Dabo Swinney on Will Taylor leaving Clemson football — and what it means for scholarship count
Cameron: Will Taylor’s athletic career has been unique, to say the least. He came to Clemson football as a three-star quarterback out of Dutch Fork High School in Irmo in the class of 2021. He tore his ACL his freshman year and missed much of the season. In 2022, he transitioned to wide receiver.
All the while, he was spending his spring semesters playing in the outfield for Clemson baseball.
On July 12, just before the start of his junior year, Taylor announced he would be leaving the football team to focus on his baseball career. He finished his time as a football tiger with 22 yards on seven receptions in 15 games. With Clemson’s conference football title in 2022 and baseball title this year, Taylor became the first Clemson athlete to play on an ACC championship baseball and football team since Rusty Charpia in 1988-89.
At Clemson football’s preseason media day Tuesday, coach Dabo Swinney and wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham said they weren’t surprised by Taylor’s decision. Grisham noted that, with his position change and injuries, Taylor had been severely limited.
“There’s a lot of things that really put him behind in football,” Grisham said. “We’re definitely going to miss him, but I told him this: I’m pumped for him. He made a decision. That’s a big deal as a young man—those life decisions that alter your life. I know that he’s going to be 100 percent in whatever he does, and I expect him to have a phenomenal year, get drafted high and have a great baseball career.”
Swinney said he knew Taylor’s long-term goal was to go pro in baseball. He was a projected first-round MLB Draft selection in 2021. With 2023–24 being his third year of college, Taylor will be eligible for the 2024 MLB Draft. [The move to focus exclusively on baseball made sense at this point in his career.]
“I really felt like baseball was what he needed to concentrate on this fall,” Swinney said. “I love that kid. Hopefully he’ll just come over here and sit around and hang out with us, because he’s just one of those guys you just love being around.
“Not many guys have the ability to play one sport, much less two… He was on his way to becoming a real factor for us (in 2021) and got hurt. He missed all of the spring, missed all of the summer, and then came in last year and toward the end of last year, he was starting to hit his stride a little bit. But it’s just kind of where he’s at. He’s had an amazing experience here at Clemson. It’s what he wanted.”
Taylor’s departure also opened up a scholarship spot for Clemson. The Tigers had been over the 85-man limit in the spring, and Swinney had previously said he would have to take away the scholarships of some former walk-ons if the Tigers couldn’t get down to 85. On Tuesday, he said they were at 84 after Taylor’s announcement. Swinney indicated the one remaining scholarship will go to whoever wins the long snapper job, either Philip Florenzo or Holden Caspersen.
