Western Michigan University - Head Coach Lance Taylor

I'm Joe boy here with qbu sitting here with uh Western Michigan's secondy year coach uh Lance Taylor so thank you so much for having me um welcoming me into your office and uh have a great conversation thanks Joe excited yeah um so if you just wanted to start off um to the listeners and people watching uh just a quick background of uh your coaching career um it's pretty extensive um if you wanted just to touch on that a little bit Yeah appreciate you having me today excited to be on and talk a little football with you uh this is my second year as a head coach here at Western Michigan um really my 17th year in coaching uh I played football at the University of Alabama when I got done playing there um I became a graduate assistant there for for Coach uh Nick Sabin um you know I've spent 10 years uh coaching college football from Alabama to appalachin State Stanford Notre Dame Louisville uh now here at Western Michigan um I also spent six years in the NFL coaching with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers and I've been fortunate enough to be around some really great coach some great programs and some great players for sure uh uh Christian mcaffry I believe is one of one of the players that you uh had a great influence with so that that's always cool to see um with that being said um quarterback specific uh quarterback seems to be kind of a Hot Topic in terms of recruiting and um and of that of that sorts what are some things you look for um out of high school uh quarterbacks um their physical attributes and then we'll touch on maybe the intangibles that they have upstairs yeah you know I think one of the things that we always look for whether it's quarterbacks or any position that we recruit um we have position critical factors um some of them are physical most of them are intangibles and I think that you know from playing the quarterback position um listen quarterbacks great quarterbacks come in all shapes and sizes I've been fortunate enough to be around some great quarterbacks that uh you know have been all shapes and sizes I was around Cam Newton with the Carolina Panthers um but also on the other side in our division was Drew you know two very different size attributes in quarterbacks and so um you know I think that a lot of people look for you know height or arm talent but to me it's the mental makeup and it's the intangibles that really make a quarterback special uh with that being said what are some of the things that a younger quarterback coming into campus um at any level probably uh that they may struggle with or need to work on coming into campus yeah I think it's that mental toughness I think that you know that's one of the things that you know when you talk about intangibles that we look for you know it's mental toughness it's leadership it's work ethic and it's decision-making absolutely those are the four things when you talk about the intangible peace that young quarterbacks and really all quarterbacks need to continue to develop um as they mature into really good quarterbacks I mean you know the mental toughness piece of it you know uh for the first time you know you're probably you're not the best player on the field you know or not maybe not even the best player in your own room right um especially for some young quarterbacks which is difficult you're learning a new playbook it's probably more offense than you've ever had to learn or digest um and so that comes into piece that mental toughness piece of it the decision making you know not to put the ball in Jeopardy to know where to go and put people in the right places um is very important um and then the leadership and work ethic as you know the quarterback you have to be the leader of the offense absolutely you're the person that everybody looks to when things aren't going well um and listen when things are going well nobody needs a leader right I mean you don't need a quarterback you don't need a head coach when everything's going great but uh when things aren't going well that's when they want to look at you right and be the guy to come to comfort and Leadership and all the all the great things that come with it and like as you said you know when things are going well you know the quarterback position can it's the best thing in the world but you know you throw a pick six in the fans and the coaches and uh so it's it's really important in my eyes based off of what you said with the leadership um and just always having that mental toughness because you're going to be tested and put into tough situations when you decide to play college football um agreed with you 100% there um what are some common questions that you see from um guys aspiring to play college football um that you could quickly answer whether it's uh just kind things from parents or players or um things like that yeah you know I mean I think that the the the questions really need to be your questions what are are the things that are most important to you what I the the the advice that I give parents and recruits are you know you need to sit down and figure out what are the things that are important for me to help reach my goals on and off the field and really your questions as you go to each school to interview them to see which school best fits you really need to be based on what your criteria is and what your critical factors are because what you're looking for in a school may be different than what I'm looking for in a school so we shouldn't be asking the same questions makes sense so ultimately your you know interview sheet your prep sheet really you should interview all those schools based on those questions and that criteria that's important to you um and so I think that that's important and then you know I always think it's about the people wherever you go surround yourself with the right people the people that are going to help you grow and develop in all all areas of your life not just as a football player but also as a man for me as a head coach the reason I got into coaching was because the people outside my parents who had the biggest impact on my life they were my coaches and I'm sitting here today because of a lot of you know the guidance the accountability the opportunity that they gave me they helped me grow and develop and helped me become a man absolutely and you uh is it 105 guys on the roster typically how it is so you're responsible for a lot of different uh personalities and just being that positive role model um I'm sure that's what a lot of guys look for in a school so uh that's great that you started that um going into your second year um um as it relates to um now you're we're in college what is a common uh game week routine for the quarterbacks or maybe the offense whether just to show the in-depth of what goes into going into a game whether it's the film The Practice could you just elaborate a little bit on that yeah I tell you the quarterback position is so different than any other position I mean you're really it's almost coach like preparation um as you lead up you know um one you're going to come in Sunday after the game after you just played on Saturday uh doesn't matter how sore tired you are doesn't matter how how much you traveled or what time you got in if it was a late game you're going to come in Sunday and you're going to immediately grade and evaluate what you did in the last game what did I do well what do I need to do better what can I learn as a move forward right then you're going to immediately put that game to bed and on Sunday night you should start opponent prep for the next opponent you should start watching an evaluating their first couple of games just getting an idea of the defense that you're going to play against the Personnel that you're going to play against and then from there each day you're going to prepare something a little bit different on Monday it should be your base first and second down prep on Tuesday it should be your third down prep on Wednesday it should be your Red Zone prep on Thursday and Friday it should be some of those situational preps based on whatever your coach has set up for you and so that's just extra preparation that's not even leading you know that we're not even talking about the required activities of practice and film study and you know what your coaches have for you that's just on your own andly it takes that level of preparation to perform at a high level and perform with confidence on game days but when you prepare the right way and you put the work in during the week the confidence shows by your performance on game days abely absolutely and the teammates get to see you know they'll hear about it they'll see you coming in going late and it's just another leadership quality you can you know help yourself with by constantly being here doing the extra work um and that kind of leads into my next thing is the chemistry um and how important it is for the quarterback to have great chemistry with not only the whole team but especially with the guys that he's going to be getting the ball to so whether it's the receivers um tight ends running backs the skill guys what um do you have any advice or recommendation to help grow on that uh with the specific receiver or the unit and really make it one whether it's um the quarterback with the receivers or vice versa yeah I think chemistry is such an important um Quality and and component especially when you talk about football being a team sport right and when you talk about offensive football in general um you know on offense it takes all 11 players doing their job and working together to have a successful play absolutely and especially you know specifically when you talk about the quarterback and receivers in the past game um there needs to be that chemistry you know when I was with the New York Jets you know we called chemistry we told we talked about that chemistry as The Meta you factor there has to be that trust that one as a receiver or pass catcher I'm going to be exactly where I need to be when I'm supposed to be there you have to have that trust as the quarterback to know that I'm going to be where I'm supposed to be when I'm supposed to be there and I also have to be able to trust you that you're going to put the ball where it needs to be when it needs to be there um and and you know read the play out just like it needs to be right you know one of the best examples that I can give you you know is when I was with the Carolina Panthers Greg olssen who was a tight end for us he lived with the quarterbacks I mean not not really yet his own family I mean but when he wasn't at home he was with the and he spent so much time off the field with him just developing that chemistry and it really amazed me because it was the first time I had really seen it to that level uh where a guy everything that he did was about building that chemistry and that rapport with the quarterback so that the quarterback could trust him and you saw that on the field on Sundays I mean cam even when the ball wasn't supposed to go to Greg a lot of times he was looking for Greg or when he would get in trouble and needed Escape he was going to look because he could trust Greg he knew where Greg was going to be he knew when he threw it to him Greg was going to bail him out Greg was going to be there for him and it was really that chemistry and so you know as I coach receivers in the NFL and in college football I mean I said man I said if the quarterback goes to the bathroom you're going to like you know you take him to lunch you take him like you you go buy him a dinner you know whatever it takes to build that chemistry and because if the quarterback trust you and you have that relationship um I think that it shows up on the field what it comes down to is is when you have chemistry off the field that chemistry and that Bond and playing for each other shows up on the field as well right especially in football playing together is a tight unit there's no way it's not going to show on game day you know if you're doing it the right way um so that that's a great story well the opposite works the same way when guys aren't tight-knit have that have that bond that shows up on game days absolutely so it's it's good to see the work and you know the relationships like you touched on um the relationships build during this sport whether you know you're in youth or it's a coach or the college or you know on Sundays it'll stick with you forever and and it's just cool to see it transpire through a game of football um what advice would you have um to be seen um in a sense of recruiting there's a lot of different things out there I think a lot of people are confused but what do you think and every story is different but what's a good way if you do have the Talent you do want to play uh big time division one football what would be some routes or Avenues they could take to help get them some exposure from a western Michigan yeah you know I think that that all parents and and you know really recruits even from a young age really are asking themselves that um you know and and I'll start by saying this and I talked to our players about this all the time but don't worry about the outcome goals don't worry about what it takes to get offers you know do the things that ites every sing day to build those chionship habits listen you will be seen you know you will get seen uh when you do the right things the right way every single day and you build the right habits uh if you're good enough no matter where you are um you will be seen so don't just Chase offers really chase the things that it takes to be great and master your Craft um and I think that that's what guys need to really focus on is the process of doing the little things right doing the little things every single day and the offers will come and it may not be a P4 offer it may not be a division one offer but there will be opportunities to play if you're good enough and you work at mastering and perfecting your craft I think in terms of getting seen and being evaluated go to camps do as much as you can to compete I think our generation or this generation is a little bit sometimes um fearful I don't want to put bad tape out there go compete whether it's seven on sevens whether it's going to a camp and working out for a coach I mean there's nothing wrong with putting yourself out there and having that fear of failure uh because that's the only way that we can learn and grow is is to put ourselves out there and expose you know what could be failure uh but learn and grow from that and try to find ways to continue to get better but that's the process that we talk about right and uh I heard you know um pressure is a privilege and when you put yourself out there if you you're a little uncomfortable or maybe there's a top guy in the state that you're going to go against it will all make you better in the long run because if you are fortunate enough to be in a pressure situation you know you're going to be better off because you went through all of that whether you're playing on Saturday um at Western Michigan but you'll be better off just putting yourself out there and really just you know competing and working on your tool um any off the- field issues that um that players could get involved with um that would be very beneficial for them whether it's academics uh community service um in the schools you see um players more involved in the communities which is a great thing is that something you've seen uh help guys in uh in the past to get a little exposure and just kind of build on that um the type of person you are well I mean I think the first thing that you need to do is is you need to be great in the in the classroom you know I mean I think education is so important it's one thing that you know I've always preached I believe in you know it's the one thing that you know they can never take away from you is your education at some point football is going to be over for us so you know what have you done to prepare yourself for the rest of your foot you know life after football um and so education is so important but I mean we talk to you know when we go in schools to recruit I mean we talk to everybody we talk to professors we talk to guidance counselors we talk to you know PE teach it's not just your football coaches or it's not just you know your family it's not just your teamate I mean we talk to everybody in the school and so you know I think that when teachers speak very highly of a student athlete um it really gets us excited because you know we have a phrase in our program it's how you do anything is how you do everything you know I think that when you are a person that have has great habits and do all the little things that it takes to be great on the field those probably that's probably the same thing that you do in the classroom right you know I also think you know serving your community you know having Community Service events you know I mean it's it's the same thing when we hear positive um you know that positive character uh references from the community um that speaks so highly of young man and those are the type of young men that we want to bring into our into our program and so I think that it really just helps prepare you for life it gives you other people that can you know give you those character references and speak highly of you that uh will help give you opportunities um for other you know places to play absolutely um as as it pertains to um recruiting obviously has changed dramatically um over the past couple years um what is the biggest thing uh the biggest changes you've seen whether it was uh when you were at Appalachian State or when you were at Notre Dame to today uh 2024 what's the biggest changes you've seen in the recruiting world yeah I mean I think it's really the the recruit you know the the recruiting websites you know social media has really changed the game uh because to me if you're a really good player um we can find you now right it's so much easier it's you know when I first got into coaching it was the world of you know sending in your highlight tapes via you know V just we were just like you know I can remember you know at Alabama you know one of my jobs was to go through those VHS and convert them you know put them into the system and log them and log each one and uh create a file for each one and so you know that part has really change you know now we have everything digitally and we watch it you know whether it's you huddle or YouTube or online and you know there's so many recruiting Services now that you know rank players um really evaluate a lot of players so to me those are the things that that that have really changed but all of those things help give us information and pieces of the puzzle as we are recruiting guys you sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it could be a bad thing for the player if they haven't handled their business corre with social media it's very easy for you to go on their Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and you know if there's questionable stuff um you don't want to be those guys you want to make sure like you said in the community uh academics and just being a a great leader and having all that social media I think players need to be aware of it on what they post um because I feel like guys are definitely looking at that at the next level um any final words um as it pertains to Western Michigan football what you have uh upcoming what you're looking forward to and uh just kind of a a closing statement as it pertains to Western Michigan football yeah no I appreciate you taking this time with me today you know uh it's been great to talk about recruiting and quarterback play um you you know I'm really excited going into our second year going into year two you know I think that you know we've had a great off season um we're bringing back a lot of Veteran presence on this team and um I think that in year one last year you know we built a great Foundation uh really raised the standard um and built a great culture and that's really what it's about is is it's about being the you know uh it's about the people I talked about the people uh but really really I'm excited about the guys in that locker room uh because it's a close-knit Brotherhood it's a family environment um and I'm excited to see those guys really take the next step this year uh we've done a great job in recruiting we want to be able to recruit this state at a really high level I think for our level of football there are a lot of really good players in this state um and we want to be able to keep them home and keep them here uh and to me at Western Michigan you you can achieve all your dreams on and off the field I mean you can get a great degree we've got a great bu business school and great University uh but also you can go play at the highest level we just had Martian neand drafted in the second round you put a ton of guys in in the NFL um and we also want to be able to compete for some ACT championships absolutely absolutely well again thank you so much for taking the time I know you're a busy guy and uh best select this year yeah thanks appreciate itks