Taylor was a force as a three-year starter at safety, earning first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors as a senior in 2019. A first-team All-Ivy League selection in his final season, he led the team and was second in the Ivy League with 76 tackles. He also paced the squad in passes defended (14), interceptions (three) and forced fumbles (two). Taylor ranked third in the conference in passes defended (14th nationally) and second in both interceptions (47th nationally) and fumbles forced. In Ivy games only, the safety paced the conference in tackles (62, 8.9 per game) and fumbles forced (two), was second in interceptions (three) and third in passes defended (13). The two-time first-team academic all-district pick added 2.0 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a two-point conversion breakup from his safety position and was named Ivy Defensive Player of the Week once. One of 11 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy and one of 13 for the 2019 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. Taylor graduated ranked in the top 30 all-time in Cornell history in tackles and his 30 passes defended is fifth in Big Red history. The 5-11, 195-pound native of Beecher, Mich., closed his career with 187 tackles, including 5.0 for a loss and 2.0 sacks, 27 pass breakups, four forced fumbles and three interceptions in 38 games. Taylor claimed the department's Richie Moran Award, given to a senior student-athlete at Cornell who has distinguished himself/herself through "academics, athletics and ambassadorship."Â
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