FCS playoffs: Sac State kick return man Elijah Tau-Tolliver provides spark for Hornets

There was a time when teams refused to kick the ball to Elijah Tau-Tolliver.

That was his senior year at Reed High School in Sparks, Nevada. After returning multiple kicks for touchdowns during his junior season, he got only one opportunity as a senior. He ran that one back for a touchdown, too. Teams learned their lesson after that.

“They kicked to me once and I returned it,” Tau-Tolliver said. “Didn’t get anything else after that.”

Now, Tau-Tolliver is a redshirt freshman at Sacramento State. He’s the third-string running back on the depth chart behind Cameron Skattebo and Marcus Fulcher, but he is the primary kick return man for the Hornets.

Tau-Tolliver provided the spark his team needed in the driving rain Saturday. He returned the second-half kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown to propel Sacramento State to a 38-31 victory over Richmond, helping the Hornets secure the first FCS playoff win in program history.

Sacramento State will play host to Incarnate Word of San Antonio, Texas, in an FCS quarterfinal on Friday, but will Tau-Tolliver get a chance in the return game after showing what he could do against Richmond?

“We were trying to hit them all week,” Tau-Tolliver said. “We came out slow (on kickoff returns) in the beginning of the season. My coach really worked with me to hit the hole hard. I finally hit the hole and trusted the process and scored. ... I love returning. They trust me to get the ball and make a play with it.”

Tau-Tolliver finished last week with 180 kick return yards. Hornets coach Troy Taylor calls him one of the Hornets’ most important players.

“He’s incredible,” Taylor said. “He’s one of our best special teams players and might be our best special teams player. Very talented guy. ... (That) was one of the most important plays of the game. We had fought back to get close. It gave us a spark. It gave us some energy.”

Tau-Tolliver’s quarterback, Asher O’Hara, was impressed, too.

Tau-Tolliver looked like he would be tackled near his own 30-yard line. Instead, he spun off the Richmond defender and sprinted down the Hornets’ sideline. More efforts like that from Tau-Tolliver and his teammates might help the Hornets survive the FCS gauntlet as they seek a national championship.

“It was a ginormous play,” O’Hara said. “It set the tone for the half. He’s young and not afraid to take it back. His play gave us the spark we needed.”

Tau-Tolliver was named Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Reed. He had a handful of offers out of high school, but he chose the Hornets for one big reason.

“Coaching,” Tau-Tolliver said. “Running backs coach Malcolm Agnew is a great guy. He really fought for me. One of the best relationships I have.”

As a freshman last season, Tau-Tolliver’s only role was on special teams. He appeared in four games in 2021 and recorded tackles in three games. Now, he has an expanded role, and he’s making the most of it.

“It’s one of the most important parts of the game,” Tau-Tolliver said of special teams. “It’s been a great experience. Red-shirting freshman year was tough, but when I came back, they gave me a bigger role.”