official visit. While that was the official finish line, the truth is that he’d been leaning to UGA for some time.
“I definitely liked Georgia from the get-go,” he said. “I visited there like, what, seven times? I would say Georgia was the team to beat going into that official visit. There were some great schools, too. Like Ohio State. Notre Dame. Michigan. UCLA. There were some other great schools too, but I would say Georgia was the team to beat going in.”
It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment choice off the highs of a great official.
“I was just talking to my Mom and thinking Georgia was the right place for me and I really wanted to be there after that official,” he said. “Just talking with coach [Kirby] Smart, coach [James] Coley, coach [Mike] Bobo and with other players. It just felt right.”
“I talked to my Mom a couple a days after. We made the call and we committed.”
He’s still being recruited by other schools, but Georgia is quite solid at this time. That traces to the biggest reason why he chose the Dawgs.
“Definitely the development part,” Taylor said. “That was it for me. I want to develop into a great person and a great player and all that. Another reason is I want to win national championships. I want to play with the best. In order to be the best, you have got to play with the best. You have got to challenge yourself every day. You have got to be with the right people. You have got to be with the right coaches and the right culture.”
“The standard there is great. You get held to a great standard there. They want you at their best the entire time on and off the field.”
He also knows he’ll likely go to work every practice against multiple future first-round corners at UGA.
“That’s definitely played a big part in my decision, too,” he said. “Knowing that they have one of the best defenses in the whole country.”
Taylor wasn’t concerned about Georgia throwing the ball despite the negative recruiting he might have heard about the offensive philosophy.
“Definitely because the offense caters around the players,” he said. “It caters around their skill sets. When I was in the offensive meetings on the official visit, they throw the ball. They realy throw the ball. I was watching their spring practice and they will be throwing the ball deep, too. People might just think they are a running team or they throw it to the tight end but don’t use their receivers. They really do.”
“It is just their offense caters around the whole offense and not just singular players.”
The relationship with receivers coach James Coley mattered here.
“Coach Coley definitely believed in me a lot,” Talyn Taylor said. “When I met him, he had seen my film and he definitely believes in me and wants to coach me and Coach Smart definitely believed in me from the get go. After he saw me from the first time and the last time at this cookout, he’s wanted me on his team and he’s believed in me and wants me there and has me as a priority.”
That’s why Venus feels so good about her son’s choice to be a Dawg.
“I see my son is very comfortable there and confident there and ready to thrive,” she said. “... He looks like he belongs there and I think that goes to show for how the coaches and the people there have made him feel while he’s there.”
Tayln Taylor: Rounding out his introduction to DawgNation
Everyone calls him “T” and that includes his mother.
He said he has shut down his recruiting. His final three included Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Buckeyes are still trying to wedge that door open, but he’s kept it closed.
“I don’t see myself taking any other visits to other schools,” he said.
Taylor plans to graduate in December and enroll in January. There will likely be a decision to make about whether he will report to the team and practice in December during the college football playoffs.
That’s a decision a lot of All-Americans will have to make. Taylor is committed to the All-American Bowl in San Antonio. The new playoff format will make it hard for him to do both even if that’s something he’s always dreamed of doing.
He’s likely a shade below the 6-foot-2 mark and weighs about 180 pounds. He’s put on about 5-10 pounds since last fall. Taylor feels he can play all over the scheme.
“I play everywhere around,” Talyn said. “I play the X,Y,Z and F. All that.”
What is the best spot?
“I would say on the outside for sure,” he said. “I can definitely beat people on the deep ball. I can definitely run good routes. Short routes, too. I would definitely line me up on the outside for sure but I can definitely run some inside routes, too.”
His favorite route is the post corner.
“I would say like a post like I’m running to the post like I’m faking the post and I convert it into a corner,” he said. “My second go-to route is the fade, of course. Then my favorite after that is a post on the outside.”
It is always promising to hear a prospect answer that question in that way. It shows an appreciation to the craft.
“I really like running routes,” Taylor said.
He liked that “gliding” and “sneaky” assessment that Earls and Gibson shared about his game.
“You have got to watch me at all times,” he said. “Or I am going to slip past you if you don’t.”
Taylor also said his future is in great hands with the arms he saw at the summer cookout. He got to see how well 4-star 2025 commitment Ryan Montgomery and 2026 5-star commit Jared Curtis can both spin it.
Taylor is excited about playing with them.
“I definitely see greatness out of both of them,” Taylor said. “I still have to get to know them both as a person which I will for sure. We’ll get that bond growing and we’ll build it stronger. But I definitely see they are going to be great. They’re great players right now and as we get older we’ll get better and we’re going to get smarter.”
Taylor can play. He’ll make an early impact in Athens because he’s driven to go along with that. The Dawgs will also be losing a slew of receivers off the 2024 roster.
What else does he want DawgNation to know about him?
“I work hard,” he said. “I would say I’m a good person. I treat people nice. I do what you ask of me, too. Shoot, I try to make people’s day when I’m around them.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
