It doesn’t seem to matter how Jahmeek Taylor gets the football, the sense of anticipation has become the same every time.
“Every time he touches the ball, the team believes he can score,” says Saint Mary’s Huskies head coach Steve Sumarah.
The third-year Huskie from Mississauga, Ont., is used as a returner, receiver and even as a rusher, and has piled up a staggering 1,329 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns through seven games.
His 714 punt-return yards, meanwhile, are just 63 away from Richard Karikari’s Atlantic University Sport record of 777 heading into the final game of the season against the Acadia Axemen in Wolfville on Saturday at 2 p.m.
“I have the easy job out there — I just catch the ball and run,” Taylor says.
“If you watch the tape, I catch the ball with 10 yards and not one player in front of me. Those guys are working their butts off making those blocks.”
Taylor says he ran a staggering 4.4-second 40-yard dash in training camp, though it wasn’t timed electronically.
Either way, he’s a blur on the field and his ability to make opponents miss has turned the former AUS rookie of the year into a star.
“It’s his speed, but he’s also so elusive when he has the ball,” Sumarah says.
“He just has a knack and he has incredible vision.”
The Huskies are hoping to help Taylor set the AUS return-yardage record on Saturday, but also need a win to avoid a semifinal game and secure a bye to the conference final.
Both the Huskies and Axemen have 4-3 records and have split two head-to-head meetings this season.
“We know each other like the back of our hands,” Taylor says.
“We know exactly what they’re going to run, and we have to execute on our plays.”
