Cooper Taylor (born April 4, 1990) is a former American football safety. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Georgia Tech before transferring to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He was selected in the fifth round by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Early life

Taylor attended Marist High School in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a two-time all-state and all-county selection and also earned three varsity letters in football in high school.

College career

Georgia Tech

He played

at Georgia Tech from 2008 to 2010. He was selected for the second-team All-ACC by Rivals and was an honorable mention Freshmen All-America by College Football News in the 2008 season.

Richmond

After being diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, Taylor missed most of the 2009 and 2010 seasons with Georgia Tech and transferred. He spent his final two seasons at the University of Richmond. He was impressive during his time with the Spiders. In his senior season he was a selected for the First-team AP All-American, First-team Walter Camp All-America, First-team The Sports Network All-American, Second-team All-American by Phil Steele and the Second-team All-American by Beyond College Sports First-team All-CAA, the First-team VaSID All-State, College Sports Madness First-team All-CAA, the First-team Capital One Academic All-American and was the selection of the CoSIDA Academic All-District. He also was selected for The Touchdown Club of Richmond Division I National Defensive Back of the Year. Following the conclusion of his senior season, Taylor was selected to and participated in the 2013 East-West Shrine Game as a member on the East team. On February 19, 2013, he was selected as the CAA Football Scholar Athlete Of The Year.

Professional career

Before the draft, Taylor impressed scouts during his performance in the East-West Shrine Game. His large frame (6'5", 228 pounds) and athleticism drew many comparisons to

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

safety

Kam Chancellor Kameron Darnel Chancellor (born April 3, 1988), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is an American former football strong safety who played for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech prior t ...

. Taylor was eventually selected in the fifth round (152nd overall) in the

by the New York Giants. On October 20, 2015, he was waived by the Giants. On November 4, 2015, he was signed to the practice squad. On November 18, 2015, Taylor was promoted to the active roster. On August 30, 2016, he was waived by the Giants.

Personal life

Taylor is the son of former Georgia Tech quarterback

Jim Bob Taylor James Robert Taylor (born September 9, 1959) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Baltimore Colts. He played high school football at Somerset High School and college football ...

who was drafted in the 11th round in the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...

by the Baltimore Colts, where he spent his only NFL season in 1983.

References

External links

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bioRichmond Spiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Cooper 1990 births Living people Richmond Spiders football players American football safeties New York Giants players Players of American football from Atlanta