GBI reported today that Jaycen Taylor had a second knee surgery in April to get his healing back on track following a torn ACL last fall. I'm glad to hear he's more positive about what's going on because he wasn't jumping for joy at the spring game.
I had the chance to talk to him a bit during community day, and he was apprehensive, to say the least, at that point. And from what I hear, he's a guy who's always positive...and we already know that he's tough as nails.
I wish he could be afforded another redshirt, but this is his last season as a Purdue football player, I believe because of JuCo rules. And while Taylor seems more positive in his outlook, I am not. Not because I doubt him in any way, but because it's just so difficult to gain confidence in a surgically-repaired knee that quickly.
Case in point- Ralph Bolden. Last season when we saw him play, he looked like he wasn't that quick and ran without attacking. Granted, he was a Freshman and Taylor's got a lot of experience. But, if you saw Bolden in the spring, you can see the difference- his first step is resolute, he's attacking holes and looks like the guy that Purdue recruited.
The good news is with ATM, Halliburton and Bolden in front of him, perhaps Taylor can take his time getting back into the rotation. Maybe he can play a third of the downs, or less in the first 3 games or so until he gets up to speed. Regardless of how much is asked for him, it'll be a boost to his fellow RBs to have him daily in practice and it will help the entire team to have his outlook and personality on the road. 100% or not, I'm looking forward to Taylor back in uniform...hopefully he doesn't rush himself into action like he did (successfully, mind you) with a broken arm two seasons ago.