By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations and Staff Reports
Airline quarterback Ben Taylor was one of five players signed by Northwestern State Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Taylor completed 325-of-447 passes for 4,356 yards and 47 touchdowns with six interceptions this season. The Vikings went 10-0 in the regular season and finished 11-1 after falling to Destrehan 69-41 in the non-select Division I quarterfinals last Friday,
Taylor was a three-year starter and also saw action as a freshman. For his career, he completed 933-of-1,371 for 12,373 yards and 135 touchdowns. He ranks second all-time on the area and state career passing yardage list.
Taylor was the Offensive MVP on the 2023 All-District 1-5A team and the co-MVP this past season.
“Ben’s a special kid,” NSU Head Coach Blaine McCorkle said. “The kids will say he has video game numbers. I don’t play video games, so I don’t know. His stats are gaudy. You have to look at them twice to see what they are. He’s thrown for a pile of yards and a pile of touchdowns. For them to score 70 points in a game was a common thing this year. The numbers they put up are wild.
“On top of his talent and his stats, he has some intangibles that are pretty neat. He helped turn a program around, and what we’re trying to do here is pretty similar. When you talk to him on the phone, you feel like you’re talking to a 30-year-old man. He’s very mature, very polished. He comes from a great family and brings a lot of intangibles that will be neat in our locker room.”
The NSU class of 2025 was a small batch, but the ingredients held one common bond.
All five of the Demons’ early signees who submitted their papers Wednesday are Louisiana high school products.
“We signed five high school kids today who we are really excited about,” said McCorkle, who had his first chance to go through a full recruiting cycle at the helm of the Northwestern program. “We filled some needs. It’s all Louisiana kids. That’s something we made a commitment to focus on when we came here a year ago. Local kids – Louisiana kids, East Texas kids, some from Mississippi, but today all five are from Louisiana.”
Four of the signees — Taylor, linebacker Nehemiah Barrett (Huntington High School, Shreveport), offensive lineman Sam Nations (Ruston High School) and wide receiver Jimmie Duncan (Alexandria Senior High School) – are from within a roughly 90-minute drive of Natchitoches. The fifth signee, Hammond defensive lineman Darius “Big Baby” Servick, comes from a familiar area for Northwestern.
“We signed Ben Taylor, the Airline quarterback, who’s from right up the road,” McCorkle said. “We signed Jimmie Duncan from ASH. That’s local. Sam Nations is from Ruston. That’s local. Nehemiah Barrett from Huntington right up the road. All those guys are from within an hour or so of here. Darius Servick is from Hammond, and that’s always good to get one out of your competition’s backyards. All Louisiana guys we feel like they’ll be here for the long haul and are coming here for a reason – to stay close to home, develop and grow into good football players.”
Barrett comes to Natchitoches from Huntington High School where he was a two-time all-district selection as a sophomore and junior before an injury curtailed his senior season.
A 6-1, 230-pound linebacker, Barrett had 22 tackles for loss and 19 sacks across his junior and senior seasons while helping Huntington win 13 games those two seasons. He also competed in track and field for the Raiders.
“Nehemiah’s coming off an injury, but we’re not worried about that,” McCorkle said. “He’s going to be healthy. He’s going to be fine. Our doctors have looked at him and said he’s on track and rehabbing well. He’s a tough, hard-hitting linebacker who plays with a lot of energy. We’re really excited about what he’ll bring to our defense. He’ll add immediate depth and be a really good player for us in the future at linebacker.”
Nations and Duncan each come from programs who are still playing in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoffs.
Nations helped Ruston win a state championship and go 14-0 as a junior, following a 12-2 campaign that ended in the state title game as a sophomore. He started on the offensive line as a freshman in the state quarterfinals for the Bearcats in 2021.
“Sam comes from a great high school program,” McCorkle said. “He’s tough. He’s physical. He’s an interior offensive lineman, so he can fill some needs there. Sam came to our camps this summer and has been on campus a few times. He’s a little like Ben Taylor as an offensive lineman. He brings some leadership intangibles that are pretty neat. He’s athletic. He’s tough and plays physical. I’m really excited about what he brings to us.”
Duncan, a 5-11, 180-pounder, is part of an Alexandria team that also remains alive in the state playoffs.
Through 12 games of his senior season, Duncan has caught 32 passes for 557 yards and nine touchdowns for the undefeated Trojans. His versatility helped ASH post an 8-5 record as a junior and win 32 games through his prep career.
“Electric,” McCorkle said. “Playmaker. He’s very versatile. He really fits our needs and our offensive scheme really well. He brings a lot to the table. He can make a big play. He can run and go get it. He can make you miss. He’s fun to watch.”
Servick, a 6-2, 250-pounder, gives the Demons their first defensive signee of the class.
A three-year starter at Hammond, Servick earned first-team all-district honors as a senior after recording 57 tackles (18 for loss), 14 quarterback hurries, nine sacks, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. That came on the heels of a junior season in which Servick notched 76 tackles (18 for loss), seven forced fumbles, six sacks, six hurries and a fumble recovery.
In his three seasons as a starter, Servick collected 194 tackles and 16 sacks while playing for former Northwestern defensive lineman Lesley Deamer.
“We’re excited to get one out of Hammond,” McCorkle said. “Servick’s a big body with a lot of room to grow. He has a frame he can really pack some weight on and be an impactful player for us down the road. He plays hard and physical with a great motor. Like these other guys, he has a great personality. He will be great in the locker room and the guys will really gravitate to him.
“It doesn’t hurt that his position coach is an alum. Northwestern State is taking care of Northwestern State. That makes The Link real. We talk about The Link all the time, and we have a legacy player coming here. We’re excited about him rounding out this class.”
Northwestern State Early Signing Day Class of 2025
Nehemiah Barrett, LB, 6-1, 230, Shreveport, La. – Huntington HS
Jimmie Duncan, WR, 5-11, 180, Alexandria, La. – Alexandria Senior HS
Sam Nations, OL, 6-3, 280, Ruston, La. – Ruston HS
Darius Servick, DL, 6-2, 250, Hammond, La. – Hammond HS
Ben Taylor, QB, 6-1, 180, Bossier City, La. – Airline HS