After putting forth his best effort in an Eagle uniform, Morehead State football's Vaughn Taylor, Jr. has garnered Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The honor marks the third of Taylor's career, making him the most honored defender in the Eagle's PFL tenure (2001-present) and the first to win the honor in back-to-back weeks.
The Washington, D.C. native produced a career-best game in Morehead State's 31-20 Homecoming victory over Butler. Taylor, a junior defensive end, flocked to the ball carrier all afternoon long, leading the Eagles in total tackles (10), assisted tackles (five), tackles for loss (3.5), and sacks (1.5). He also created Morehead State's only two quarterback hurries.
In wrecking Butler's offense Saturday afternoon, Taylor set or tied five career highs, including solo tackles, assisted tackles, total tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. Late in the fourth quarter, Taylor produced his most chilling effort, harassing Butler backup quarterback Nick Orlando for a 15-yard sack. The takedown took the Bulldogs outside field goal range to preserve a 10-point Morehead State advantage.
Camping himself in Butler's backfield, Taylor helped Morehead State's defense produce two additional turnovers-a pair of game-sealing interceptions on the Bulldog's final drives of the game. The Eagles defense, fueled by Taylor's pressure, permitted Butler to 280 total yards. Morehead State's 280 total yards allowed marked a season-low and the fewest total yards allowed by the Eagle defense since the 2017 season-opener.
On the season, Taylor leads the Morehead State defense in producing negative plays, leading the team in both tackles for loss and sacks with 12.5 and 5.5, respectively. He leads the PFL in both categories this season while also propelling Morehead State to the conference lead in both sacks and tackles for loss. In total, Taylor's dropped opposing players for a loss of 79 yards through seven games.
Taylor and Morehead State return to the field next Saturday to face another group of Bulldogs. This time the Eagles travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face Drake. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.
