Iowa legend Tory Taylor was selected 122nd overall by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday. Caleb Williams sent him a savage text not long after the pick was announced.
A rivalry between punter and quarterback was born!
Taylor, one of the greatest specialists in college football history, was the primary catalyst for the Hawkeyes’ two 10-win seasons in the last three years. Sure, Iowa’s defense was stout, but they were only in a position to succeed because the punter was so good at his job.
The 26-year-old Aussie stands 6-foot-4, 223 pounds and consistently flipped the field for Brian Ferentz’s incompetent offense. He averaged 46.3 yards per punt throughout his career and his 4,479 total yards in 2023 are both NCAA records. Even more impressively, Taylor had 32 punts downed inside the 20-yard-line last season and his punts led to 29 fair catches.
As a result of his dominance, he was named as a unanimous All-American and won the Ray Guy Award. It is a treat to watch him boot the ball.
Hawkeyes fans frequently showered him with M-V-P chants while in college. They well deserved because he was indeed their most valuable player.
Although some Bears fans might have preferred their team to take an impact pass rusher or trade back for even more capital, they are going to be thrilled with the pick as soon as Taylor gets his foot on the ball for the first time… if that ever happens.
Caleb Williams does not want Tory Taylor to punt!
Williams, as the quarterback, hopes that his new rookie teammate will never get on the field because the offense never gets off. That was the basis for his text on Saturday afternoon!
Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here.
— Caleb Williams to Tory Taylor
Even if Caleb Williams was joking (he probably wasn’t), Tory Taylor will have to punt at some point. The former is going to be thrilled with the latter if Chicago’s defense can capitalize on the field position like Iowa did in each of the last three seasons! He can win games on his own.