Lorenzo Taliaferro (December 23, 1991December 16, 2020) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Lackawanna College Lackawanna College (Lackawanna or LC) is a private college in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It also has satellite centers in Hazleton, Hawley, Sunbury, Towanda, and Tunkhannock, and an Environmental Education Center in Covington Township. Acade ...

and

Coastal Carolina Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

and was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

in the fourth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

College career

Taliaferro attended

and played for Coach Mark Duda on a scholarship until he received a football scholarship to

. Taliaferro finished 11th in the 2013

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

voting. In May 2014, he shared the SAAC Male Athlete of the Year award for 2014 with Pedro Ribeiro. In July 2014, he was voted Big South Male Athlete of the Year.

Professional career

Taliaferro was drafted by the

with the 138th pick in the

. On September 21, 2014, Taliaferro had the first touches of his NFL career rushing 18 times for 91 yards and a touchdown in a week 3 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Taliaferro had his first multi-rushing touchdown game against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

with 2 touchdowns. He was placed on injured reserve on December 16, 2014, ending his rookie season. He finished his rookie season with 68 carries for 282 yards (4.3 yards per attempt) and 4 rushing touchdowns in 13 games. He also had 8 receptions for 114 yards, and returned one kickoff for 15 yards. Taliaferro returned in 2015 and would begin the season as the third-string running back behind veteran

Justin Forsett Justin Forsett (born October 14, 1985) is an American former football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft ...

and rookie

Javorius Allen Javorius "Buck" Allen (born August 27, 1991) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC. Early years Allen attended Lincoln Hi ...

. On October 14, 2015, Taliaferro was added to season-ending injury/reserve after a nagging foot injury plagued him all season. After playing Week 4 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, he finished his season with 13 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown in 3 games. He also caught 5 passes for 29 yards On August 30, 2016, Taliaferro was placed on the PUP list to start the 2016 season. He was activated from the PUP list on October 22, 2016. He was placed on injured reserve on December 13, 2016. He had just four touches: a rush for no yards and three catches for 10 yards. On September 1, 2017, Taliaferro was waived by the Ravens during final roster cuts. On February 14, 2018, it was reported that Taliaferro would be participating in

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

in 2018. Taliaferro signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

for the 2018 season. After making several tackles as a defensive player, and receiving no offensive touches during the preseason, Taliaferro was released by Hamilton on June 6.

Death

Taliaferro died at age 28 on December 16, 2020, in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

, a week shy of his 29th birthday. His death was reported to have been caused by a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

induced by cocaine and fentanyl intoxication, according to the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

References

External links

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taliaferro, Lorenzo 1991 births 2020 deaths American football running backs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football players Baltimore Ravens players Players of American football from Virginia People from Yorktown, Virginia African-American players of American football Lackawanna Falcons football players The Spring League players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Drug-related deaths in Virginia Cocaine-related deaths in Virginia