J’Mari Taylor adding some pop to Virginia’s running game

By Jerry Ratcliffe

When Tony Elliott went shopping for a running back in the transfer portal during the offseason, he and staff viewed numerous possibilities on video until they landed on little-known J’Mari Taylor from tiny North Carolina Central University.

Taylor, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound tailback, had a highlight of eye-popping runs that Elliott and his Virginia coaching staff couldn’t ignore.

That was when the offseason portal opened, flooded with running backs. While Taylor impressed during the spring, he really blew the coaches away in August training camp when UVA running backs coach Keith Gaither said he believed Taylor was as good as any back in the ACC.

Outsiders may have scoffed at that analysis until they saw Taylor’s first two games this season when he rushed for five touchdowns, which made him one of only two players in the nation to hit paydirt that many times in two games this season. By the way, those five rushing TDs are more than any Virginia back had for the entire season in 2024.

Hard to believe that Taylor was once the ninth-team tailback as a walk-on at Central, especially after he finished his four-year career there with 2,070 yards, the bulk of which came last season (1,146 and 15 scores).

Elliott said that as names kept adding to the portal, seemingly every minute of every day, he and UVA’s scouts and recruiters poured over tons of video in search of a back who could help make a difference.

“What popped out is you saw some home-run ability on tape,” Elliott said. “Then, as you studied him more, you saw, man, not only can he hit the home run, he’s really good at eye-feet coordination.”

Turned out Taylor was the total package. Great outside speed, the toughness and eagerness to run between the tackles (Hall of Fame Virginia coach George Welsh never took favor to backs who couldn’t run between the tackles).

While UVA’s staff studied the NC Central tailback, once they brought him to Charlottesville for a visit, spent time with him, talked football with him, put him on the chalkboard, it was clear Taylor had a strong foundation. They liked his humbleness, his blue-collar style. Doesn’t say much, praises others and is eager to learn and fit in with teammates.

It’s not like Elliott didn’t have other options. Virginia brought in several running back candidates, some that are presently playing at other ACC schools. There was just something about Taylor that the staff gravitated toward.

“We just felt like with his skill set and his character and his personality, he was the best fit to start with,” said Elliott, who went on to further recruit the tailback position where the Cavaliers were thin. They brought in Wyoming’s Harrison Waylee late in the process and have been pleased with both, along with returning backs Xavier Brown and Noah Vaughn.

Taylor is loosey-goosey off the field, laid back with a sense of humor, saving the serious stuff for between the white lines.

Asked during game week before the season opener what he wanted UVA fans to take from watching him play for the first time, he didn’t hold back.

“What I want them to take away about my game is that I have fun, that it’s going to be a long year for our opponents and that I’m going to have many touchdowns,” Taylor said with a smile.

His mentality in the open field with just one defender in his way?

“Green grass … defender is a dead man,” Taylor chuckled. “My mentality is never let one man tackle you.”

He says his running style has been compared to some of the NFL’s best: Alvin Kamara (Saints), Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts). Like any successful running back, J’Mari Taylor praises his offensive line for clearing the way.

Virginia has been absent among the top half of the ACC’s running teams for years, particularly when it comes to running back production (quarterbacks have often been the Cavaliers leading rushers).

No longer.

While it’s only a small sample size, UVA ranks third in the 17-team league in rushing yardage (210.5 yards per game), behind only Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Certainly, Taylor is a big part of that success with 150 yards against NC State, 66 of those coming on a boltaway that put Virginia ahead late in the third quarter in a tight loss.

Much of his success stems from what Elliott earlier referred to as his eye-feet coordination.

“What that means,” Elliott explained in football terms, “is that he can see the cut, and then he knows when to tell his feet to do what they need to do to get to the cut. Like you see some backs, they have natural patience. He’s one that he doesn’t struggle with patience. He can find the cut.

“Then he understands situations, too. Like you saw, there was some short-yardage ones where he knew the situation, got down behind his pads, even though he’s right at 200 pounds, man, he’s down behind his pads, running through contact.”

The coach didn’t stop there, noting Taylor’s extreme patience on a screen pass, because he understood where his blocker was going to be. Some backs are only going to see the green grass ahead and are impatient, just accelerate and run themselves into a tackle.

Not Taylor. He sees the big picture and has the patience to wait for the block to set up.

No doubt Taylor will get a lot of attention in William & Mary’s defensive gameplan for Saturday’s contest. Not too shabby for a once-unheralded walk-on who was his team’s ninth-string running back. Talk about patience.