Fred Taylor is remembered fondly in Gainesville because he was a part of that 1996 National Championship team and the fact he was probably the next best running back in Florida history behind Emmitt Smith. He finished his collegiate career with 3,075 rushing yards as well as 717 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns.
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Taylor would end up getting drafted ninth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1998 NFL Draft. He spent 11 seasons with the Jaguars before spending his last two seasons with the New England Patriots and recorded over 14,000 yards from scrimmage in his career to go with 74 total touchdowns.
However, his time in the league left him with more than just some wins and Jaguars franchise records. He was pretty banged up and he never even knew it.
A fractured clavicle and a partially torn labrum in each shoulder? Those are serious injuries and usually keep guys out for whole seasons! Taylor kept tweeting out through the pain and gave some more insight into how the doctors treated him at the time.
Taylor doesn't want your pity though. He's a tough dude and he's going to stay that way.
I would have been out of commission for life with any of those injuries so props to Taylor for finding a way to play through it and not giving in to the pain once.
