Sean Michael Maurice Taylor (April 1, 1983 – November 27, 2007) was an American college and professional football player who was a free safety for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the University of Miami, was a member of the Hurricanes' 2001 BCS National Championship team, and earned unanimous All-American honors. The Washington Redskins chose Taylor with the fifth overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft.[1] Due to his ferocious hits,[2] several of his Redskins teammates nicknamed him "Meast," a portmanteau word from the expression "half man, half beast."[3][4] Taylor died at the age of 24 on November 27, 2007, from critical injuries from a gunshot by intruders at his Miami area home.[5] His death led to an outpouring of national support and sympathy, especially in the Washington area, where Taylor had been a fan favorite as a Redskin,[6] and the Miami area, where Tay! lor had starred for the Miami Hurricanes, after leading Gulliver Prep to a Florida state high school championship and setting a state record for most touchdowns in a season (44) . In honor of Taylor, on the first play of the first game after he was murdered, the Redskins defense lined up with only 10 players which left the area Taylor lined up at free safety open against the Buffalo Bills.[7] Contents 1 Early years 2 College career 2.1 2001 season 2.2 2002 season 2.3 2003 season 3 Professional career 3.1 2004 NFL draft 3.2 Washington Redskins 3.2.1 2004 rookie season 3.2.2 2005 season 3.2.3 2006 season 3.2.4 2007 season 4 Legal issues 4.1 2004 DUI arrest in Virginia 4.2 2005 Aggravated assault arrest in Miami 4.2.1 Aggravated assault plea agreement and resolution 5 Death 5.1 Arrests 5.2 Law enforcement theories 5.3 Disproven rumors 5.4 Media reaction and controversy 5.5 Memorial service 5.6 National Football League 5.7 Washington Redskins 5.8 University of Miami! 5.9 Trial 6 Memorial 6.1 Ring of Fame Induction 7 References ! 8 External links [edit] Early years Taylor was born in [[Miami[8], Florida]] to Pedro Taylor, a policeman, and Donna Junor. He spent his early years growing up with his great-grandmother Aulga Clarke in Homestead, Florida and later moved to his father's home at the age of 10. He grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Miami, on a street lined with candy-colored houses.[9] Taylor played high school football in Pinecrest, a suburb of Miami. He originally began his high school football career at Miami Killian High School, a Class 6A public school, but transferred to Gulliver Preparatory School, a Class 2A prep school, where he could play both offense and defense. Despite missing the first game of the season (the team's only loss), he helped Gulliver win the Florida Class 2A State Championship in 2000 with a 14–1 record. Taylor was a star on both sides of the ball during that season, playing running back, defensive back and linebacker.[10] He rushed for 1,400 yards and a stat! e-record 44 touchdowns and on two separate occasions, rushed for more than 200 yards during Gulliver's state playoff run. He also compiled more than 100 tackles during the season and scored three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in the state title game victory over Marianna High School. Taylor was considered the No. 1 prospect in Miami-Dade County by the Miami Herald. He was also rated the nation's No. 1 skill athlete and an All-American by super prep. Taylor was also an Orlando Sentinel Super Southern Team selection, the No. 1 athlete on the Florida Times-Union Super 75 list and rated the No. 1 player in Florida by The Gainesville Sun. In 2007 he was also named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team, which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state. After his death, Taylor was honored at Gulliver by a plaque that was placed in the school's cafeteria.[11] The football field at Gulliver Prep was renamed ! Sean Taylor Memorial Field on September 5, 2009. [edit] College career ! [edit] 2001 season Taylor was recruited to play for coach Larry Coker's Miami Hurricanes football at the University of Miami, and he carved a niche for himself in Miami's secondary in nickel and dime defensive schemes as a freshman (he was one of just four true freshmen to play for the team). During the season, Taylor was named Big East Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Pittsburgh Panthers.[10] The Hurricanes won the national championship in 2001, their fifth national championship since 1983. [edit] 2002 season In 2002, his first season as a starter, Taylor was a second-team All-Big East selection by the league's head coaches. He finished third on the team in tackles with 85 (53 solo), broke up 15 passes, intercepted 4 passes, forced one fumble, blocked one kick and returned a punt for a touchdown. He led all Miami defensive backs in tackles, interceptions and passes broken up, and had a career-high 11 tackles (2 solo) and intercepted 2 passes! in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. One interception occurred on an infamous play where he was stripped by Maurice Clarett on the return, allowing the Buckeyes to retain possession. [edit] 2003 season Taylor produced a historic season during his final year at Miami that culminated with a plethora of honors and awards. He was named a unanimous first-team All-American, the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back. He led the Big East Conference and ranked first nationally in interceptions with 10, tying the record for interceptions in a season with former Hurricanes standout Bennie Blades. Taylor also finished first in total tackles with 77 (57 solo). He intercepted two passes in Miami's impressive 28-14 win over Pittsburgh, playing a key role as the Hurricanes limited All-American receiver Larry Fitzgerald to just two receptions for 13 yards. He returned interceptions for an averag! e of 18.4 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown return at Boston College! , a 50-yard scoring runback at Florida State and a 44-yard scoring runback against Rutgers University. His three touchdown returns of interceptions is a Miami single-season record. [edit] Professional career [edit] 2004 NFL draft Following his 2003 season, Taylor announced that he was entering the NFL draft. Taylor was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) by the Washington Redskins. He also was the first University of Miami player drafted in 2004, which was somewhat surprising since most experts thought former Hurricanes tight end Kellen Winslow II would be the first selection. Winslow was drafted right after Taylor by the Cleveland Browns. The drafting of Taylor by the Redskins in the first round began an NFL Draft record where an unprecedented six players from the University of Miami were drafted in the first round (the other five players were Kellen Winslow II, Jonathan Vilma, D. J. Williams, Vernon Carey and Vince Wilfork). Pre-draft measureables Wt 40y 20ss 3-con! e Vert BP Wonderlic 230 lb* 4.51 sec.* X X 39" 11 10*[12] (* represents NFL Combine) [edit] Washington Redskins Following his selection by the Redskins, Taylor signed a seven-year, $18 million contract with the team.[10] However, problems soon began for Taylor as he fired his agent and then skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Over his first three seasons, Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions. [edit] 2004 rookie season On the field during the 2004 season, Taylor was successful, emerging as the Redskins' starting free safety by the third game of his rookie year. Starting the remaining 13 games of the season, Taylor finished the year with 89 tackles, two forced fumbles, one sack, 9 passes defended and 4 interceptions (second-highest on the team). [edit] 2005 season Before the season started, Taylor switched his jersey number from #36 to #21 after the cornerback who had ! worn number 21 the year before. Fred Smoot, a close personal friend of ! Taylor, had left the team and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Taylor kept the number when Smoot rejoined the Redskins in 2007, with Smoot opting to wear #27 (his number from Minnesota). Taylor continued his effective play in the 2005 season, finishing with 70 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 10 passes defended and 1 fumble returned for a touchdown. Taylor, along with fellow University of Miami and Redskins teammate Clinton Portis, was fined $5,000 in the home game against the Philadelphia Eagles for violating the NFL dress code by wearing socks that did not match the Redskins' standard uniform. Taylor had ups and downs during a January 7, 2006 wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although he scored a touchdown that proved to be the Redskins' game-winning touchdown, he was ejected after spitting at Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman. He was subsequently fined $17,000, the amount of his game bonus check. [edit] 2006 season In 2006 Sean ! Taylor finished the year leading the Redskins' defense with 129 tackles and also had 1 interception, 6 passes defended and 3 forced fumbles. During the season, Washington Redskins assistant coach Gregg Williams frequently called Taylor the best athlete that he had ever coached.[5] In Week 9, Taylor returned a blocked Mike Vanderjagt field goal into Dallas Cowboys territory and was awarded a 15 yard penalty after Kyle Kosier grabbed his facemask. This set up the winning field goal by Nick Novak. Three weeks later in Week 12, Taylor had his best game of the season against the Carolina Panthers.[13] Though he played well throughout the game, his presence was felt most sharply in the final minutes in which he made a key 4th-down tackle to prevent a 1st down and intercepted Jake Delhomme to seal the victory. He earned NFL Defensive P
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Sean Taylor . Height: 6-2 Weight: 212 Deceased Born: 4/1/1983 Miami , FL College: Miami (Fla.) Read the rest
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Sean Michael Maurice Taylor (April 1, 1983 – November 27, 2007) was an American college and professional football player who was a free safety for the Washington Read the rest
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Sean Taylor (Born 29 December 1983) is a singer-songwriter from Kilburn, North-West London. He has released five albums. Read the rest
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