Lawrence Taylor: From Tar Heel to NFL Legend

Lawrence Julius Taylor, born on February 4, 1959, is an American former professional football linebacker whose transformative impact on the game is undeniable. Before his illustrious NFL career with the New York Giants, Taylor honed his skills at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. This article explores Taylor's college career, highlighting his evolution as a player, his achievements, and the foundation it laid for his professional success.

Early Life and High School Career

Lawrence Taylor was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, to Clarence and Iris Taylor. He was a challenging child with relentless energy, finding an early outlet in baseball. Taylor began playing football relatively late, in his junior year at Lafayette High School. Despite his short high school career, the University of North Carolina (UNC) coaches saw his potential and offered him a scholarship.

Arrival at the University of North Carolina

After graduating from Lafayette High School in 1977, Taylor joined the UNC Tar Heels, wearing No. 98. During his sophomore season in 1978, Lawrence Taylor played at inside linebacker and nose guard. Nagging injuries and his play in these positions combined for a lackluster year for him. In his junior season, Taylor was moved to his natural position of outside linebacker and everything started to fall into place.

Collegiate Career

1978 Season

Taylor's first season in Chapel Hill was uneventful as he played almost exclusively on special teams. Complete individual defensive statistics were not kept prior to 1978.

1979 Season

Taylor began to make his mark on the UNC defense, especially towards the end of the season. In his return to his natural outside linebacker position in 1979, Taylor began to make his mark on the UNC defense. The Tar Heels finished the regular season 7-3-1 and were invited to the 1979 Gator Bowl against Michigan. After Matt Kupec tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Phil Farris to give UNC the 14-9 lead, the Carolina defense took control. In the next five Michigan possessions, UNC forced four turnovers, including a fumble recovery by Taylor. He recorded a sack in that game as well, and received votes for the MVP of that 17-15 Carolina Gator Bowl victory.

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1980 Season: A Standout Year

Prior to the 1980 season, this is what Coach Dick Crum had to say about Taylor: When he has his mind on his business, he’s as good as there is. I’m talking about everybody in the country now. He is that talented. But, he’s got to be mentally ready every Saturday. As coaches, we can help him get there. But, in the end, he has to develop that intensity himself. If he does, he’s going to be a great one. Taylor certainly made 1980 a great one and set himself up for a Hall of Fame career. Taylor’s All-American season led a defense that finished eighth nationally in scoring defense and 11th in total defense. The 1980 team finished 11-1 overall, had a final AP ranking of 10th, and captured the last ACC Championship for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

In his junior year, Taylor was the standout defensive player on a team that finished 8-3-1 and beat the University of Michigan in the Gator Bowl. The next year was more impressive for both UNC and Taylor, as the team finished 11-1 and he accumulated 55 tackles and 16 sacks. Taylor was named a first team All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year.

Taylor holds the UNC program record for sacks in a season with 16. His 21 career sacks ranks fifth at Carolina. Additionally, he is tied for third in career tackles for loss with 33.

College Statistics

Year	Total Tackles	Fumbles Caused	Fumbles Recovered	Tackles for Loss	Sacks	Interceptions
1978	28	0	0	0	0	0
1979	95	7	0	11-70	5-51	1
1980	69	3	3	22-149	16-127	0
Totals	192	10	3	33-219	21-178	1

Honors and Awards at UNC

Taylor is one of only three Tar Heels to be named Unanimous All-Americans. Because of this honor in 1980, his #98 jersey is honored in Kenan Memorial Stadium. He was selected as the ACC Player of the Year in 1980. Taylor was only the fourth defensive player since 1953 to win ACC Player of the Year honors, and just one of nine in history. In 2002, Taylor was named one of the Top 50 ACC football players during the first 50 years of the league.

The 1981 NFL Draft

Many in the National Football League (NFL) considered Taylor a future superstar, and in a poll of the twenty-eight general managers in the league, twenty-six said they would take him with the first overall pick. In the 1981 NFL draft, Taylor was selected by the New York Giants in the first round as the 2nd pick overall. In a poll of NFL general managers (GMs) taken before the draft 26 of the league's 28 GMs said if they had the first selection they would select Taylor. One of the two GMs who said they would not take Taylor was Bum Phillips, who had just been hired as coach and general manager by the New Orleans Saints. As fate would have it for Taylor, the Saints were also the team who had the first pick in the draft. Giants GM George Young predicted before the draft that he would be better than NFL legends such as Dick Butkus: "Taylor is the best college linebacker I've ever seen. Sure, I saw Dick Butkus play. There's no doubt in my mind about Taylor. He's bigger and stronger than Butkus was. On draft day, Phillips made good on his promise not to draft Taylor and the Saints instead selected Heisman Trophy-winning halfback George Rogers with the first pick, leaving the Giants with the decision of whether to select Taylor. To the raucous approval of the crowd in attendance at the draft (which was held in New York City), the Giants selected him. Privately, Taylor was hesitant about playing for New York as he had hoped to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, and was unimpressed with a tour of Giants Stadium he was taken on, after the draft. Publicly, however, he expressed excitement about the opportunity to play in the city. Taylor changed his stance after he was drafted as Harry Carson made a point to reach out to him, and Taylor said he "talked to some players and coaches" and "got things straightened out."

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NFL Career

Taylor's talent was evident from the start of training camp. Reports came out of the Giants training compound of the exploits of the new phenom. Taylor's teammates took to calling him Superman and joked that his locker should be replaced with a phone booth. Phil Simms, the team's quarterback, said, "on the pass rush, he's an animal. He's either going to run around you or over you. Taylor developed what has been described as a "love-hate relationship" with Bill Parcells, the Giants’ defensive coordinator when he was drafted and later their head coach.

Early Years and Defensive Dominance

Taylor made his NFL regular season debut on September 6, 1981, in a 24-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Aside from incurring a penalty for a late hit on Eagles running back Perry Harrington, Taylor played an unremarkable game. In a game versus the St. Louis Cardinals later in the season, Taylor rushed and sacked the passer when he was supposed to drop into coverage. When told by Parcells that was not what he was assigned to do on that play, and that what he did was not in the playbook, Taylor responded "Well, we better put it in on Monday, because that play's a dandy." He recorded 9.5 sacks in 1981, and his rookie season is considered one of the best in NFL history. He was named 1981's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Taylor's arrival helped the Giants defense reduce their points allowed from 425 points in 1980 to 257 in 1981. They finished the season 9-7, up five games from the previous season, and advanced to the NFL divisional playoffs, where they lost 38-24 to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers. The San Francisco win was due partly to a new tactic 49ers coach Bill Walsh used to slow Taylor. The 1982 NFL season, which was shortened to nine regular season games by a players strike, included one of the more memorable plays of Taylor's career. In the nationally televised Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions, the teams were tied 6-6 early in the fourth quarter, when the Lions drove deep into New York territory. Lions quarterback Gary Danielson dropped back to pass and threw the ball out to his left toward the sidelines. Taylor ran in front of the intended receiver, intercepted the pass, and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. This play was indicative of Taylor's unusual combination, even for a linebacker, of power with speed. After the 1982 season, Perkins became head coach of the University of Alabama and the Giants hired Parcells to replace him. In the coming years this change proved crucial to the Giants and Taylor. Although Taylor recorded nine sacks and made the All-Pro team for the third consecutive season in 1983, the Giants struggled. The team went 3-12-1, and Parcells received heavy criticism from fans and the media. Taylor was forced to play inside linebacker for part of the season, a position which allowed him fewer pass rushing opportunities, when Carson was injured. Despite this change, Taylor made the 1983 All-Pro Team at both outside linebacker and inside linebacker, becoming the first first-team All-Pro in NFL History selected for two positions in the same year. Frustrated by the losing, Taylor began acting out by arriving late for meetings, and not participating in conditioning drills in practice.

Contract Disputes and Team Success

After the season, Taylor was involved in a fight for his services between the Giants and the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. Taylor was given a $1 million interest-free, 25-year loan by Generals owner Donald Trump on December 14, 1983, with the provision that he begin playing in the USFL in 1988. Taylor regretted the decision, and less than a month later attempted to renege. His agent was able to negotiate by meeting with Trump personally and then the Giants which resulted in allowing Taylor to go with the Giants. Taylor got a 6-year, $6.55 million package that also included a $1 million interest-free loan. The Giants' record rebounded to 9-7 in 1984, and Taylor had his fourth All-Pro season. He got off to a quick start, recording four sacks in a September game. In contrast to the previous season the Giants headed into the 1985 season with a sense of optimism after their successful 1984 campaign and a 5-0 pre-season record. The Giants went 10-6, and Taylor spearheaded a defense that led the NFL in sacks with 68. Taylor had 13. One of the more memorable plays of his career occurred during this season. On a Monday Night Football game against the Redskins, Taylor's sack of Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann inadvertently resulted in a compound fracture of Theismann's right leg. After the sack, a distraught Taylor screamed for paramedics to attend to Theismann. Although this sack ended Theismann's career, Theismann has never blamed Taylor for the injury.

1986: MVP Season and Super Bowl XXI Victory

In 1986, Taylor had one of the most successful seasons by a defensive player in the history of the NFL. He recorded a league-leading 20.5 sacks and became one of just two defensive players to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award and the only defensive player to be the unanimous selection for MVP. He also was named Defensive Player of the Year for the third time. With the Super Bowl win, Taylor capped off an unprecedented start to his career. After six years, he had been named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award (1981), NFL Defensive Player of the Year a record three times (1981, 1982, 1986), First-team All-Pro six times, become the first defensive player in NFL history unanimously voted the league's MVP (1986), and led his team to a championship (1986). After the win, however, Taylor felt let down rather than elated. When the Super Bowl was over … Everyone was so excited, but by then I felt deflated. I'd won every award, had my best season, finally won the Super Bowl. I was on top of the world right? So what could be next? Nothing. The thrill is the chase to get to the top.

Later Years and Super Bowl XXV

The Giants appeared to have a bright future coming off their 1986 championship season as they were one of the younger teams in the league. They struggled the next season however, falling to 6-9 in the strike-shortened 1987 season. Taylor caused strife in the locker room when he broke the picket line after early struggles by the team. He explained his decision by saying "The Giants are losing. The Giants looked to rebound to their championship ways in 1988 but the start of the season was marred by controversy surrounding Taylor. He tested positive for cocaine and was suspended by the league for thirty days, as it was his second violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The first result in 1987 had been kept private and was not known to the public at the time. He was kept away from the press during this period and checked himself into rehab in early September. Taylor's over-the-edge lifestyle was becoming an increasing concern for fans and team officials. This was especially true given the eventual career paths of talented players like Hollywood Henderson and others whose drug problems derailed their careers. The Giants went 2-2 in the games Taylor missed. When Taylor returned he was his usual dominant self as he led the team in sacks again, with 15.5 in 12 games played. The season also contained some of the more memorable moments of Taylor's career. In a crucial late-season game with playoff implications against the New Orleans Saints, Taylor played through a torn pectoral muscle to record seven tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Taylor's presence in the lineup was important as the Giants' offense was having trouble mounting drives, and was dominated in time of possession. Television cameras repeatedly cut to the sidelines to show him in extreme physical pain as he was being attended to by the Giants staff. In 1989, Taylor recorded 15 sacks. He was forced to play the latter portion of the season with a fractured tibia, suffered in a 34-24 loss to the 49ers in week 12, which caused him to sit out the second half of several games. Despite his off-the-field problems, Taylor remained popular among his teammates and was voted defensive co-captain along with Carl Banks. The two filled the defensive captain's spot vacated by the retired Harry Carson. The retirement of the nine-time Pro Bowler Carson, broke up the Giants linebacker corps of Carson, Reasons, Banks, and Taylor, which spearheaded the team's defense nicknamed the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew" in the 1980s. The Giants went 12-4, and advanced to the playoffs. Taylor held out of training camp before the 1990 season, demanding a new contract with a salary of $2 million per year. Talks dragged into September with neither side budging, and as the season approached Taylor received fines at the rate of $2,500 a day. He signed a three-year $5 million contract (making him the highest paid defensive player in the league) just four days before the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite sitting out training camp and the preseason, Taylor recorded three sacks and a forced fumble against the Eagles. He finished with 10.5 sacks and earned his 10th Pro Bowl in as many years, although the season marked the first time in Taylor's career that he was not selected First-team All-Pro. The Giants started out 10-0 and finished with a 13-3 record.

Legacy

Taylor was a linebacker whose speed, power, and fearsome intensity revolutionized the position and forced opposing teams to change their game plans. He is considered not only one of the best defensive players ever but also simply one of the best football players of all time. At his peak, Taylor was the most dominating defensive football player in the league. He is widely regarded as the best linebacker ever. Taylor was selected to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 as well as the NFL's 100 All-Time Team in 2019 and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1999, his first year of eligibility.

Post-NFL Career

After leaving football he remained in the limelight. He worked as a football commentator and actor, appearing in films such as Any Given Sunday (1999) and Shaft (2000).

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