Randy Taylor is one of the nation’s top recruiters. He has served as recruiting coordinator for UNLV and UCLA, and was named the nation’s top recruiting coordinator by ESPN.com.

Now, Taylor is the director of recruiting at National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Athletic Recruiting, and is affiliated with a number of premier teams in college football and specializes in talent evaluation in high school athletics.

As for his connection with Eastern, Taylor played a role in discovering junior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo while he was a high school senior at Rolling Meadows in Arlington Heights.

“When (Garoppolo) was a senior, he was kind of off the radar, and I went out to watch him practice,” Taylor said. “We made him our top quarterback target, and I’ve always been a huge fan of his.”

Along with recruiting Garoppolo, Taylor had high praise for the quarterback now that he has established himself as one of the best in the Ohio Valley Conference, and believes that an opportunity to play professionally is not out of reach.

“(Eastern) played Northwestern in Evanston last year, and we were talking about how (Garoppolo) should be playing at a higher level,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Garoppolo get a shot (to play professionally.) He has another year to develop, and I have to believe with his production, he may get a shot.”

Outside of being involved in the recruitment of Garoppolo, Taylor began his career in college football as an assistant coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini. He served as an offensive line coach and played a major role in recruiting until he became the recruiting coordinator at UNLV.

“My role at the time was primarily recruiting,” Taylor said. “It was the start, it was paying my dues. I was working for free, but just having that opportunity to be at that level in college football prepared me for big time sports.”

Following a stint at UNLV, Taylor was named the recruiting coordinator at UCLA, and was awarded the nations top recruiting coordinator by ESPN.com after the Bruins landed the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the nation.

Although Taylor is actively involved in the recruiting process with coaches, he has focused on educating high school prospects on what college coaches expect from them at the collegiate level.

“The most important thing that (prospects) have to know is what college coaches are looking for,” Taylor said. “Talent, academics and character all tie in. Talent is the easiest to evaluate, but the academic part and character can knock you out of playing for the school of your dreams.”

Taylor is also a fixture in talent evaluation as he will analyze an athlete’s skill set and inform coaches throughout the country what type of player a given athlete can be.

“Really, what I do for a living is look at players and evaluate them and let college coaches know if they can play for them and at what level best fits their skill set,” Taylor said.

Taylor also stressed the importance of getting involved in the recruiting process quickly so that coaches can fully understand the player they are targeting.

“The recruiting process starts very early,” he said. “There is a third-party out in the world that helps college coaches find players and help them understand where players are. (Athletes) need to be active and understand that it’s the coaches’ jobs to get the players recruited, but it’s also up to the athlete. (The athlete) needs to understand that Facebook and Twitter is where college coaches learn about character.”

To ensure prospects that they are properly preparing for the next level of competition, Taylor has influenced ‘athleadership’ to help aspiring collegiate athletes use sports to help them reach their goals.

“An athleader is someone who uses sports to get ahead,” Taylor said. “That’s what we feel like we are in the business for. We work with college coaches and families, and we have what we call ‘career match.’ We really work with these kids as soon as they become prospects, and we are going to help them and make sure they get the best offer possible.”

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.