Clemson QB signee Will Taylor has big decision to make as rising MLB prospect

Taylor will play both sports if he attends Clemson.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Apr 27 08:01:03 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson signee Will Taylor is in a text group with fellow 2021 quarterbacks Bubba Chandler and Billy Wiles, but while it’s certain that Wiles will move in to his dorm room on campus in late June, Taylor and Chandler both have bigger decisions to make.

Taylor is a two-sport athlete out of Irmo (SC) Dutch Fork who has signed to play both baseball and football for the Tigers. Dabo Swinney wants Taylor to play quarterback this season and then hopefully move to wide receiver down the road. Taylor is also an exceptional outfielder who has moved up the Major League Baseball draft charts, with an ESPN projection seeing him drafted as high as No. 19 in the first round of the July draft.

Chandler has to make the same decision, with the Tigers needing both to add quarterback depth this season after the loss of backup Taisun Phommachanh (Achilles). Without Chandler and Taylor, the Tigers will have to rely on Wiles, a preferred walk-on, and walk-on veteran Hunter Helms.

Dutch Fork is currently wrapping up region play.

“It's going well. We've had a good season as a team,” Taylor told TigerNet. “So we're coming off a bye week and these next two weeks, we're finishing up region play and kind of wrapping up the end of our season and then right before the playoffs. So we're playing good as a team and should have a fun trip in the playoffs together.”

Plenty of Major League scouts are turning up to watch Taylor play, but he isn’t feeling the pressure.

“They have been there pretty much all season,” Taylor said. “There have been 10-12 or more and some of the bigger eyes coming now. So yeah, it's kind of fun, but there's no pressure. Just go out there and play my game and have fun.”

Taylor said he talks with Chandler a couple of times a week.

“We keep up with each other a couple of times a week. Just kind of talk about it, not too much about it, but it's just kind of have some fun conversations with each other about what's going on,” he said. “And we have a little group chat with me and Bubba and Billy Wiles so we kind of keep up with each other throughout the week and stuff like that.”

He hopes to have a better idea of his decision once the spring baseball season concludes.

“Hopefully after this spring, after we finish up our season, I'll have a little more of an idea on what it's going to look like,” Taylor said. “But as far as what the Major League teams are thinking, I don't know if I'll know any of that until closer to the draft. So it could be a couple weeks, or it could be the day until the draft, so I don't know what that'll look like.”

What keeps Clemson in the running?

“Just the opportunity to play both at such a special school, a true college town, full of great people, great coaches, and not many people get the opportunity to play both sports,” Taylor said. “And I love both sports so much that I decided to play both. And coach Swinney and coach Lee gave me the opportunity to play both. So it's going to be really hard to turn that down, but we'll see what ends up happening.

“You can't go wrong either way. So, for me, it's really, it's no pressure in going one way or the other, because they're both great options. So, for me, there's no pressure. Just go out there and have fun and compete every game.”

He said he keeps in constant contact with the Clemson coaches, and as of right now his plan is to move into his dorm on June 24th.

“We talk a couple times a week, but they are just kind of keeping me updated on what's going on with them right now,” Taylor said. “And we don't really talk a whole lot about the draft, or anything like that. But as of right now, I'm going to Clemson and preparing for this summer, and work hard on and off the field, football field. So just preparing for that right now. And if that plan changes, then it changes. But as right now, I'm getting ready for football.”