Roderick Taylor broke into the nationwide spotlight by being chosen as one of only four national finalists for Football Scoop Division 2 coordinator of the year in 2011.
Taylor is also well on his way to developing a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the nation.
In his first three seasons at Midwestern State the offensive record book has experienced some drastic changes. In 2010 and 2011 the Mustangs lead the nation in red zone offense. In 2009 MSU won its first Lone Star Conference title, reached the NCAA playoffs and lead the nation at all levels in pass efficiency at 180.2 and and a 72 completion percentage. That season Taylor tutored a receiving unit that caught 29 touchdowns in a run-first offense.
Taylor has also coached at least one first team Lone Star Conference receiver in all three seasons at Midwestern and the Receiver of the Year in 2009 (Andy Tanner) and again in 2011 (David Little).
This was not overlooked by coach Bill Maskill as he promoted Taylor back into the familiar role of offensive play caller in the spring of 2011.
Then in the fall of 2011, the Midwestern offense led the nation in total offense at 532 yards per game and scoring at 48.6 points per game. The Mustangs ranekd second in the country with 323 rushing yards per game.
The offense success helped Midwestern to its first perfect regular season, an outright Lone Star Conference title and trip to the NCAA Division II postseason while producing numerous All Americans.
Some of the offensive highlights of the 2011 had to be a two-week span where the offense produced back-to-back games of more than 700 yards with 138 total points as the Mustangs were perfect in the red zone for the first eight games - 42 touchdowns.
Prior to MSU, Taylor served as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. While with the Bulldogs, the on the field offensive production increased drastically and the offense set a school single season passing record which was a 20-percent increase. The school single season receptions record by a player was also broken. The total yards per game improved 43 yards, a 14-percnet increase.
SWOSU also produced 207 first downs which shattered the prior four-year season average of 160.25 per season and was a 29-percent increase. The overall offensive scoring increased 7 percent under the direction of Taylor.
Taylor started his collegiate coaching career helping resurrect an Oklahoma Panhandle State Football Program that was without a winning season for nine years prior to his arrival.
Taylor acted as the runing game coordinator at OPSU and coached five different first-team all-conference players at four different positions in two years.
OPSU was voted Top 10 turn-around program in the U.S. by the NCAA in 2003 and continued to win in 2004.
Taylor coached quarterback Ty Sellers, a Harlon Hill contender, a first-team all-conference quarterback who led all D2 QBs with 16 rushing touchdowns in eleven games and Joe David, the first 1,000-yard rusher in nine years.
As academic coordinator, Taylor helped the Aggies improve a team GAP from 1.71 to 2.75. He also served as the interim men’s basketball coach at OPSU in 2004 breaking a double-digit losing streak.
Following another winning football season in 2004, Taylor moved on to Langston University to serve as the passing/rushing game coordinator.
In 2005 Langston was Central States Football League Conference Champions, averaging 35 points a game with the Number 1 ranked Offense in the CSFL.
Taylor coached three all-conference players at three different positions including a first-team all-conference wide receiver, punt returner, and second-team tight end.
Under Taylor’s supervision as offensive academic coordinator, the Lions' team GPA improved from 1.95 to 2.67.
Following Langston, Taylor coached at Terrell (Texas) High School serving as special teams coordinator and offensive line coach in 2006. The offensive line unit led the district in sacks allowed with 1.6 per game.
In 2007, he was promoted to offensive coordinator. Under Taylor's direction and discipline, the offensive scoring catapulted 239 percent and rushing increased to 5.8 yards per carry.
Prior to OPSU Taylor taught and coached in a wide variety of arenas including lockdown facilities, juvenile justice system, alternative learning, and residential living settings.
As a football player, Taylor was a part of three programs: Kansas Wesleyan, Oklahoma Panhandle State, and Texas Southern Universities. Throughout his football career he started twenty games as a defensive player at three different positions.
Taylor is married to Chastity P. Taylor his college sweetheart and is the father of five-year old Zachary Clay Taylor who loves to see the deep ball!
Personal Coaching Philosophy
“Lead those who are willing to follow, push those who hesitate, pull those who become weary, and achieve greatness together!”
