ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell senior safety Jelani Taylor has been named one of 13 finalists for the 2019 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award it was announced today. One student-athlete from each of the 13 FCS conferences were named a finalist.

Already one of 11 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy presented by the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame, Taylor was a force as a three-year starter at safety. A first-team All-Ivy League selection and candidate for the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, 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). He 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. 

Taylor had a monster game at Harvard with 12 tackles, a half-tackle for loss, an interception and three pass breakups and returned a fumble 87 yards for a touchdown, the longest fumble return in school history, vs. Colgate. He was a hero against Brown, posting a game-high nine tackles, intercepting a pass and breaking up three others in a 37-35 win over Brown while also making a stop on a two-point conversion, getting a fourth down stop early in the second to turn the ball over on downs, and springing Eric Stoxstill-Diggs' 46-yard punt return for a touchdown with the key block on the return. He was credited with nine tackles, a half-tackle for loss, a forced fumble and an interception against No. 12 Princeton and registered a game-high 11 tackles with a forced fumble in the win over No. 12 Dartmouth. 

Taylor ranks 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 was a first-team Academic All-District pick as a junior after leading the team in tackles (72) and passes defended (nine). Three times he broke up four passes in a game, one off a school record.

Aside from dominating on the field, the senior co-captain has maintained a 3.94 grade point average in Hotel Administration. A five-time Dean's List member and 2018 Academic All-Ivy League pick, he tutored and advised students in Financial Accounting, Quantitative Analysis, and Anthropology of Money, serving student-athletes and multicultural students within the Hotel School with a goal to help them excel in their coursework. 

A member of the 400 Club for student-athletes with a semester GPA of 4.0, he was selected to receive the PSP Excellence Award and 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." Taylor served as a summer intern in the office of Cornell's Executive Vice President and CFO. A two-year member of the football team's Leadership Cabinet, he was chosen to represent Cornell at the Ivy League Football media day at ESPN.

Named after the late school teacher and wife of legendary coach Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson, the fifth annual award is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels not only in the classroom, but in the community and beyond. STATS will announce the winner on Dec. 16 and honor him at the FCS Awards Banquet Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas – on the eve of the national championship game. Also at the national banquet, STATS will present the Walter Payton Award (FCS offensive player of the year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS defensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year) and Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year).

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Big Sky Conference: Dante Olson, Montana, LB, R-Sr. (major: business administration/management, GPA: 3.91) 
Big South Conference: K.J. Smith, North Alabama, S, Sr. (interdisciplinary studies/emphasis on health, 4.00)
CAA Football: Chucky Smith, Villanova, S, R-Sr. (biology with minors in economics and naval science, 3.62) 
Ivy League: Jelani Taylor, Cornell, S, Sr. (hotel administration, 3.94)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Ian McBorrough, Morgan State, LB, Sr. (business management, 3.29)
Missouri Valley Football Conference: Tom Rehfeld, Western Illinois, LB, R-Sr. (nursing degree. 3.50; in grad school) 
Northeast Conference: Spencer DeMedal, Duquesne, S, Sr. (biology, 3.98)
Ohio Valley Conference: Joe Caputo, Eastern Illinois, LB, R-Sr. (accounting and finance with minors in data analytics and supply chain management, 3.89)
Patriot League: Alex Pechin, Bucknell, P, 5th Year. (biomedical engineering and management for engineers double major, 3.90)
Pioneer Football League: Jacob Bacon, Drake, OL, Sr. (actuarial science and finance, 3.93; business administration in grad school, 4.0)
Southern Conference: Dorian Kithcart, Mercer, DL, R-Sr. (mechanical engineering degree, 3.54 GPA; mechanical engineering in grad school, 3.63)
Southland Conference: Chris Zirkle, Northwestern State, OL, R-Sr. (business degree, 3.83; homeland security in grad school, 4.00)
Southwestern Athletic Conference: Carl Thompson, Alabama State, OL, R-Jr. (computer information system, 3.6)