Gabe Taylor, a veteran leader who anchored one of the best defenses in the AAC, is our 2024 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.
A fifth year senior playing in his final season on South Main, safety Gabe Taylor left it all on the field this year. Through all the ups and downs, Taylor was a galvanizing force that held this program together and was unequivocally deserving to be our honoree as the 2024 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.
No one had higher expectations for Gabe Taylor this season than he did for himself. A preseason selection for the Jim Thorpe Watch List, an award given annually to the nation’s top defensive back, Taylor was dead set on taking this program to the next level. While those dreams were never fully actualized, his effort and production could never be questioned.
Taylor led the team in tackles and, perhaps more importantly kept the secondary afloat when what seemed to be an overwhelming spat of injuries assailed the rest of the position.
More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives
Plae Wyatt was injured in the Owls’ first game of the season against Sam Houston and lost for the year. Marcus Williams, his replacement, went down the next week against Texas Southern. Further injuries to Jojo Jean, Justin Williams and Tyson Flowers left the position group in a bind. Things got so dire that players had to be moved from other positions to the safety room midseason.
Before the year, Taylor lauded the depth in the room. “If one guy goes down it’s not going to be a falloff,” he said. “It’s literally going to be ones still on the field,” alluding to the multiple levels of starting caliber players he believed filled the Owls’ depth chart.
Soon enough, that confidence was tested. It was Taylor, TBD and TBD practicing with the first team defense on a week to week basis. And even still, the secondary soared.
The Rice football defense finished second in the conference and eighth nationally in passing defense. A sizable portion of that success must be attributed to the consistency on the outside offered by corners Sean Fresch and Max Ahoia, but Taylor’s contributions were equally important, particularly when taking into consideration the plight this defense would have been in without him.
Prior to the regular season finale against South Florida, Taylor admitted he’d gotten interest from other programs during the offseason. His illustrious career to that point had not gone unnoticed and he had opportunities to go elsewhere.
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“These guys just brought me back in,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade them for the world. This family is so genuine.”
That’s part of what made Taylor’s season so special. A candidate to be selected in the NFL Draft this coming spring who might not have ever stepped foot on South Main had it not been for a delayed start to his high school football career while he pursued basketball and other interests, Taylor stayed the course, overcame adversity and still performed at a high level.
Taylor was an All-AAC Second Team selection and one of Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) highest graded defenders in the country. A sports analytics company that attempts to quantify a player’s individual impact on a scale of 1-100, Taylor graded out as an 89.5, where a 90 considered to represent the elite of the elite. That’s the caliber of play Rice football got out of Taylor this season: elite.
On a defense flush with impactful veteran talent like defensive tackle Izeya Floyd, linebackers Josh Pearcy and Myron Morrison and the aforementioned corners and fellow members of the safety room, Taylor managed to stand out. That’s a testament to his effort, ability and a never wavering desire to be the best. No matter the box score, Taylor delivered on that goal this season.
** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
