By Thomas Grant Jr.
Video interview with S.C. State offensive guards Cam Johnson & Nick Taiste.
S.C. State offensive guard Cam Johnson (left) with position mate Nick Taiste of White Knoll High School.
As far back as eighth grade, offensive lineman Nick Taiste showed the attributes of a future NCAA Division I prospect.
Among the first observers to notice was his future White Knoll head coach Dean Howell.
“I made a note, I made a comment or something to somebody way back when where I said ‘He’s as good as there is out there’,” he said. “I think if he’d been an inch or two taller, he would have gone wherever he’d wanted to go.”
Taiste has more than proven himself over the past three seasons at South Carolina State University. From earning All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference First-Team honors in back-to-back seasons to getting receiving preseason Football Championship Subdivision first and third-team All-American honors, respectively, from FCS Football Central and Stats Perform, he has seen his NFL stock grow as much as his 6-foot-2, 295-pound frame.
Entering Saturday’s season-opener at Florida A&M, Taiste’s focus is on finishing his Bulldog career the way it started – with an HBCU football national championship.
“My main focus is on the team at the moment,” said Taiste as this past Saturday’s S.C. State Media Day. “I’ve always realized and learned early individual success can’t come without team success first. “So, that will all handle itself when that time comes. But at the moment, it’s about South Carolina State football, the Bulldogs and what we can do to help the team. Nothing else matters.”
Howell credited S.C. State assistant coach Nashan Goodard with aiding Taiste’s development. He has started 36 consecutive games for the Bulldogs playing first at tackle and now guard.
At the same time, Howell praised Taiste for putting in the work to get himself to a level where he was ranked as the top HBCU offensive lineman, according to NCAA.com.
“He’s just a great kid,” he said. “He works his tail off. He does everything any coach, at least for me anyway, he’s done anything that we’ve ever asked him to do.”
It’s a new era in Orangeburg with former Benedict College head coach Chennis Berry taking over for longtime head coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough. The Bulldogs look to rebound from back-to-back losing seasons since winning the 2021 Celebration Bowl.
“Nick Taiste is an unbelievable talent,” Berry said. “He’s powerful. He’s smart. He’s physical. He has the body type they’re looking for and that’s up to him to go play.
“I tell him he’s got a clean sheet of paper here and it’s up to him what he writes on it. But he has all the tools they’re looking for. He’s strong. He loves the weight room. He’s smart. He’s a student of the game. He’s a really, really good person.”
Saturday’s 6 p.m. game will air on ESPN+.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
(Thursday’s Game)
Presbyterian at Mercer 7 p.m.
Wofford at Gardner-Webb 7 p.m.
Coastal Carolina at Jacksonville State 8 p.m.
(Saturday’s Games)
Clemson at Georgia noon
Old Dominion at South Carolina 4:15 p.m.
The Citadel at Charleston Southern 6 p.m.
S.C. State at Florida A&M 6 p.m.
Furman at Ole Miss 7 p.m.
(Sunday’s Game)
Benedict College at Virginia State 4 p.m.
Photos and Video by Thomas Grant Jr.
