McKenzie athlete Marquez Taylor continues to impress

McKenzie, Tennessee athlete Marquez Taylor had seen the Tennessee campus before has he came over for the Orange and White game back in April, but this time it was different. In town for a recent camp, Taylor got plenty of one on one time with the staff and got the full Rocky Top experience with tours and photo shoots.

"I really enjoyed that part," Taylor said. "That's something I wasn't able to do back earlier and I got to see all the stuff I wanted to see. It was a fun day."

A member of the 2023 class, Taylor continues to gain traction on the recruiting trail at schools like Ole Miss, Virginia Tech and others. The offer from Tennessee was one that gave him confidence and left and impression.

“This is a dream, my whole life. Tennessee, I grew up here, so I just like it," Taylor said. "I just like it because it’s close to home, and I just like it down here.”

Tennessee worked him at a few different positions during their camp session while Taylor was in town. They worked him at running back, wide receiver and defensive back, and he said he received positive feedback from Tennessee’s staff about his performance.

“I did better than the other camp I had,” Taylor said about his to his trip to Virginia Tech earlier in June. “I came down here and showed out. They worked me everywhere. They said I’m the size of a DB. But I’m an offensive player, so I like scoring. The DB spot, I like it, but I don’t think that’s the fit for me.”

He spent most of the early camp session with running backs coach Jerry Mack and worked with wide receivers coach Kodi Burns, who’s serving as Taylor’s area recruiter for the Vols near the end of the camp. Knowing Burns more gave him a better feel for the first year Vol assistant.

“He just talks to me, just helps me out a lot,” Taylor said of Burns, “and (was) just showing me routes to do, showing me where my footwork’s supposed to be.”

Burns has worked Taylor hard over the last couple of months and that has paid off.

“He just started a conversation with me,” Taylor said of Heupel. “I just like when people talk to me. I just like that.”

Taylor said he expects to return to Rocky Top later this year to see one of the Vols’ home games.

“I’ll be back probably in the fall, when the season starts,” he said.