Chase Taylor, Wolverine

 

Chase Taylor (image via On3)

Stockbridge (GA) Stockbridge linebacker Chase Taylor committed to Michigan on Monday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Tennessee, and USC, among others.

Taylor is listed at 6'3" and 201 lbs. As a junior in 2023, he made 73 tackles, 6 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #19 LB
On3: 3-star, 88 grade, #98 LB
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 86 grade, #105 LB

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan's "in" with Taylor came because of new (old) linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, who was recruiting Taylor to Tennessee early on. When Jean-Mary was hired by Sherrone Moore to replace Chris Partridge (well, Rick Minter since Partridge had already been fired), an offer went out to Taylor. Things seemed to be trending well for Michigan, and when Taylor visited Ann Arbor last weekend, that was enough to seal the deal.

Taylor is a long, athletic linebacker prospect who is used in a variety of ways for Stockbridge (side note: Stockbridge's defensive coaches have some very interesting defensive personnel packages). He plays out in the slot sometimes, sometimes he's the lone inside linebacker, and sometimes he's used as a blitzer. When he decides to go, he goes; his long strides help him cover a lot of ground in a short time, so he can chase down plays from behind and bear down on quarterbacks quickly.

If Chase Taylor were a movie scene, it would be when Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) is getting chased by the T-Rex in Jurassic Park and there's the shot of the side view mirror where it says OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR and you just see the jaws of the T-Rex snapping.

But much like the T-Rex in the movie, Taylor seems to have a hard time finishing the job. He doesn't always wrap up and ends up hanging on to ankles until the cavalry comes. Sometimes the whistle just blows before Taylor can really muscle ball carriers to the ground. Because of his height and length, Taylor has yet to really figure out how to consistently use leverage to his advantage. I think Taylor is also held back somewhat by playing so many different roles for his high school team, because he doesn't really seem to hone in on a stance, taking read steps, etc. He's a good athlete out there making plays, and sometimes that's good enough.

Overall, Taylor is an interesting chess piece. He's probably too small to be an edge rusher, too slow to be a safety, and too lean right now to be an inside linebacker. I imagine he'll end up as an inside linebacker eventually, once he's able to put on about 30 pounds. How quickly that goes depends on genetics, how well he eats, and how hard he works in the weight room. I like his upside as a potential special teams player, because that type of length and speed can be useful on almost any unit other than extra point/field goal units.

Taylor is the first linebacker in the class of 2025 to commit. The last time Michigan landed a player from Georgia when was in 2023 when offensive guard Nathan Efobi and running back Benjamin Hall both signed from the Peach State. Taylor would be the first Stockbridge product to suit up for the Wolverines.

TTB Rating: 69