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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 4 55 Anthony Mahoungou arguably changed Purdue's season with his play down the stretch and in big moments in general. You can't replicate that impact just by signing another tall receiver, but Mahoun- gou's play did underscore the importance of that element for an offense that wants to throw it vertically. Height: 6-5 Weight: 200 High School: Bradley Hometown: Hilliard, Ohio Senior Stats: 55 receptions for 911 yards, nine touchdowns A fter seeing Anthony Mahoungou develop late in the season — the senior turned into a big-time downfield target — Purdue sought a simi- larly sized receiver for its '18 recruiting class. It found one in 6-foot-5, 200-pound Ohio wideout Kory Taylor, who chose the Boilermakers in December, less than a week before signing day, over Louisville and the Ivy League, plus offers from the likes of West Virginia, Kentucky, Minne- sota and other Power 5 programs. "I think his versatility, his height, his physical makeup is exactly what we're looking for," Brohm said on signing day in December. "We think he can be a special player for us as long as we keep him on track, keep him healthy and get him stronger. He's a very intriguing prospect with a lot of potential." Taylor missed his junior season with a foot injury, but came back as a senior and produced, picking up nearly 1,000 yards receiving with nine touchdowns. He's not only a big outside receiver, but he plays like one, accord- ing to Bradley coach Mike LoParo. "He's got huge, huge hands. He goes and high points the ball and takes it down in traffic," LoParo said. "He's a physical player. There won't be any concern about that." That physicality extends not only in getting open and making plays on the ball against cornerbacks but also as a blocker. But Taylor isn't only a big guy, either, LoParo said. Taylor has such good speed that Bradley actually would run jet sweeps for him and once Taylor got on the edge, "he's pretty hard to catch," LoParo said. "He runs extremely well. I think he's right around 11.0-flat 100. So he was kind of a take-the-top-off-it kid where you attack people underneath for what they're giving you until eventually they have to respond to that and then we'd just go over the top," LoParo said. "Real good route-runner. Any time we needed a first down that was medium-to-long yardage, we could get him with a comeback or a bench route or something like that. "We just used him however we could." The Purdue Fit Did You Know? Taylor is Purdue's tallest recruited receiver out of high school since Charles Tor- wudzo, who was also 6-5, in 2010. Kory Taylor Wide receiver "I feel Taylor is one of the most un- der-recruited prospects in the entire Midwest. A player his size who has the speed to stay on the outside is so rare and so valuable. He's going to be a major asset to this offense, and likely early in his career." — Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt rivals.com take Action photo by Andy Scheider