Dreams of playing sports professionally go through several young players’ minds while growing up. Eastern senior tailback J.R Taylor was no different.

When asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, Taylor told people he wanted to play in the NFL. This weekend’s NFL Draft may be the first step to his dream.

“Growing up, that’s all I wanted to do,” Taylor said. “I never really wanted to do anything else. I thought maybe I could make it as a free agent, but I never thought I could be in the mix of being drafted.”

As many as five teams have contacted Taylor, including Seattle, Chicago, Minnesota, Jacksonville and most recently St. Louis.

Taylor said receiving all these calls and gaining interest from teams has been exciting, but the entire draft preparation has been anything but that.

“People always say it’s one of the most exciting times, but it isn’t,” Taylor said. “You just never know what’s going on.”

Taylor holds career records in touchdowns scored (50) and has the Eastern single-game record of 308 yards against Florida Atlantic this past season. He totaled 17 touchdowns and averaged 126 yards on the ground in the fall.

Former Buffalo Bills wideout Don Beebe has been a big help in Taylor’s preparation and training. Taylor said that Beebe has helped him increase his speed and has has helped with his route running. He has also put on a little extra weight.

Why would a running back need to improve on his route running? If Taylor does get drafted, he may be spending his time catching passes at receiver instead of getting the ball handed to him.

Taylor is big enough at 6-feet-2 inches tall and said he could adjust to a new position if necessary.

“I’d be really comfortable, and wouldn’t have any problem doing that,” Taylor said. “(Scouts) said that my size and speed and ability to catch the ball would help.”

Eastern’s former offensive coordinator Roy Wittke said all Taylor can do from here is maintain a positive attitude.

“There are a lot of things outside his control and he can’t worry about those things,” Wittke said. “All he can worry about is preparing himself the best he can.”

Taylor has no idea when or if he will be drafted at all, but has high expectations that he will get selected in the later rounds. Out of the teams that have contacted him thus far, Taylor said he would like to go to St. Louis or Jacksonville.

Wittke said the opportunity alone is enough for Taylor to be happy about.

“It’s really hard to see what teams are thinking, but if he does get an opportunity, he could succeed because he has a tremendous work ethic,” Wittke said. “Just to have that opportunity is all that any of our guys can ask for.”