Football has changed over time – I formations and the running game have given way to passing and spread offenses.
That makes what former Ashland University tailback
Anthony Taylor did in his time as an Eagle even more impressive.
Taylor will be honored as one of five 2025 Hall of Famers (see release link), two Eagle Forever Award honorees and two 2024-25 AU Student-Athletes of the Year at the 2025 Ashland University Hall of Fame Induction and Student-Athlete of the Year recognition, Oct. 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center – prior to the Eagle football team's 101
st Homecoming game at 1 p.m. vs. Thomas More at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
"My first reaction, I was a little bit surprised, actually," Taylor said. "Once everything kind of settled in, I was definitely honored to be considered, and then nominated. I'm happy to be selected, for sure."
Ashland football has been played since 1920, and no Eagle has rushed for more yards (4,456) and touchdowns (43) in a career than Taylor. A starter on the 2012 team which went undefeated in the regular season and hosted a D-II playoff game, he also scored the most overall touchdowns (45) and gained the most all-purpose yards (5,082) in program history, and is third in Ashland football annals in points scored (270).
Of the 2012 campaign, Taylor said, "What contributed to that was, we took the offseason seriously. We were able to bond and mesh as a team, and just see the atmosphere around the school. It was nice to see, for sure. I loved being a part of it."
Taylor's 311 rushing yards in 2013 vs. Lake Erie are a program standard, as are his 1,691 rushing yards in 2013 – one of his three 1,000-yard rushing campaigns. He was a three-time first-team All-GLIAC selection, and in 2014, earned second-team Daktronics All-Super Region 4 and third-team BSN All-Super Region 4 recognition.
"It was nice to see your hard work translate to the field," said Taylor, who finished his AU career with 20 100-yard rushing games. "But obviously, I couldn't do it myself. Always have to credit the offensive line. They took care of me, for sure. Even the coaches for believing in me. It was nice to see everything come into place.
"Everything is going to spread offenses and hurry-up offenses. You don't see too many I formations. In this day and age, we're not running the ball as much. That type of feat might be tougher to accomplish. It's rare to see a team running the ball as much, the way things are going."
Taylor accomplished what he did at Ashland after making the trip from Arlington, Va., to campus.
"During recruiting, both me and my coach sat down and went through a list, put up a list of different schools," Taylor recalled. "Ohio is real big on football, so let me look into Ohio. We reached out to a couple of schools, Ashland being one of them. Got invited for a visit, got treated like family, it was a great experience, and from there, I already knew I wanted to go to Ashland.
"Actually made the decision, at least to my family, before we even left the official visit."
If someone else was thinking about going from Arlington, Va., to Ashland University, what would Taylor tell them about making that move?
"Ashland will treat you like family," he said. "Me being so far away from home, that's what helped me stay at Ashland. I had teammates who would invite me to their house. They want to make sure you grow as a person, so I feel like I grew a lot from once I first stepped on Ashland's campus to when I graduated.
"You're going to go somewhere that actually cares about you. You aren't going to be a number."
And as for Homecoming morning, and when Taylor is called up to the podium for his induction speech, he said, "I'm going to be a little nervous, to be honest. It's going to be an honor. I want to thank everyone that helped me get to this position. It's definitely going to be an honor to give that speech."
