It isn’t often that a kid from San Diego decides to call Montana home for several years, albeit via Massachusetts. In fact, you could say it is one in a million.
That said Mission Bay High football product Lamarriel Taylor decided to do just that.
After completing his scholastic career with the Buccaneers (recorded more than 1,500 receiving yards and 23 TDs in just two seasons of play), Taylor took his talents across the country to play at the University of Massachusetts.
After redshirting for Minutemen this past season, Taylor decided it was time for a change.
When it became apparent to Taylor that UMass was not quite what he wanted, he looked west, ending up in Missoula (Mont.), where he has four years of eligibility available to play for the Griz.
With a scholarship offer in-hand, Taylor was slated to be one of more than two dozen newcomers suiting up for Montana (reached second round of the FCS playoffs last year) this coming season.
Change is definitely something this young man is accustomed to, having gone from a challenging upbringing in East St. Louis (Ill.) to relocating to San Diego to live with family.
During his time at Mission Bay, Taylor not only starred on the football field, but he recorded a 4.0 GPA and captured a National Merit Scholarship.
With both Mission Bay High and UMass in the rearview mirror, Taylor looks to continue his success on and off the field in Big Sky Country for Montana, a school that has several players on its current roster who graduated from San Diego area high schools. The Griz come into the 2016 ranked 16th in the FCS Top 25 pre-season poll.
In discussing his reason to transfer to Montana, Taylor noted on goGriz.com that, “I was looking for more of a winning culture and being around guys who expect to win. Guys who are accountable for their actions and want to go out together as a team and try to win a national championship.” How the Griz do this coming season remains to be seen, but their pipeline to San Diego of talented players just grew by one.