J’Mari Taylor didn’t play in the Gator Bowl: Let’s make a federal case out of it

Two reporters did their best to try to get UVA Football coach Tony Elliott to throw All-ACC tailback J’Mari Taylor under the bus for sitting out the Gator Bowl game with Missouri last night.

Elliott, to his credit, deflected both attempts.

On the first, he praised true freshman Xay Davis, who’d had 11 carries in mop-up duty ahead of last night, and ran for 41 yards on 12 attempts against the SEC’s second-best defense.

“I’m proud of Xay Davis, a guy that hadn’t seen much action, and now you’re thrown into a playoff-caliber game and getting your first real carries and significant minutes,” Elliott said, to disarm that first question.

The second was a query of Elliott about the variety of “receivers, different rushers, quick-hitting stuff, was all that designed to kind of make up for not having J’Mari?”

Elliott didn’t even come close on this one.

“I would say it’s really to combat that defensive front that they have,” Elliott said.

My Google Analytics blew up just as Virginia went to the field for its first possession of the night, with several thousand people clicking on our article from Friday about Taylor’s thinking going into the Gator Bowl.

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ICYMI

• UVA Football: ‘Hoos might have to make do without J’Mari Taylor at tailback

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I got emails and texts during and after the game from folks adamant that Taylor needed to be docked money from his compensation package with UVA Athletics for sitting out the game.

My take on Friday, and I’ll double-down here: I’m with Taylor on this one.

Taylor is a projected fifth- or sixth-round pick. Pro Football Focus has him at #160 on its big board, which would translate to a contract with a total value in the range of $4.6 million over four years.

For context, Taylor was reportedly compensated $400,000 for his grad-senior season at Virginia.

Notable here: none of us have access to any contract that Taylor or any other UVA Football guys signed with UVA Athletics regarding their compensation, but it would be hard for me to imagine that the agreement fixed the compensation for how many ever games would be played in the season.

For example, Taylor, here, you get $400,000 if Virginia plays 12, if it plays 13, if it then gets to the playoff, plays its way into the CFP title game, and plays 17.

I think we’d run afoul of federal law requiring people to, in essence, work for free, but that’s just me.

Can’t do that, basically, any more than your boss can tell you to work the weekend, and by the way, no soup for you, you’re doing that on your own dime.

Virginia isn’t in the Gator Bowl with a chance to get win #11 if J’Mari Taylor doesn’t lead the ACC in rushing, playing hurt several games to get us there.

You don’t like him sitting out last night; tell me what you’d do with millions of dollars on the line, and feel free, in your essay, to address the case of one Anthony Poindexter.