The 6’1, 205 pound linebacker out of Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia, previously committed to Tennessee, had felt that Gainesville was a far better fit for himself and his family. Even though Taylor had committed to Tennessee, he felt that he had not been receiving the same treatment as other recruits. He told Edward Aschoff of GatorSports.com that, “I loved everything about Florida. They offered me and I had to think about it, but I found a home.”

The four-star recruit received the offer a week ago with his mother on hand at a surprise visit. Once Taylor was offered the scholarship, his mother broke down in tears of happiness. Taylor immediately accepted the offer when his mother began to cry. He had never seen her cry as she did that day. Taylor closed the deal with a ‘Gator chomp’.

Taylor said that the surprise visit in early January helped influence his decommitment. Taylor had chosen to leave Tennessee even before Kiffin decided to depart for the University of Southern California. The linebacker had said, “Tennessee would always show other recruits more love and maybe that was because I kind of handed myself to Tennessee. Now, they’re really trying to come after me and come get me, but I’ve found a home. I just found a place that was better than Tennessee.”

Michael Taylor had always had his eye on the Gators, but he feared that Florida had too many players and not enough positions to fill. Once Taylor had read over the depth chart during his visit, he discovered that the University of Florida was the right place for him. Taylor had said, “I always felt like they were loaded and that they were a team that wasn’t in dire need for linebackers right away.”

Until the Under Armour All-America Game in early January, Taylor was overlooked. Taylor received the honor of co-MVP at the game. Many of the teams that had interest in Taylor earlier in the season, but had given up on him, were then back in the picture. Once the Gator recruiters got a hold of Taylor, he knew which collegiate town he could call home.

The four-star recruit with over 140 tackles and 7.5 sacks, along with 11 forced fumbles looks to have a great college career with the Gators. The linebacker has to fill some fairly large shoes as many Gator linebackers are departing for the NFL. Taylor looks to continue his successes with the Gator football program as he did in high school. He will be one recruit to watch in the upcoming seasons.

(Information collected by Rivals.com and Gatorsports.com)

By: Justin Rectenwald