J.J. Taylor is used to it by now. He brushes off the pregame taunts — “Why is the water boy suited up?” — and revels in the postgame silence.
“Those people that were talking,” Taylor said, “literally have nothing to say when I walk past them after.”
Taylor has been dealing with slights about his height for his entire athletic career. They provide motivational fuel for a player who invariably produces above and beyond what his measurables suggest he should be capable of in a big man’s game.
“You can comment on my size, but then also you gotta look back at everything that I've been doing with my size,” said Taylor, the powerful, pint-sized running back who’s representing the Arizona Wildcats at this week’s NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.