Chelsea's Joe Taylor Signs to Play Baseball and Football at University of Michigan

Growing up just fifteen minutes from Ann Arbor, it has always been a dream for Chelsea's Joe Taylor to play for the Wolverines. 

Those dreams became reality after he signed to play baseball for the U of M last month and reached new heights last week when the U of M football program contacted him to play for the Wolverines. 

The football coaching staff talked to him and gave him Zoom tours of the football complex and after a few days of thought Taylor has committed to play football with the Wolverines as well.

A two-sport athlete at Chelsea, Taylor has been one of the top players for both the baseball and football teams. He has been a three-year varsity player for both, but had his junior season of baseball wiped out due to the Covid pandemic shutdown in the spring.

With the Covid shutdown Taylor was unable to attend any camps this past summer and relied on videos on line in the recruiting process.

"I went with baseball first, because I was a little undersized for football and it just felt right," Taylor said. "I was able to play summer ball for the Michigan Blue Jays and U of M saw my videos and started recruiting me and I knew it was where I wanted to go."

It helps that Joe's sister and step-sister already go to Michigan and will help him ease in to move to college.

While Taylor made his commitment to baseball, his senior year of football has been outstanding.

Coming off a season where Taylor earned Division 3 All-State honors at defensive back  during the the Bulldogs state semifinal run, the Chelsea coaching staff moved him to wide receiver this season and it has payed off for the Bulldogs. 

"Last year we needed me on defense due to a lack of depth," Taylor said. "This season we had a lot more depth so I was able to move to offense to help the team. Logan Vaughn moved to the safety spot and has done a great job and I could fill in for him when needed."

To say Taylor's move to offense has paid off for the Bulldogs may be an understatement.

Through nine games this season Taylor has caught 37 passes for 764 yards and 13 touchdowns, and also rushed for two scores and had a kickoff return for a score. He has already been named to the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association D3 All-State team for 2020.

The football season was suspended due to Covid after the District final and the Bulldogs are still waiting to play Flint Kearsley in the D3 Regional Finals whenever the restrictions are lifted.

Taylor has been Bulldog quarterback Griffen Murphy's favorite target all season and their timing is on nearly every pass.

"With the Covid restrictions we couldn't practice as a team, but me and Griff practiced as much as we could over the summer to get our timing running and throwing routes and we just connected," Taylor said

Not many athletes move on to the college level and are two-sport athletes. Playing for the D1 Wolverines will be challenging but Taylor thinks he is up to the challenge.

"Playing two sports will keep me busy," Taylor said "I will be forced to stay  on top of things with my academics and practicing for both sports."

Taylor was very thankful for where is headed, but still has more to accomplish for football and the spring baseball season.

"I want to thank my parents for getting me to where I am today," Taylor said. "I also want to thank the Chelsea baseball and football coaching staffs as this wouldn't be possible without them. Plus I would like to thank the University of Michigan baseball and football coaching staffs for this opportunity."