Colts’ Jonathan Taylor has a ‘won’t be denied mentality’ that started at Salem High School

When the Salem High School football staff would meet each Sunday to go over their plans for that week’s game, head coach Montrey Wright would get a call from then-junior Jonathan Taylor, asking what he needed to know.

“That was something he did every week,” Wright said. “A high school teenager doing stuff like that — that was huge. It’s something all the coaches talk about to this day. Having a kid like that, who started and wanted to know things before heading into a game that was special.”

Taylor possessed the talent, but Wright saw a drive in him early on. Now, the Indianapolis Colts running back has made a name for himself at age 23 and could be on pace for a historic first three years in the league.

The Eagles’ run defense will be put to the test on Sunday as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts and Taylor, who earned AFC offensive player of the week after his performance against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10.

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His 22 carries for 147 yards against the Raiders included a 66-yard rushing touchdown, which Taylor said was a team effort.

“I love that I’m able to share this with my teammates,” he told reporters Thursday. “Especially the big run, it was all 11 guys...It’s fun, because it’s not something that you could just enjoy by yourself.”

With the Colts last season, Taylor led the NFL in both rushing yards (1,811) and touchdowns (18), becoming an All-Pro and Pro Bowler in the same season. His success, Wright said, is only the beginning, because of his “won’t be denied mentality.”

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Taylor’s work ethic that led him to get drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft as a junior out of Wisconsin, started from doing more than just working out in the weight room. He wanted to learn the ins-and-outs of the game.

“He was willing to outwork just about anybody, not just on the field, like in the classroom, how he approached life,” Wright said. “Seeing him playing for the Colts, he also has that same mentality. To have a teenager have that mentality was pretty rare.”

For the first two years of high school, Taylor played on the JV team. But knowing the varsity running back position was filled led him to work harder.

He was constantly asking Wright, who was an assistant coach at the time, about details on the field, such as running direction or holes in the offensive line. Then outside of practice, Taylor would spend holiday breaks in the weight room or running sprints at the school.

When Wright was named head coach during Taylor’s junior season, he knew there was only one player for the starting running back job.

“[Taylor] was always doing the right things even when no one was looking,” Wright said. “He got to his junior year, he became the guy here. He basically took the position and ran with it.”

Wright turned to Taylor, who usually stuck by his side on game day, to make a big play or rely on him to come in clutch down the stretch, and Taylor took on that pressure.

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With more playing time, Taylor, then a three-star recruit, started to see a spike in college offers. He wanted to play at the collegiate level, and looked up to those who made it from the South Jersey area, like Glassboro native Corey Clement, a former running back for the Eagles, who also went to Wisconsin.

“He grew up watching Corey play at Wisconsin,” Wright said. “That was something that always motivated him on a football field. Just seeing a kid from South Jersey on TV that’s 30 minutes away from his high school.”

While it was Taylor’s speed that caught the attention of college coaches, it wasn’t presented only on the football field.

Throughout high school, he competed in the 100-meter dash and 4x100 relays on Salem’s track and field team. He won back-to-back New Jersey championship titles as a junior and senior in the 100 meters.

Taylor felt track helped him train during the offseason when football wasn’t in session. He also invited scouts out to his meets, so they could catch a glimpse of how his speed has improved.

When it came to deciding on the next level, Taylor originally committed to Rutgers but later changed it to Wisconsin at the end of his senior season, when he set the New Jersey record with 2,815 rushing yards, which previously was held by Clement.

“That was always his dream school,” Wright said about Wisconsin. “That’s always where he wanted to go. That’s always where he wanted to be, so when it came in his senior year, it was pretty much a no-brainer.”

Wright believes Taylor sets an example for those in the Salem community who aspire to play football on a bigger stage. And his former principal, John R. Mulhorn, praises Taylor for being the same team leader when he puts a Colts jersey on as he did at Salem.

“What I love about Jonathan is always in high school, and he did it all through college,” Mulhorn said, “after he scores a touchdown, he takes the ball and he gives it to the refs. It’s always about the team. It’s always about everybody else and that’s who he is.”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 11 game against the Indianapolis Colts. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday