By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Just as Millville, New Jersey, native Mike Trout is highly coveted among Philadelphia Phillies fans, the same should be done by Philadelphia Eagles fans for the up-and-coming RB Jonathan Taylor from Salem, New Jersey, who just completed his sophomore season with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Playing in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday, Taylor rushed for 205 yards on 27 carries — his longest for 41 yards — and one touchdown, earning MVP honors. Taylor accounted for more than half of the Badgers' total offensive yards, as the team completed a 35-3 rout at Yankee Stadium.
"Love the guys and just having fun"@PinstripeBowl MVP Jonathan Taylor after running for 207 rushing yards and 1 touchdown#OnWisconsin // #Badgers pic.twitter.com/obPEz5mnfu
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) December 28, 2018
Taylor was presented the MVP trophy by Hall of Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly. Taylor's awarded trophy is far from his top collegiate accomplishment thus far, however. Last year, he broke Adrian Peterson's freshman rushing record with 1,977 yards spanning 14 games, and finished this season with 2,194 yards over 13, combining for 4,171 rushing yards overall.
Peterson logged 1,142 fewer combined yards than Taylor following his respective sophomore season in 2005.
Jonathan Taylor finishes the 2018 season with 2,194 rushing yards, the 2nd-most ever by a Big Ten player.
Fellow Badger Melvin Gordon ran for 2,587 yards in 2014, 2nd-most in NCAA history. pic.twitter.com/c75u25B7a6
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 28, 2018
Also on Thursday, Taylor became the fifth player in FBS history with over 4,000 yards in a two-season span, joining Melvin Gordon, Troy Davis, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Ricky Williams. Ron Dayne and Gordon are Wisconsin's only other single-season 2,000-yard rushers.
