Naperville North’s Leo Taylor knows all eyes are on him whenever he kicks off.
Everyone in the stadium can see Taylor has a strong leg. The 6-foot, 150-pound sophomore is averaging 50.0 yards on kickoffs, with eight of his 42 attempts going for touchbacks.
“He’s got a boom stick,” Naperville North senior defensive tackle Lawson Grier said. “He kind of reminds me of David Olano, and he’s young, so he’s still got a lot more to do.”
Olano, a freshman kicker at Illinois, was a two-year starter for the Huskies and an all-conference selection in the DuPage Valley Conference. Taylor isn’t in Olano’s class yet, but he has a similar background. Both started as soccer players who gravitated to the football field.
In Taylor’s case, it happened last year.
“He came out for our freshman team,” Naperville North football coach Sean Drendel said. “He had never played football before, said he’d like to kick. He did a real nice job.”
Taylor quickly improved and made the varsity team this season. He shares the Huskies’ kicking duties with junior Tyler Duewel.
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“He’s got a super strong leg,” Drendel said of Taylor. “We compete week to week on it, and he’s kind of solidified the kickoffs. Our other kicker has done a good job as well.”
Duewel handles the field-goal attempts and most of the point-after tries. But Taylor has made 5 of 6 PAT attempts, with one try being blocked.
“I started kicking about a couple months before (freshman year), and it grew really quickly,” he said. “Me and my mom thought it would be a great opportunity to grow both the physical skill for soccer and just get good at another sport. It’s been working.”
Taylor, whose right arm was not fully formed at birth, a condition known as congenital limb difference, said he began playing soccer when he was 4 and also played baseball. He’s still involved in club soccer after playing on Naperville North boys soccer’s freshman team last year.
“I’ve learned to deal with it,” Taylor said about his right arm. “I got used to it the first couple years I played soccer and probably thought about it more than I do now. Now it’s like it’s normal.”
Naperville North junior quarterback Jacob Bell said Taylor seems to handle pressure well.
“He’s also a super humble kid,” Bell said. “A lot of people don’t realize that. A lot of attention is thrown at him, a lot of negativity is thrown at him at times. He just keeps his head high.”
Taylor doesn’t mind physical contact with opponents.
“I can hit them,” he said. “I haven’t had much of a chance to yet because my kickoff team is just amazing. But if I need to, I think I can do it.”
Bell suggested Taylor does plenty for the Huskies as it is.
“He puts the ball in the end zone when we need him to,” Bell said. “He almost recovered an onside kick one time, which was spectacular.”
Taylor said he’s enjoying varsity football more with each passing week. Naperville North (6-3), which is seeded 20th in the Class 8A playoffs, starts the postseason with a game at 13th-seeded Glenbard West (7-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“From the get-go, I was extremely stressed,” Taylor said. “But as I’ve progressed through the season, I’ve felt more natural, and it’s been really, really fun. I love the attention.”
Taylor prefers the attention be focused on his kicking, but he understands the interest in his story, which has been featured on TV newscasts.
“The amazing part about Leo is (the arm) is never an excuse,” Drendel said. “He doesn’t want anyone to talk about it.”
But Taylor realizes he is an inspiration to others.
“I hope to see myself as a role model,” he said. “It takes a lot of hard work, but it’s really amazing when the results show after working hard.”
Taylor has advice for kids who face challenges.
“You can’t really let it take a toll or stop you,” he said. “It is a challenge. But everybody has challenges in life, so you can’t really let yours take advantage of you.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.