Aristotle Taylor ready to suit up for Stanford despite less than a year of football experience
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (BVM) — Most Division I college football players have spent their entire lives working to get to that level. Aristotle Taylor has done it in less than a year.
Taylor had been around football his entire life, but had really never tried playing it. Rather, he watched his brothers play and excel on the field.
“I definitely enjoyed watching them ball out,” Taylor said.
The senior’s grandfather also has quite the history on the gridiron, as he is a former NFL player who Taylor has looked up to over the years.
“He knows what it takes and to have someone like that is really helpful to say the least,” Taylor added.
However, Taylor continued to bypass the sport up until recently. Last year, he decided he would be team manager for Brother Rice High School’s football squad. But that didn’t last long before he realized he might have potential if he put the pads on himself.
“I just really wanted to get involved and thought it would be a super fun and great experience for me,” Taylor said. “I had started working out last February and was just adding a lot of muscle and pounds. At one of the practices I was just watching and thought I could really help the team out a little bit. So I decided, why not.”
From there, a star was born. Taylor began playing defensive end, becoming a dominant pass rusher who wreaked havoc on opposing backfields.
Prior to football however, Taylor was a competitive gamer. He specifically played Fortnite competitively for over two years, and fell in love with esports. He ended up taking things to the next level by building a computer, and spent several hours perfecting the game.
“If you do put in those hours it showed, just like sports,” Taylor said. “It was definitely a great experience overall and who knows, one day I might come back to it.”
However, last February, Taylor began a body transformation journey in the weight room. In the year or so since, he has gained over 40 pounds of muscle, helping him to become dominant on the football field.
-11 months later📰🖤
{Feb 2020-January 2021} pic.twitter.com/ZStkPt8zw5— Aristotle (@St0tle) January 16, 2021
“I’m super proud and was just looking for a different way to release energy and strength,” Taylor mentioned. “It’s just been a whole lifestyle trying to become better every single day.”
The now 6-foot-8, 240-pound defensive end certainly proved that he had what it takes once he finally got onto the field for Brother Rice in the second week of last fall’s high school football season. Helping the Warriors to a 7-2 record, Taylor ended the campaign with nearly 60 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and two blocked punts.
“Week four I got my first blocked punt and made my first big play,” Taylor said. “After that, I just kept getting better and better and it was at that point that I knew I really could do something special.”
As one can imagine, Taylor’s rapid rise in the sport impressed many, whether it was family, friends, teammates, coaches or opponents.
One person who is unfortunately not around to see Taylor’s impressive transformation is his father, who passed away while the football star was in eighth grade. Still, Taylor keeps his father’s legacy going, and what he has done over the last year has made that all the more special.
“I can’t even really describe how tough it’s been,” Taylor said. “Being able to carry on his legacy has meant everything and I will continue to do that.”
In addition to those around him, Taylor’s play also impressed college scouts, as he began receiving plenty of attention down the stretch of his senior season.
“The first week of December is when it started and I almost couldn’t believe it, it was super surreal,” Taylor said.
Taylor received several scholarship offers to play at the next level. But he also received preferred walk-on interest from numerous Division I schools. In the end, Taylor decided he will take his talents to the Pac-12 and join the Stanford Cardinal as a preferred walk-on.
Catch me in Palo Alto✌🏽Appreciate everyone that came along in the journey ❤️🌲 #CardClass21 pic.twitter.com/UOxIqghU6r
— Aristotle (@St0tle) February 25, 2021
“Stanford is like a lottery pick to be able to go to, so the stars kind of aligned and it’s crazy to be able to go to one of the best schools, if not the best school, in the world,” Taylor said. “It was kind of a no-brainer and the football program and coaches seem great. It just was a gut decision.”
Playing football for just months, there is no telling how dominant Taylor could become while at Stanford, and he along with many others, thinks the future is bright.
“My main focus right now is just to be the best version of myself that I can be and get better everyday,” Taylor said.
While at Stanford, the defensive end will maintain his academic focus. Throughout his high school tenure, Taylor has also been a star in the classroom, and it is imperative for him to put in that work.
“For me, it’s the most important thing,” Taylor said about academics. “That’s what got me to where I am today and I realize that I’m in control of my future as long as I take care of that.”
Taylor will aim to study business at Stanford, and may pursue some kind of profession in technology or management. Of course, that might depend on what happens over the next few years on the football field, as a professional career in the sport has certainly come to mind with Taylor’s emergence over the last several months.
“I think it would be crazy and spectacular,” Taylor said about playing professionally. “To get where I’m at now from where I started makes me think it’s definitely a possibility. I mean, a couple months ago, if I told someone I was going to go play football at Stanford without setting foot on the football field, they might have sent me to a mental asylum. I definitely think if I put in the work and put in the steps necessary, it could be in my future and I would love for it to happen.”
It’s been a meteoric rise for Taylor over the last year, and one that is rarely seen. There’s no telling what the future holds for this sudden football star, but for now, he hopes his story can serve as a motivation to others.
“I’m super proud but at the same time I know the job’s not finished and I have a lot of work to do,” Taylor said. “But I hope my story can serve as inspiration for young kids out there and show them that anything really can happen. A matter of a couple months can really change your life and that should really speak to a lot of kids. Never let success get to your head, and never let defeat get to your heart.”
