The great thing about today’s NFL is it’s becoming more diverse. While the vast majority of talent still comes from hot spots across the United States, more and more players of international origin are starting to pop up. One country that gets more involved every year is Austrailia. The Chicago Bears dipped into that talent pool this past April when they selected Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the 4th round. Though he is already 26, the team felt he was such a unique talent that they couldn’t ignore the opportunity.
Taylor’s journey to the NFL was a strange one. He spent all of his teen years utterly unaware of American football. It wasn’t until he joined some kicking camps that scouts noticed his natural punting skill. Iowa got wind of him first and made sure to bring him in. They figured it would take him some time to get acclimated to the job, as with most young players. They had no idea what was coming. He made that clear at his very first practice, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune.
As soon as he got to the States, when he got to Iowa City, he slept right away because it was a 26-hour trip. And then the first time I got a chance to see him during the daylight in Iowa City, he wanted to go straight to the field and start punting balls. We let him do some work. It was funny, that day, my assistant at the time, who is now a high school coach in Chicago at St. Rita, we were watching. We let Tory just start punting balls.
He would punt one way up in the air, and it would hit at the 5-yard line and roll out at the 1. The next one, he would punt the ball out of bounds at the 1-yard line. The next one, he would accidentally hit the pylon. It was insane. He kept asking me, “Is this good? Is this good? Is this good?” I was like, “This is not good. This is great.” Kind of funny.
Keep this in mind. A veteran punter is lucky to drop a punt inside the five-yard line, maybe four or five times a season. Taylor did it three times during his first practice in college. This was before he had a true mastery of the position that came a few years later. Once he married a booming leg to his obvious accuracy, Iowa was able to win games thanks to his kicking alone. Go back and look at how many defensive battles they won. They were 4-4 in games they scored 15 points or fewer. A huge part of that was due to field position advantages, thanks to Taylor.
Caleb Williams may not like the idea of punting at all, but facts are facts. The position is necessary to team success. Nobody cares about punters until you need a good one. Chicago hasn’t had one for a while. Tory Taylor is by far the most talented they’ve employed in years. He should be an immediate asset to Matt Eberflus’ defense, giving them great field position to hold down opposing offenses. Nobody will ever remember the cost to get him if that comes to pass.
