Junior kicker Wesley Taylor may need his own signal. Maybe like the one Gotham City uses for Batman when the city is in trouble.
Head coach Rubin Carter can even put it on the sideline for his convenience.
But the All-American kicker probably won’t fight any villains, and Tallahassee isn’t Gotham City.
In Florida A&M’s 25-22 overtime win over Tennessee State, Taylor put forth his best super hero impression.
He sent a 34-yard field goal through the uprights and saved the day once again. Taylor’s late game heroics earned him the Atlanta Football Classic’s Most Outstanding Player award.
Taylor nailed four of six field goal attempts – including kicks from the 47, 42, 36 and the game-winning 34-yarder.
Walk me through your mindset heading into that last kick.
When we went to overtime, I said a prayer that if it came down to me, I would make it. And that’s what happened.
You’ve been through situations like this before. Does it feel like a real Rattler win when it’s tight like this?
We’re Florida A&M University, so we play four quarters of football. You should never leave on us because we will fight until the end. And that’s what we had to do tonight to get the win.
How much do you think your teammates depend on you to be clutch?
My team always rallies around me. No matter what the situation is. They expect me to be clutch and that’s what I have to do.
You actually had an early fourth quarter miss that could have put the game out of reach. You got a little down on yourself. What did Coach Carter say to keep you motivated?
He pulled me to the side and said, “I’m going to keep sending you out there until you make it.” He wasn’t going to stop sending me out there. Some coaches, when you miss a field goal in a big game, they won’t let you kick anymore. Coach Carter had faith in me. He came and told me that he was going to keep sending me out there, “so you better make it.” That’s what it came down to.
How does it feel to know that people have that confidence in you?
It feels great. It feels good to know that my coach and my teammates are always going to have faith in me no matter what. That really feels good.