Texas A&M Football
* Been pulling for the Kevin Sumlin hire for a couple of years. Coach Sumlin is very cerebral when it comes to the game of football. Played under him for about a year when he came in for Larry Kirksey. After he came in as the offensive coordinator at A&M, Sumlin led the offense to scoring more than 30 points in each of the next five games. You look at his history … he’s been a player and has been in the same seat that the players were in, which helps in his leadership abilities. He definitely knows a lot about the game. With Sumlin, his reputation as a recruiter is huge. One thing that is overlooked sometimes is his ability to sit down with the family of a recruit and convince them why Texas A&M is the best place to be.
* On an individual basis, Sumlin helped him to really learn the game more. Sumlin always had a smile on his face. You never went into a meeting room terrified about a mistake you made, because Sumlin would turn that mistake into something to learn from. He demanded a lot from his players, but it was only to make you better. When he took over the offensive coordinator position, the team lit up. They knew exactly what was going to happen and how the offense was going to be run.
* Been so lucky to have played under fantastic coaches, including Urban Meyer at Notre Dame. Meyer is a very cerebral guy as well. Meyer and Sumlin are two completely different guys. Sumlin is a little calmer and Meyer is not so calm. Definitely thought Meyer was on the fast track to becoming a great head coach. He was able to go down to McAllen, Texas and get a Texas boy to go all the way up to Notre Dame. He definitely is a great recruiter and has a great reputation among athletes.
* Unbelievably happy with the decision to transfer from Notre Dame to A&M. There was no other place for him. After he told R.C. Slocum that he was going to Notre Dame, Slocum replied with, “Well, we’ll be waiting for you when you come back.” Coming from The Valley, which isn’t recruited much, he didn’t have a high school coach to help him go through the process and decided to go with to school with the most exposure. He didn’t really look in-depth initially at what he was getting involved with at Notre Dame. Leaving Notre Dame for A&M was a big turnaround. At the time, A&M had 45,000 students while Notre Dame only had 10,000, so he felt like he was at a huge school when he got to A&M.
* Was able to help his brother, Earvin, through the recruiting process after already having gone through it himself. Proximity to his family was a huge thing, and at Notre Dame, it was a financial crunch to get the family up to Indiana. He told his brother to go with his heart more than anything. Also, he reminded him that he was there to support him if he was at A&M.
* His mom is still a huge Aggie to this day. All you have to do is open her closet and you’ll see a sea of maroon.
* His son, Brandon Taylor (around 10-years-old), is a very natural athlete. He’s out in the Coppell School District of Dallas right now. He really wants to be an Aggie but was talking a little about LSU the other day, too. Might need to get Sumlin started on him hard right now. All of his old pictures have him with the Gig ‘Em sign but he is starting to get older and see other guys on television.
* Thinks the SEC move separates A&M from the rest of the state of Texas. When you talk about big-time football, you talk about the SEC. The Big 12 is very competitive, but the SEC is the upper-echelon. Thinks it’s going to do wonders for A&M in recruiting and that A&M will fit in fine culturally.
* Definitely still feels connected to the New York Giants. A lot of people give Tom Coughlin grief about his discipline, but he is a very fair coach. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels and you aren’t going to have any surprises when dealing with him. Predicting the Giants to win the Super Bowl on Sunday. If anyone needed Peyton Manning to sit out a year, it was his brother, Eli, in order to get out of Peyton's shadow. Eli has done a great job this year. He has a huge arm, like no one else he has ever seen.
* Two lasting memories from his time at A&M: R.C. Slocum bringing him back and allowing him the opportunity to get on the field after picking Notre Dame first was huge. Secondly, the Red, White and Blue Out game will always be remembered. He scored his first touchdown in that game and it was a true testament to Aggie spirit and Aggie heart.
Jamaar Taylor talks Sumlin, Super Bowl & SEC football
Notes from Jamaar Taylor Interview
* Now living down in McAllen, Texas after getting away from football for a while. Coached high school football for a while and is now working for his fiancé’s company and is taking the entrepreneurship route.* Been pulling for the Kevin Sumlin hire for a couple of years. Coach Sumlin is very cerebral when it comes to the game of football. Played under him for about a year when he came in for Larry Kirksey. After he came in as the offensive coordinator at A&M, Sumlin led the offense to scoring more than 30 points in each of the next five games. You look at his history … he’s been a player and has been in the same seat that the players were in, which helps in his leadership abilities. He definitely knows a lot about the game. With Sumlin, his reputation as a recruiter is huge. One thing that is overlooked sometimes is his ability to sit down with the family of a recruit and convince them why Texas A&M is the best place to be.
* On an individual basis, Sumlin helped him to really learn the game more. Sumlin always had a smile on his face. You never went into a meeting room terrified about a mistake you made, because Sumlin would turn that mistake into something to learn from. He demanded a lot from his players, but it was only to make you better. When he took over the offensive coordinator position, the team lit up. They knew exactly what was going to happen and how the offense was going to be run.
* Been so lucky to have played under fantastic coaches, including Urban Meyer at Notre Dame. Meyer is a very cerebral guy as well. Meyer and Sumlin are two completely different guys. Sumlin is a little calmer and Meyer is not so calm. Definitely thought Meyer was on the fast track to becoming a great head coach. He was able to go down to McAllen, Texas and get a Texas boy to go all the way up to Notre Dame. He definitely is a great recruiter and has a great reputation among athletes.
* Unbelievably happy with the decision to transfer from Notre Dame to A&M. There was no other place for him. After he told R.C. Slocum that he was going to Notre Dame, Slocum replied with, “Well, we’ll be waiting for you when you come back.” Coming from The Valley, which isn’t recruited much, he didn’t have a high school coach to help him go through the process and decided to go with to school with the most exposure. He didn’t really look in-depth initially at what he was getting involved with at Notre Dame. Leaving Notre Dame for A&M was a big turnaround. At the time, A&M had 45,000 students while Notre Dame only had 10,000, so he felt like he was at a huge school when he got to A&M.
* Was able to help his brother, Earvin, through the recruiting process after already having gone through it himself. Proximity to his family was a huge thing, and at Notre Dame, it was a financial crunch to get the family up to Indiana. He told his brother to go with his heart more than anything. Also, he reminded him that he was there to support him if he was at A&M.
* His mom is still a huge Aggie to this day. All you have to do is open her closet and you’ll see a sea of maroon.
* His son, Brandon Taylor (around 10-years-old), is a very natural athlete. He’s out in the Coppell School District of Dallas right now. He really wants to be an Aggie but was talking a little about LSU the other day, too. Might need to get Sumlin started on him hard right now. All of his old pictures have him with the Gig ‘Em sign but he is starting to get older and see other guys on television.
* Thinks the SEC move separates A&M from the rest of the state of Texas. When you talk about big-time football, you talk about the SEC. The Big 12 is very competitive, but the SEC is the upper-echelon. Thinks it’s going to do wonders for A&M in recruiting and that A&M will fit in fine culturally.
* Definitely still feels connected to the New York Giants. A lot of people give Tom Coughlin grief about his discipline, but he is a very fair coach. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels and you aren’t going to have any surprises when dealing with him. Predicting the Giants to win the Super Bowl on Sunday. If anyone needed Peyton Manning to sit out a year, it was his brother, Eli, in order to get out of Peyton's shadow. Eli has done a great job this year. He has a huge arm, like no one else he has ever seen.
* Two lasting memories from his time at A&M: R.C. Slocum bringing him back and allowing him the opportunity to get on the field after picking Notre Dame first was huge. Secondly, the Red, White and Blue Out game will always be remembered. He scored his first touchdown in that game and it was a true testament to Aggie spirit and Aggie heart.
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