Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius is as unique as the tiny Texas town he comes from
BUSHLAND, Texas — Taylor Cornelius could tell story after story of his accomplishments in his West Texas hometown, revealing in layers why his name is nearly legendary in Bushland.
But he isn't going to. That's not how the fifth-year senior quarterback at Oklahoma State operates.
He won't tell you about his overtime touchdown run against rival Muleshoe, or the pass he intercepted to seal a victory over Littlefield on the only snap he ever played as a defensive back.
He won't tell you about how he led Bushland's basketball team to the state tournament, or about his baseball successes as a pitcher and shortstop, while also running hurdles and high jumping for the track team.
He probably won't even tell you about how he and a couple friends were the first customers at Joe's Pizza and Pasta, Bushland's only restaurant, built in 2012.
But Bushland is full of people happy to tell those stories.
“Taylor is not one to talk about his accomplishments,” said Brian Gillette, Cornelius' closest friend since grade school and still now, more than four years since they graduated from Bushland High. “If I were in his position, it would be all over social media. ‘Hey, look at me.' But you won't ever get that from him.
“He's reserved, because he feels he can prove himself to everyone by his actions. He doesn't have to speak about it.”
That's Cornelius' plan this August when he will set out to win Oklahoma State's quarterback job after spending nearly all of his career watching Mason Rudolph sling it for the Cowboys. Maybe Cornelius will even get a chance in November to renew a version of that rivalry with Muleshoe — a town relevant to most Oklahomans solely because it produced OU coach Lincoln Riley — within the context of an even bigger rivalry.
Cornelius is the early favorite to win the Cowboys' starting job, with incoming freshman Spencer Sanders having been on campus for just six weeks, and Hawaii graduate transfer Dru Brown not expected in Stillwater until late July.
The 6-foot-6, 232-pound Cornelius has been patiently waiting for his chance to prove all the recruiters wrong who passed on him five years ago, when he only weighed about 180. With a couple of Division II scholarship offers in front of him, Cornelius decided to walk on at Oklahoma State instead.
The small but loud Bushland community is set to scream “We told you so!” to the college football world if Cornelius' patience pays off in Stillwater the way they expect it to.
Bushland, new and old
As soon as you drift off Interstate 40 at exit 57, about 15 miles west of Amarillo, you immediately see the expected markings of a tiny West Texas town.
Grain elevators. Bushland Mercantile. A bank and the local church.
But there's one noticeable difference between your surroundings on Simmons Street to the north of I-40 and those stereotypical small-town images.
Everything around you seems shiny and new.
Looking back to the south, you see the old Bushland. The elementary and middle schools that stood for nearly a century before the town added a high school. Homes and streets that better fit what you'd imagine of a tiny locale in the plains of the Texas panhandle. It's all strong symbolism of a town that was forged in 1909.
But those new buildings to the north — including the high school, which was established in 2005 — have written a new story for Bushland. Now, it's a growing town with new housing additions popping up regularly and a school district that stretches over miles and miles of farm and ranch land.
When Cornelius' brother, Chance, graduated in 2011, he was one of 88 in the class and just over 300 in the high school. Now, enrollment is close to 500 as the town establishes itself as a nearby escape of the city feel in Amarillo.
Awaiting opportunity
Somewhat ironically, Bushland's football stadium was built before the high school itself, which rankled some folks in the town. But the football team has done its part to shine light on Bushland.
With just over a decade's worth of varsity football in the books, Bushland has put two players in the NFL — Weston Richburg in San Francisco and Crockett Gilmore, who was with Baltimore last season.
Seven weeks from now, a Bushland product could be the starting quarterback for a Big 12 team.
And if that happens for Cornelius at Oklahoma State, it will add another layer to the shining legacy he built in Bushland, even if its glow hasn't been noticed by many outside the town.
“Taylor could do it all. He was good at everything,” said former Bushland football coach Steven Flowers, who now coaches about an hour north at West Texas High School in Stinnett. “Mentally, he was a man by the time he was in eighth grade. He could pretty much run the offense. His grasp of the game at that age was amazing.
“He's special. As a player, obviously. As a person, a human being, he's top-notch.”
Flowers believes that deeply. His youngest son's middle name is Taylor, a salute to what Cornelius has meant to the coach and his family.
Current Bushland players, who were in middle school during Cornelius' final season, still recall his unique abilities and knack for winning with awe.
“He had this crazy athleticism,” Bushland senior quarterback Wren Watson said. “He was somebody I looked up to tremendously. When I was younger, I tried to form my game after his. He could run. He could pass. He could find the open man when he had to. He could do it all, and it was great to watch.”
As a walk-on who has only played in a mop-up role at OSU, Cornelius is mostly unknown to Cowboy fans.
Gillette, who meets up with Cornelius any chance they get — including a couple of trips to nearby lakes when Cornelius was home last weekend — can't wait for Cornelius' chance to show the fans what he can be.
“As a quarterback and a competitor, Taylor is a rock,” Gillette said. “He will work as hard as anybody on the team. He will make sure that others are lifted up before himself. He's humble, but he's gifted. He won't be the guy pumping his chest or throwing his helmet in the air to celebrate, but he can be the quarterback to lead them to more victories than anyone ever anticipated.
“He's a jackpot. When he gets his chance, he's going to take advantage of it.”