The Perfect Pair: Skinner, Taylor combine size and speed for success

Taylor (left) and Skinner may be different in stature, but their high productions on the field couldn’t be more similar.

On the stat sheets, not much separates Riverside’s top two wide receivers, Jaiden “Speedy” Taylor and Mikkel Skinner.

Taylor’s caught 32 passes for 471 yards. Skinner’s got 25 for 400. Both have seven receiving touchdowns on the season.

On paper? The pair are nearly identical. In person? Well, that’s a different story.

Skinner, a junior, stands tall and bulky at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds.

He’s impossible to miss.

Taylor, a sophomore, is a mere 5-foot-4, 155 pounds. But he’s every bit of his nickname, “Speedy,” and then some. He’s frequently been clocked running just under 23 miles per hour.

Blink, and you might miss him. This season, plenty of opposing defensive backs already have.

“When the ball’s in Speedy’s hands, he’s electric,” said Riverside head coach Matt Rochester. “But even when the ball isn’t in his hands, he’s so fast, and he’s always out there doing something special.”

Walking out of the locker room together after Thursday walkthroughs, Taylor and Skinner could easily be mistaken as brothers — big and little. They’ve just finished game planning with coaches for a Friday matchup against Wade Hampton.

Both will be focal points of the Warrior offense, per usual. Their skill sets complement one another perfectly.

“Speedy, he’s so quick, and he gets out of his breaks way better than I do,” said Skinner. “He’s a playmaker.”

“[Mikkel] uses his big frame to make catches, and I really can’t do that,” said Taylor. “He just goes and grabs it. You can put the ball anywhere for him, and he’s going to go up and get it.”

Riverside wide receiver Mikkel Skinner

Skinner has been the star on offense for Riverside since the 2022 season. As a sophomore, he accounted for 906 all-purpose yards and eight scores.

Defenses facing the Warriors constantly adjust their game plans to account for Skinner’s frame and physicality. In the past, double-teaming Skinner had been an avenue to slowing down the Warriors.

That’s not the case anymore. Not since Taylor arrived.

“Speedy’s just different. That’s kind of what we say,” said Riverside offensive coordinator Mario Cusano. “He’s one of those guys where you’re around him for a day, and you’re just like ‘Yeah, he’s different.’

“He adds this second wrinkle into our offense where if you’re going to double team Mikkel, what are you going to do with Speedy? They’re a great one-two punch.”

Taylor transferred in from Southside this season after playing his freshman year with the Tigers. Skinner was already plenty familiar with Taylor’s game, however. He recalled the first time he saw Taylor in action two years ago.

“I was on JV as a freshman, and Riverside was playing against Southside,” Skinner said. “We expected to go in there and blow them out, but I remember there was this one little short dude that was killing it. He was carrying the whole team.

“He kept scoring on us. I was like ‘Man, we can’t get a break. We’ve got to go out there and score again?’”

Taylor was similarly awestruck seeing Skinner play for the first time.

“He was on the field, and I’d seen he had some Georgia [Bulldogs] gloves on,” said Taylor. “I was looking from afar, and I was like ‘Dang, this dude is huge.’

Taylor was just an eighth-grader at the time. He made varsity at Southside as a ninth-grader.

Taylor finished his first season at Southside leading the state in receiving yards for a freshman. He collected 1,053 total yards and eight touchdowns. Taylor won the Tigers’ team award for Most Valuable Player.

It was clear Taylor was a star in the making. He transferred to Riverside after his freshman season, citing the environment at home games and the Warrior coaching staff as major factors in his decision.

Riverside wide receiver Jaiden “Speedy” Taylor

“All of the coaches brought me in from the start and welcomed me,” said Taylor. “They’re really like family to me. And I love the atmosphere here. The student section is really loud. They get you turned up every game.”

Skinner nods his head in agreement. And in front of Riverside’s traveling student section against Wade Hampton that Friday night, the pair of playmakers feed off one another and dominate the General defense.

Skinner finishes the evening with four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown, while Taylor comes down with six receptions for 81 yards. On their shoulders, Riverside cruises to a 49-7 victory.

“It’s hard on defenses to try and stop them both,” said Rochester. “Especially when you can line them up next to each other or line them up on opposite sides of the field.

“You’ve got to prepare for two completely different players: a speed guy and a size guy. I definitely wouldn’t want to be a defensive coordinator on the other side of the ball against them.”

There’s little doubt that defenses will continue having their hands full with both Skinner and Taylor. While Skinner is impossible to ignore with his massive frame, Taylor continues proving one thing every Friday night: Size might not matter that much, after all.

“People always look at me and underestimate me because I may be shorter,” Taylor said. “So I just get on the field and show them what I do every time.

“Don’t underestimate me for my size. I’ve got a big heart.”

Skinner and Taylor will look to lead the Warriors to a region victory this Friday night, as Riverside welcomes rival Eastside into the Reservation for a crucial clash. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff.