PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football long snapper Billy Taylor claimed a spot on the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list released Monday. The award is annually presented to the best FBS senior long snapper.
 
Taylor, the Scarlet Knights' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner in 2020, took over the starting long snapper position in his first game as a true freshman in 2017 to start a streak of 45 consecutive games in the role. That included being part of the operation that ran onto the field with time ticking down to convert a game-tying field goal, and later the game-winner in overtime, at Maryland last season. Taylor also handled the snaps for the punting unit, which ranked second in the Big Ten with a school-record net punt of 42.27 yards.
 
The Parsippany, New Jersey, native was a semifinalist for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. A finance major with a concentration in business analytics as an undergraduate, he is working towards his master's degree in financial analysis and worked internships with TD Bank and Mass Mutual/RU Financial. Taylor is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
 
Ten semifinalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award will be announced on Nov. 15. This marks the seventh watch list selection for the Scarlet Knights, with Olakunle Fatukasi earning a spot for the Bednarik Award, Butkus Award and Nagurski Trophy, while Bo Melton was picked for the Biletnikoff Award, Aron Cruickshank for the Paul Hornung Award and Adam Korsak merited recognition from the Ray Guy Award for the fourth time.
 
Under the direction of head coach Greg Schiano, Rutgers matched its program high with three Big Ten victories in 2020. The Scarlet Knights had 14 players recognized in the All-Big Ten voting, the most for the program since joining the league. In addition, RU posted a team-best 26.7 points per game in a Big Ten season, a gain of 13.4 points per game from the previous season for the fourth-best improvement nationally. The defense collected 19 takeaways and led the conference with 7.8 tackles-for-loss, while the kick return units were one of four nationally with at least three kick return touchdowns. Academically, Rutgers saw 46 student-athletes earn Academic All-Big Ten honors, a program high.
 
Rutgers opens the season Sept. 2 versus Temple at SHI Stadium in a game presented by PNC. Click here for information on season tickets.
 
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