Taylor has prepped to be analyst
Steve Kroner
Friday, September 2, 2005
Troy Taylor describes himself as "kind of a preparation junkie." Taylor spent four years (1986-89) as Cal's starting quarterback and four years (1996-99) as an assistant coach for the Bears.
As Taylor gets set for his first game as an analyst on Cal's radio broadcasts, his preparation inclination and his blue-and-gold history go hand in hand.
"I'm passionate about Cal football," Taylor said Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, "so ... the preparation process ... doesn't seem like a job. I'm not gonna say that to my employers."
That last line is an indication of Taylor's understated sense of humor. For the record (whether or not his employers take note), Taylor estimates he has spent at least four hours a day for the past month or so in preparation for Saturday's broadcast of the Sacramento State-Cal game.
One challenge for Taylor on Saturday -- and throughout the season -- will be to feel comfortable enough to reveal some of his personality.
"I'm actually more of an introvert, I really am," Taylor said. You probably wouldn't refer to the man Taylor is replacing, Mike Pawlawski, as an introvert.
"Pawlawski was a natural, sensational from the minute he walked in (the booth)," Cal play-by-play man Joe Starkey said. "I think Troy will probably be a little slower with that kind of glibness. ... His knowledge of the game will be as good as Mike's, without a doubt, but how quickly he is able to (give his analysis) in the very few seconds you have to deliver it will probably take him a few weeks at the very least." Pawlawski recently gave up the radio job to spend more time with his family and on his production company. Pawlawski, who followed Taylor as the Bears' starting quarterback in 1990, believes Taylor's grasp of the game will help him succeed in the booth.
"He's an extremely smart guy who knows the game of football as well as anybody I've ever met," Pawlawski said. "... He was a huge part of my learning curve as a quarterback, a huge part." Taylor knows that having an excellent football IQ doesn't automatically make him an excellent football analyst.
"I could do a game for coaches and players who are really into the game," Taylor said, "and they would really enjoy it, but that would be maybe one percent of the population, and the other 99 percent wouldn't enjoy it. "And, in the same sense, you don't want to talk down to the audience, because if they're listening to the game on radio, they're football fans. So, they do know something. I think it's a middle ground." Befitting a "preparation junkie," Taylor has tried to find that middle ground with three words: practice, practice, practice. Taking the radio job hasn't necessarily made Taylor's life simpler. In addition to teaching P.E. and drivers' education at Folsom High, he's the school's football coach. Make that, he was the school's football coach. NCAA rules apparently prohibit college broadcasters from coaching high school teams in the sport they're broadcasting. So, Taylor has to relinquish his coaching duties after today.
Taylor owns Cal's career records for passing yards (8,126) and total offense (8,236). Neither Nate Longshore, Cal's starting quarterback Saturday, nor backup Joe Ayoob has taken a snap in a game for the Bears. Taylor said he expects Cal head coach Jeff Tedford to tailor his game plan so that Longshore has some early success.
Said Taylor: "Once you get off to a good start -- it's like anything else -- you gain confidence. And once you gain confidence, you're better at what you do." That sounds as if it's what Taylor hopes to do in the booth, it was suggested to him. "Exactly," he replied. "I was actually thinking about the parallel."
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