Upon graduating from William & Mary, where he was a backup quarterback who majored in Kinesiology, Christian Taylor had a career decision to make.
 
Physical therapist or football coach?
 
Initially he leaned to the medical route, attending PT school. That lasted all of one semester.
 
"I missed the heck out of football training camp," said Taylor. "I was sitting in the classroom and said, 'Forget this.'"
 
So he dropped plans on taping ankles to scribble X's and O's. For that, San Diego's football program is forever thankful.
 
A year ago as USD's quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator, Taylor choreographed an offense that averaged 37.8 points with Anthony Lawrence throwing for a school-record 4,107 yards.
 
This season, with Taylor as the solo offensive coordinator, the Toreros have been even better. The team has averaged 41.7 points and ranks second in the nation, compiling 498 yards per game. USD has scored 40 or more points in six straight games, a school record.
 
"Christian Taylor has done a phenomenal job calling plays, keeping defenses off balance," said USD head coach Dale Lindsey. "When they stack the box and lean toward the run, he passes. When they back off, he runs. That's a difficult combination to beat."
 
As USD prepares to face Northern Iowa on the road Saturday in a first-round FCS playoff game, Taylor, now in his sixth season as a Toreros assistant, thinks this is the best offense in his time at the school.
 
"I think we have the deepest level of talent at the skill positions we've ever had here," said Taylor. "We have multiple wide receivers, multiple tight ends, multiple running backs. You've got a real good quarterback and the offensive line has played their tails off."
 
While senior Michael Bandy is USD's go-to wide receiver (he's the first Torero to compile two 1,100-yard seasons), USD's depth at the position is obvious. While Bandy has caught 12 touchdown passes, four other wide receivers have combined to catch nine TD passes.
 
Dalton Kincaid is the Toreros' most dangerous pass-catching tight end (a 20.3-yard average per catch and 8 TDs), but Zach Nelson (19 catches) must be accounted for, too.
 
While injuries have plagued backs Emilio Martinez and Terrence Smith, USD has adopted the "next man up" mantra. As a team, the Toreros have averaged 5.4 yards per carry, a healthy boost over last year's 4.0 norm.
 
Orchestrating the attack has been redshirt senior quarterback Reid Sinnett, who has completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,341 yards, tossing 32 touchdowns while suffering only seven interceptions. Sinnett ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency (177.9), fourth in passing yards per game (303.7) and fifth in total offense (319.5).
 
Sinnett is one of 26 finalists for the Walter Payton Award as the FCS' offensive player of the year.
 
"Exceptional, awesome," said Taylor when asked how Sinnett has played. "I love how he's taking the reins of the offense. He's become a great leader. He coaches the offense on the field."
 
Sinnett patiently waited his turn to command USD's offense, sitting four years behind Lawrence, never transferring.
 
"It's refreshing to see nowadays and you admire it," said Taylor.
 
Taylor knows what it's like to wait for your chance to play. He was a backup quarterback at William & Mary, traveling with the team for four years but never attempting a pass. He was the team's holder for two seasons. His time behind center came down to one series, which he capped with a 4-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown.
 
"I wasn't going down," said Taylor. "I knew that was my one chance to score."
 
Taylor's coaching career has taken him to William & Mary, San Diego State, Michigan, a two-year stint at USD (2012-13), to Illinois Wesleyan and now the past four seasons back with the Toreros.
 
On working for Lindsey, Taylor said, "He's a good person. Any time you're working for a guy who's a good person that makes the job fun. He lets you do your job and trusts you to do your job."
 
On some teams with so many offensive weapons, there might be a problem with players being selfish, wanting the ball. Taylor said that's not an issue for the Toreros.
 
"We've got a lot of unselfish players here," he said. "Look at Bandy. He could rack up 2,000 yards. But he understands the offense is better with multiple weapons and a balanced run game."
 
Taylor, 35, said his goal is to become a head coach.
 
"Realistically, the next step would be an FCS-level head coach," he said. "Or a coordinator at a mid-major or higher. I would love to be a head coach at a big football program. I'd be lying if I didn't say so."
 
He spreads credit to the offensive assistants for USD's success, mentioning offensive line coach Cory White, wide receivers coach Taylor Chapatte, running backs coach Tyler Sutton and tight ends coach Dorian Keller.
 
Sitting in his office on Thanksgiving eve, Taylor wanted to make sure that graduate assistants Danny Shultz and Anthony Zampese were mentioned, along with volunteer interns Rex Rover and Kelly Weese.
 
The best part of the job, he said, is working with 18- to 23-year-old student-athletes who are not on scholarship but play football for the pure enjoyment of the game.
 
"The guys who stick with it love it," said Taylor. "They're self-motivated, they're self-driven, they're self-disciplined. And they're all smart. They're all smarter than I am."
 
Asked what makes his job difficult, Taylor flashed a smile and said, "I don't think any of its difficult. The job's a blast."