Kelvin Taylor (born September 28, 1993) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
for the
Massachusetts Pirates
The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Worcester, Massachusetts, with home games at the DCU Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena Lea ...
of the IFL. 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
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Early years
Taylor attended
Glades Day School
Glades Day School is a K-12 private school in Belle Glade, Florida. It is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools. It was founded in 1965 as a segregation academy by white parents in response to the court-ordered desegregation of P ...
in
Belle Glade, Florida
Belle Glade is a city in south-central Florida and it is the far western part of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 17,467.
Bel ...
. As a junior, he broke
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...
's Florida career rushing yards record. For his career, he had 12,121 yards and 191
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
. Taylor was rated by
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc.
History
Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...
as a five-star recruit and ranked as the nation’s No. 1 running back in his class. He committed to the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
to play college football.
College career
As a true freshman at Florida in 2013, Taylor played in 10 games and made four starts. For the season he had 508 yards on 111 carries with four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2014, he played in all 12 games with two starts. He carried the ball 116 times for 565 yards and six touchdowns. In the final game of his junior year, he became just the ninth player to rush for over 1,000 yards (1,035) in UF history. His 259 rushes were the second-most in a single season in school history and his 13 rushing touchdowns equaled the third-most by a running back in school history. Following his record-setting 2015 campaign, Taylor announced his intentions to enter the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
.
Professional career
San Francisco 49ers
Taylor was selected in the sixth round, 211th overall, in the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
by the 49ers. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the 49ers as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released by the 49ers on November 28, 2016.
Seattle Seahawks
On November 30, 2016, Taylor was signed to the Seahawks' practice squad. He was released on December 8, 2016. On December 13, 2016, he was signed to the Seahawks' active roster. He was released on December 20, 2016 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Seahawks on January 16, 2017.
On May 4, 2017, Taylor was waived by the Seahawks.
Kansas City Chiefs
Taylor was claimed off waivers by the Chiefs on May 5, 2017. He was waived by the Chiefs on May 9, 2017.
Atlanta Falcons
On August 8, 2017, Taylor signed with the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
. He was waived on September 1, 2017.
Cleveland Browns
On January 10, 2018, Taylor signed a reserve/future contract with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
. He was waived by the Browns on April 12, 2018.
Orlando Apollos
In 2018, Kelvin Taylor signed with the Orlando Apollos, an Alliance of American Football team coached by
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...
.
Orlando Guardians
On November 17, 2022, Taylor was drafted by the
Orlando Guardians
The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLife ...
of the
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
. He signed with the team on February 15, 2023.
He rushed for 84 yards in three games before he was released on March 8.
Massachusetts Pirates
On May 3, 2023, Taylor signed with the
Massachusetts Pirates
The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Worcester, Massachusetts, with home games at the DCU Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena Lea ...
.
Personal life
Taylor is the son of former
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
running back,
Fred Taylor, also out of Florida.
Fred Taylor: Kelvin is better
/ref>
References
External links
Florida Gators bio
NFL Scouting Combine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Kelvin
1993 births
Living people
American football running backs
Atlanta Falcons players
Cleveland Browns players
Florida Gators football players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Orlando Apollos players
Orlando Guardians players
Players of American football from Belle Glade, Florida
San Francisco 49ers players
Seattle Seahawks players