Taylor returning to Sooners for 2010

Dec 7, 2009 - 1:44 AM By JEFF LATZKE AP Sports Writer

NORMAN, Okla.(AP) -- Oklahoma will be getting at least one of its touted defensive tackles back for next season.

Junior Adrian Taylor told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday that he plans to return to Oklahoma next season instead of entering the NFL draft.

"I'll be back," Taylor told AP after the Sooners agreed to face Stanford in the Sun Bowl on New Year's Eve. "I know some people have been wondering but I'll be back."

Taylor has started the last 27 games for Oklahoma, a streak that dates to the 2007 season. He is tied for fourth on the team with 3 1/2 sacks and seven tackles for a loss this season and earned honorable mention on the all-Big 12 team last week.

Along with fellow defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, Taylor makes up one of the nation's best interior tandems on the defensive line. But both had a decision to make about their future.

Taylor said he had time to make up his mind during a weeklong break from football after the end of the regular season.

"Me and my dad talked about it and I'll be back," Taylor said. "I feel like I need another year."

"I've been here a long time," he added. "What's another 12 months?"

The bowl game will offer a family reunion of sorts for Taylor. His second cousin, Stepfan Taylor, is a backup running back for the Cardinal. The two both went to Mansfield (Texas) High School.

"Everybody's going to want him to do well. Everybody's going to want me to do well. A little family feud there," Adrian Taylor said. "It's going to be cool, though."

Stepfan Taylor, a freshman, is a backup to Toby Gerhart, the nation's leading rusher and possible contender for the Heisman Trophy.

"It's going to be a different change of pace, a big difference of a conference," Adrian Taylor said. "I don't know what kind of a game plan they have or anything like that. It's going to be exciting to see how they attack us, what game plan we come up with because we've got some of the best coaches when it comes to game-planning."

"We definitely need to go out there and just break that (three-game) losing streak in the bowl games."