EPHRAIM, Utah (December 20, 2017) – Snow College sophomore linebacker Connor Taylor has been named the 2017 Spalding® NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year, announced by the NJCAA Football Committee on Wednesday. Taylor, a graduate of Davis High School, (Kaysville, Utah) helped lead the Badgers to a 10-1 record in 2017 including a victory over Blinn College in the El Toro Bowl earlier this month.
Taylor led the NJCAA with 139 tackles on the year, including 75 solo stops. The Kaysville, Utah native tallied 21 tackles for a loss and three sacks while forcing four fumbles during his 2017 campaign. For his efforts, Taylor was also named to the NJCAA All-America first team, joining teammates Leon Morgan (first team), Issac Fotu (second team) and D'Arman Notoa (honorable mention).
"Connor has been a game changing player and tremendous leader for our football team," Snow College head coach Paul Peterson said. "He was extremely productive, statistically. But more than that, Connor exemplifies, in all aspects, how a football player should be on and off the field."
In 21 career games for the Badgers, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker accumulated 201 total tackles, including 30 for a loss. Snow won 17 games during Taylor's tenure that concluded with a No. 4 rank in the national polls following a 43-41 victory over No. 10 Blinn (TX) in the El Toro Bowl.
"I feel very honored and grateful to receive this award," Taylor said. "To me, this award represents countless hours of work on and off the field. I want to thank my parents for all of their love and support. I could not have achieved any of this without them. I have loved playing football since I was a kid, and am grateful for the opportunity that Snow College has given me to keep playing these past two seasons. I want to thank my coaches—they did a phenomenal job this season and provided me and my teammates with the opportunity to push ourselves, believe in each other, and work hard to attain success.
"I am grateful for the junior college experience which has given me the opportunity to grow so much as a player and as a person," Taylor added. "I had the best teammates this season, and together we accomplished so much. I would like to thank everyone who helped make this season a success, and helped me get to where I am now."
Taylor has received Division-I scholarship offers to continue his collegiate career; however, he has yet to make a decision on where he will play football next fall.
