Shock land ‘Fab’ receiver Taylor

Nian Taylor said he hasn’t changed much since his days as a member of Washington State University’s “Fab Five” receiving corps.

“I still catch the ball, I’m still fast and I still score lots of touchdowns,” Taylor said.

The Spokane Shock are counting on it. The arenafootball2 franchise announced Thursday the signings of Taylor and former San Diego State Aztec Aloalii Lealofi.

Taylor was part of the prolific offense that helped the Cougars win the Pac-10 Conference in 1997 and play in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 67 years.

Taylor ranks second in WSU career receiving yards (2,447), and third in receptions (140) and touchdowns (18). He has the longest catch in Cougars history (97 yards). His 254 receiving yards against Idaho ranks second on the school’s all-time list.

Taylor is a four-year veteran of the Arena Football League and arenafootball2. He played for the af2 San Diego Riptide last season, catching 91 passes for 994 yards and 25 touchdowns. As a defensive back, he intercepted three passes.

He has played with the AFL Arizona Rattlers and with af2 Richmond when it lost to Quad City in the 2001 Arena Cup. He played three seasons with the af2 Hawaiian Islanders, where one of his teammates was Chauncey Ako, who signed with Spokane in December.

Taylor learned Spokane was landing an af2 team from former Riptide teammate Anthony Griffin, an Eastern Washington University grad who has signed with the Shock.

“It’s definitely a homecoming for me,” said Taylor, who joins former Cougars player Billy Newman on Spokane’s roster. “We used the Spokane Airport a lot for traveling and in the summer I used to hang out in Spokane. One of the guys, (former WSU quarterback) Paul Mencke, was from Spokane and we’d hang out with him. We’d go to Hoopfest and to (former coach Mike) Price’s house in Coeur d’Alene.”

Taylor, who works as a ramp agent at the San Diego Airport, will arrive in Spokane on March 11. Shock training camp is scheduled to begin March 13.

Aloalii, 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, started nine games as a senior as at San Diego State. He’s expected to play fullback/linebacker for Spokane.