Moby Madden
I started this journey as a high school senior. The coach gave me one last inspirational speech before it was time to show what I could do. I went through several passing drills. Kicked ass on almost all of them.
I was offered scholarships at some of the biggest football schools in the nation. Tennessee, Michigan, etc... I turned them all down to attend the greatest college of all time. Michigan State University. I joined the school as a walk on and battled for the starting job my freshman year.
Freshman year:
I had a pretty good season throwing for 31 TD's to 12 Int's. My overall QB rating was 109.6 with 3661 yards passing on 310 attempts. I completed 153 of them for a completion percentage of 49.4. with an average of almost 24 yards per completion. Not outstanding, but good enough to make a BCS bowl game. No Heisman though.
Sophomore year:
Sophomore year is when I really started to catch the media's attention. That year I threw for 5054 yards with 77 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. This was on 387 attempts of which 191 were completed. That's an average of more than 26 yards per completion. Not bad. Not bad at all. I was the leading candidate in the Heisman race after an undefeated regular season. Alas it was not to be. I lost out to Iowa's QB. Now that was a bunch of crap, but I figured it was that another year 49.4% completions weren't impressing the Heisman folks. Final QB rating 113.3 which was better, but still not good enough.
Junior year:
My junior year. This was my year to bask in the media spotlight that was upon me. I did just that. I went through another undefeated regular season kicking ass and taking names. This year I went 205 for 331 for a completion percentage of 61.9%. Now we're talking! I passed for 4567 yards with 63 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions. While my yards per completion went down some to a little over 22 yards each, my rating was it's highest ever topping out at 134.0. On the eve of the Heisman announcement I was nervous. Would I win? Would I get snubbed again? Needless to say I steamrolled the competition. Mike Taylor has won his Heisman. He has captured his white whale and all was right in the world. The 2nd consecutive National Championship was almost anti-climatic.
Senior year:
This was a tough decision. Not just for Mike Taylor superstar MSU QB but also for Mike Taylor the guy behind the controller. I agonized over whether to bring me back to school or proceed to the glory of the pro stage. In the end, I entered the draft early. I felt like a traitor to my school, but there was no going back. I (the guy behind the controller) even had to rationalize the decision by telling myself that I (MSU QB) had graduated early with his degree. This helped, but to this day I still feel guilty about not going back for my senior year. I had my back to back national championships and Heisman trophy, what more had I to prove at the college level? I'm no Matt Leinart taking one class just to play another year of college ball and bang college girls. No, I had proved myself as a legitimate college superstar and it was time to move on.
The draft:
This was the big day. Draft day was approaching a light speed. Who would I go to? I want the Lions but alas it was not to be. I was drafted in second round by the Dallas Cowboys. My agent negotiated a two year contract worth $9.4 million of which $2.1 was granted as a signing bonus. I had arrived. My salary that year was $2.12 million with the remaining $5.18 for next year. Sold! I moved into my Dallas apartment that week. I even got a phone call from former Broncos running back Terrell Davis. Thanks TD!
Spring training:
This was no contest. Mike Taylor, young phenom from college, Heisman winner and National Champion against aging veteran Drew Bledsoe? He didn't have a chance.
I was offered scholarships at some of the biggest football schools in the nation. Tennessee, Michigan, etc... I turned them all down to attend the greatest college of all time. Michigan State University. I joined the school as a walk on and battled for the starting job my freshman year.
Freshman year:
I had a pretty good season throwing for 31 TD's to 12 Int's. My overall QB rating was 109.6 with 3661 yards passing on 310 attempts. I completed 153 of them for a completion percentage of 49.4. with an average of almost 24 yards per completion. Not outstanding, but good enough to make a BCS bowl game. No Heisman though.
Sophomore year:
Sophomore year is when I really started to catch the media's attention. That year I threw for 5054 yards with 77 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. This was on 387 attempts of which 191 were completed. That's an average of more than 26 yards per completion. Not bad. Not bad at all. I was the leading candidate in the Heisman race after an undefeated regular season. Alas it was not to be. I lost out to Iowa's QB. Now that was a bunch of crap, but I figured it was that another year 49.4% completions weren't impressing the Heisman folks. Final QB rating 113.3 which was better, but still not good enough.
Junior year:
My junior year. This was my year to bask in the media spotlight that was upon me. I did just that. I went through another undefeated regular season kicking ass and taking names. This year I went 205 for 331 for a completion percentage of 61.9%. Now we're talking! I passed for 4567 yards with 63 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions. While my yards per completion went down some to a little over 22 yards each, my rating was it's highest ever topping out at 134.0. On the eve of the Heisman announcement I was nervous. Would I win? Would I get snubbed again? Needless to say I steamrolled the competition. Mike Taylor has won his Heisman. He has captured his white whale and all was right in the world. The 2nd consecutive National Championship was almost anti-climatic.
Senior year:
This was a tough decision. Not just for Mike Taylor superstar MSU QB but also for Mike Taylor the guy behind the controller. I agonized over whether to bring me back to school or proceed to the glory of the pro stage. In the end, I entered the draft early. I felt like a traitor to my school, but there was no going back. I (the guy behind the controller) even had to rationalize the decision by telling myself that I (MSU QB) had graduated early with his degree. This helped, but to this day I still feel guilty about not going back for my senior year. I had my back to back national championships and Heisman trophy, what more had I to prove at the college level? I'm no Matt Leinart taking one class just to play another year of college ball and bang college girls. No, I had proved myself as a legitimate college superstar and it was time to move on.
The draft:
This was the big day. Draft day was approaching a light speed. Who would I go to? I want the Lions but alas it was not to be. I was drafted in second round by the Dallas Cowboys. My agent negotiated a two year contract worth $9.4 million of which $2.1 was granted as a signing bonus. I had arrived. My salary that year was $2.12 million with the remaining $5.18 for next year. Sold! I moved into my Dallas apartment that week. I even got a phone call from former Broncos running back Terrell Davis. Thanks TD!
Spring training:
This was no contest. Mike Taylor, young phenom from college, Heisman winner and National Champion against aging veteran Drew Bledsoe? He didn't have a chance.
posted by Mike at 6:14 PM
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