Sean Michael Maurice Taylor (April 1, 1983 – November 27, 2007 was an American football player who played free safety for the Washington Redskins of the NFL. Taylor died during his playing career at the age of 24 after being shot in his Miami home by an apparent intruder.
Due to his ferocious style of hitting, his teammates had nicknamed him “Meast”, a summarization of “half-man, half-beast”.
Taylor played high school football at Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Florida, a suburb of Miami, where he helped Gulliver win the Florida Class 2A State Championship in 2000. At Gulliver, he was a star on both sides of the ball, playing running back (on offense) and defensive back and linebacker (on defense).
In 2000, Taylor rushed for 1,300 yards and a state-record 44 touchdowns. On two separate occasions, Taylor rushed for more than 400 yards during Gulliver’s state playoff run. He also racked up more than 200 tackles during the 2000 season and accounted for four touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in the state title game victory over Marianna.
Taylor was considered the No. 1 prospect in Miami-Dade County by the Miami Herald and rated the nation’s No. 1 skill athlete and an All-American by SuperPrep. He was also an Orlando Sentinel Super Southern Team selection, the No. 1 athlete on the Florida Times-Union Super 75 list, and rated the No. 1 player in Florida by the Gainesville Sun.
Taylor began his high school football career at 6A Miami Killian Senior HS, but left to Gulliver 2A where he could play both offense and defense. He is honored at Gulliver by a plaque which is located in the academy’s cafeteria.
Taylor was recruited by the University of Miami, where he enrolled in 2001. That year, he was one of just four true freshmen to play for Miami in the 2001 national championship season, carving a niche for himself in Miami’s secondary in nickel and dime coin packages. Taylor was named “Big East Special Teams Player” of the Week for his performance against the University of Pittsburgh.
In 2002, Taylor was a second-team All-Big East selection by the league’s head coaches in his first season as a starter. He finished third on the team in tackles with 85 (53 solos), broke up 15 passes, intercepted 4 passes, forced one fumbles, blocked one kick and returned a punt for a touchdown. He led all defensive backs in tackles, interceptions and passes broken up and had a career-high 11 tackles (2 solo) and intercepted 2 passes in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State University.
During his final year at Miami, Taylor produced a historic season that culminated with a plethora of honors and awards. He was a named a consensus first-team All-American, the “Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year” and a finalist for the “Jim Thorpe Award” given to the nation’s best defensive back. He led the Big East Conference and ranked first nationally in interceptions per game (0.98) with 10, tying the record for interceptions in a season with former Hurricane standout Bennie Blades. He finished first in total tackles with 77 (57 solos). He intercepted two passes in Miami’s impressive 28-14 win over Pittsburgh, playing a key role as the Hurricanes limited All-American receiver Larry Fitzgerald to two receptions for 13 yards. He returned interceptions for an average of 18.4 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown return at Boston College, a 50-yard scoring runback at Florida State, and a 44-yard scoring runback against Rutgers. His three TD returns of interceptions is a Miami single-season record.
interceptions, with four. In addition to his four interceptions, Taylor had 89 tackles, two forced fumbles and one sack. He starteOn the field during the 2004 season, Taylor was successful, emerging as the Redskins’ starting free safety by the third game of his rookie season. For the season, he had the team’s second mostd for the Redskins in 13 of the season’s 16 games.
Taylor’s short NFL career, however, was overshadowed somewhat by controversy. He fired two of his agents, walked out of a mandatory NFL rookie symposium for which he was fined, and was accused of spitting on Cincinnati Bengals player, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who later called Taylor “a punk”, during a 2004 game at FedEx Field. However, after an investigation, the NFL found nothing to substantiate the spitting allegation.
Taylor continued his effective play in the 2005 season, finishing with 70 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble returned for a touchdown. In this year he became recognized as one of the hardest hitters in the NFL.
Taylor, along with fellow University of Miami and Redskins’ teammate Clinton Portis, was fined $5,000 in the home game against the Philadelphia Eagles for violating the NFL dress code by wearing socks that did not match the Redskins’ standard uniform. Portis was fined even more for additional infractions.
Taylor had ups and downs during a January 7, 2006 wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although he scored a touchdown that proved to be the Redskins’ margin of victory, he was ejected after spitting at running back Michael Pittman. He was subsequently fined $17,000, the amount of his game check.
The 2006 season was arguably the most inconsistent of Taylor’s career. He finished the year leading the Redskins’ defense with 129 tackles, 1 interception and 3 forced fumbles. However, Taylor missed numerous tackles in his attempts to knock the ball carrier out and was exposed in coverage on several occasions too. Some backers of Taylor might say this was the culmination of Taylor being forced to make tackles near the line of scrimmage to help the struggling Redskins defensive rush unit.
Taylor had his best game of the season in week 12 against the Carolina Panthers. Though he played well all game, his presence was felt most sharply in the final minutes, making a key 4th-down tackle and intercepting a Jake Delhomme pass to seal the victory. He earned NFL Defensive Player of the Week honors following the game.
Even while playing on a struggling Redskins defensive unit, Taylor’s impact on the field was recognized when he was named a first alternate to the NFC’s 2007 Pro Bowl team. When the first choice for safety, Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles, chose not to play in the Pro Bowl due to an injury, Taylor was named to the vacated spot, marking his first and only Pro Bowl appearance.
- On June 3, 2005, Taylor was named publicly as a “person of interest” by Miami-Dade County police in regard to a Miami assault case involving firearms, and was being sought for questioning. “We need to speak to him, we don’t know if he’s a victim, witness or suspect,” Miami-Dade police spokesman Mary Walters said. Taylor allegedly was present at, and possibly involved in, an incident on June 1, 2005 in Miami, in which bullets allegedly were fired into a stolen vehicle. [citation needed]
- On June 5, 2005, ESPN and The Miami Herald both reported that Taylor, accompanied by his lawyer, surrendered to Miami-Dade police at approximately 10pm ET on June 4 at Miami’s Cutler Ridge district police station, where he was transported to Miami’s Turner Guilford Knight correctional facility. He was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, a felony, and misdemeanor battery.
- On June 5, Miami-Dade police issued a statement indicating that Taylor had been arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm (a felony) and battery (a misdemeanor), for allegedly pointing a gun at a person over a dispute over two ATVs that Taylor claimed were stolen. Taylor then allegedly left the scene, but returned shortly and punched one person.
- The Associated Press reported on June 5 that Taylor was held in detention at Miami’s Turner Gilford Knight correctional facility and released the evening of June 4 after posting bond of $16,500. The Miami-Dade County Clerk’s Office announced that Taylor would soon be officially arraigned on the charges.
The Washington Post reported on March 3, 2006 that Taylor’s trial has been postponed until April 10, 2006. Days before that date, the trial was moved back once more, this time by a week, because of conflicts with Passover and Easter celebrations.