Benjamin Frazier Taylor (born August 31, 1978) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

. Taylor was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. He now teaches physical education and coaches football at Shenandoah University in Virginia.

College career

Taylor was a standout for the

football team, earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2000 and 2001. He led the Hokies in tackles his junior and senior seasons with 103 tackles in 2000 and 121 in 2001.

Professional career

Taylor played in a total of 49 NFL games and had 218 tackles in four seasons with the Browns and one for the Green Bay Packers.

Cleveland Browns

Taylor selected by the Browns in the fourth round (111th overall) of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. His best year was in 2005 when he was second on the Browns with 113 tackles.

Green Bay Packers

On March 26, 2006, the Packers signed Taylor to a one-year contract.

NFL career statistics

College Coaching

After finishing his pro career, Taylor is a wide receivers coach for the

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

football team.

References

External links

NFL.com player page
* 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Bellaire, Ohio American football linebackers Virginia Tech Hokies football players Cleveland Browns players Green Bay Packers players 20th-century American sportsmen {{linebacker-1970s-stub