Antonio Taylor stands at 6-feet-2-inches, weighing 215 pounds and spends almost every Saturday from the end of August until November punishing opposing players on a football field.

Watching him play in an Eastern football game, one would not imagine that the same man that rams his opponents to the ground spends his free time creating poetry.

The red-shirt senior linebacker began his fascination with poetry in fifth grade, when he first thought about what he wanted to be when he grew up.

“Instead of being an athlete, I wanted to be a rapper, so it kind of goes hand-in-hand,” Taylor said.

Taylor, who graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Elmhurst, was red-shirted in 2009 at Eastern.

The following two years, he played in all 11 games the Panthers had, including being a starting linebacker in 2011, when he was second on the team with 92 tackles.

In 2012, Eastern had a new football coach — Dino Babers — and a brand new coaching staff.

It was during fall camp prior to the start of the 2012 season, when Taylor first found out he would no longer be a starter.

Coming from Baylor, Babers brought LeQuince McCall with him to Eastern. McCall had played two seasons at Baylor, a Big 12 program. McCall took over as the starter at strong side linebacker, where Taylor had made all 11 starts in 2011.

Taylor was then moved to the weak side linebacker position, splitting time with the starter Adam Gristick.

Taylor said although he is no longer a starter, he is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play.

“It doesn’t bother me from an ego standpoint, not starting,” he said. “Every time I strap on the pads, I take that as a blessing. Every time I’m out here, I’m going to give 100 percent. Whenever I put on my helmet, I’m going to give it my all.”

The coaching change not only meant a new scheme to learn for Taylor it also signified an end of an era for Roc Bellatoni, who is currently the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at Villanova. Bellatoni had served as Eastern’s defensive coordinator from 2002-2011.

Taylor said it was tough to see some old members of the previous staff leave, including Bellatoni and Justin Lustig, who recruited him.

“I still have a great relationship with Roc Bellatoni,” Taylor said. “Me and him probably were the closest from that old staff and I still keep in touch with him.”

Coming out of high school, Taylor played a vital role on the Immaculate Conception 2008 Class 2A football state championship team. He played linebacker, making six tackles in the title game and also caught two passes for 58 yards in the 36-17 win against Casey-Westfield High School.

Taylor was an All-Suburban Catholic League selection three times and was honored with more area awards in high school.

He has been studying football for several years so the new scheme that was brought in was not as difficult to adjust to as the coaching style was.

“I’ve been studying football for a while now, so the scheme didn’t come as hard as adjusting to the coaches and how they coach,” Taylor said. “That was kind of difficult at first, but I’ve grown to gain great relations with my position coach (Tom) Kaufman, coach (Kim) McCloud and coach Babers.”

Taylor not only gained skills on the football field while attending Immaculate Conception, but it is also where he gained an appreciation for his one hidden passion: poetry.

Cindy Thomas and retired English teacher Joe Shram, served as Taylor’s guide to poetry.

“They got me into poetry and literature and Shakespeare, things like that,” Taylor said. “And after graduating from there I took off and took some poetry classes at Eastern.”

Taylor is humble and said his poems are OK, still needing to hone his craft.

“I don’t think I’m super creative, but with the help of Dr. Olga (Abella) I was able to get a B in the poetry class, but I’m still working on it,” he said.

In football, an analyst will sometimes refer to a quarterback as being cerebral, one who thinks things thoroughly, but rarely is that used as an adjective for a defensive player, who makes his name by tackling people as hard as he can.

Taylor said one of the major things he has transferred from his poetry writing to the playing field is patience.

“What I learned through poetry is that I am a very patient writer and I wouldn’t say I’m a perfectionist, but it takes me a while to get exactly what I want to say on paper,” Taylor said.

The Maywood native said he takes that patience with him to every game.

“I don’t feel comfortable if I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to do on that exact play and it shows on Saturday’s if I’m prepared from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday practices, or if I’m not,” Taylor said.

For now, Taylor continues to focus on his communication studies major, concentrating in public relations, and also working hard on the field, where Eastern has become one of the country’s best program’s, sporting a 5-1 record heading into homecoming and a No. 3 ranking in national FCS polls.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.