The Jackrabbits are a multiple formation team with weapons at the skill positions. They run anything they believe will beat the formation of opposing defenses.

“If you’re going to give us the run, we are going to run it,” Taylor said. “If you give us a pass, we will pass it. I like spread formations, spread sets where it’s open. We are good at run-pass-options. It’s just trying to piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle.”

Mesa had a 2,000-yard passer, 1,900-yard rusher and 800-yard receiver in the 2017 season. These players all finished among the best in the region and the state of Arizona.

Taylor is always pushing his players to make them better.

“He’s very competitive and always brings the best out of all of us,” senior running back Kris Jackson said of Taylor. “He wants us to be the best of the best.”

Taylor graduated from Mesa High in 2001. He was a high school football All-American his junior and senior years and participated in the first-ever U.S. Army All-American Bowl game.

UCLA, USC, Notre Dame and many other schools across the country presented an offer to Taylor. However, he was in love with UCLA from day one and dreamed of getting to California.

“I committed to UCLA, went there, got a great education, and played some great football,” Taylor said.

Taylor elected to redshirt his first year at UCLA in 2001. He eventually got on the field for the Bruins for the 2002 season.

On his first touch as a Bruin, Taylor scored on a 50-yard reverse play against Colorado State.

Taylor suffered an unfortunate knee injury against the Oklahoma Sooners in 2005 when he came down on one leg after catching a pass and a Sooner defender landed directly into Taylor’s left knee. He underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and missed the remainder of the season, according to uclabruins.com.

Taylor was placed on a medical redshirt for the rest of the season. He battled through the rehabilitation process, sometimes 12 hours a day, and came back strong for his senior season in 2006.

“That’s what taught me how to be a team player, and love your teammates and be supportive through thick and thin,” Taylor said. “It’s the same thing I tell these guys. It’s coming here at Mesa.”

The former Bruin played 45 games over five seasons at UCLA. He finished his collegiate career with 1,372 receiving yards, 116 rushing yards, and 10 total touchdowns, according to foxsports.com.

The wide receiver was set to go participate in the 2007 NFL Combine. But just less than a month before, Taylor went to the collegiate Senior Bowl showcase event.

In a 7-on-7 practice for the Senior Bowl, Taylor suffered his second knee injury. He went up to catch a ball and came down and the defender “dove head-first” into his right knee, tearing the ACL, MCL and meniscus.

Taylor said he had resentment toward the player for a long time.

“It was a cheap shot,” Taylor said. “It was a dirty, cheap play. It was an unnecessary act going low like that.”

He would have to go through the rehabilitation process all over again. Fortunately, it was a fast recovery this time around.

The 2007 NFL Draft came and Taylor still received several calls, including the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers. However, he went undrafted.

The Panthers called a few weeks later again to bring Taylor in mid-July. He was feeling great and having no problems with his rehabilitated right knee.

“I get out there, and doing a release, I plant on the first day,” Taylor explained. “I just felt my knee separate.”

He suffered his third knee injury of his football career.

Taylor then ventured into the charter school business in Arizona. He also started a training company for others.

However, Taylor’s own football training did not stop. During the NFL off-season in 2008, he was catching and running routes for Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan at a facility in Tempe.

The Buffalo Bills called Taylor and brought him in to training camp that summer, but it was a horrible repeat. Taylor went to make an out-cut on his second day and felt his other knee separate this time.

After his fourth time through rehabilitation, Taylor went to the UCLA pro day in 2009. He ran a 4.3 40-yard dash.

He received no calls from NFL teams. But the United Football League offered him an opportunity and he had a short stint with the New York Sentinels.

After that, Taylor decided he was done with playing football and wanted to focus on his newborn daughter, and charter school and training businesses.

“My schools were sports-interest schools so they were focusing on academics and athletics,” Taylor said. “I was driving kids through sports.”

Taylor became a part-time coach for Mesa High in 2010 and 2011, spending time helping the receivers and working with the quarterbacks.

In 2016, Taylor came back to Mesa to coach again. This time, he was awarded the offensive coordinator position.

“Last year, Kap gave me the opportunity to come in and be the offensive coordinator full time and really dive into it,” Taylor said.

Taylor has been a vital part getting Mesa High football back on the map in Arizona. The Jackrabbits are creating a high-octane personality on offense and improving every season.

“It’s been huge for me,” Sikahema said. “I put a lot on his plate, running the offense and running the program as a whole. I’ve been truly blessed having him here. He’s done a lot of things here that I couldn’t do.”

Taylor is married and has two daughters and a son. He takes pride in loyalty and commitment in his life.

He enjoys coaching full-time now at Mesa and continues to use his football experiences to help young athletes grow on and off the field.