*** 2021 Honors Candidate ***
*** 2021 & 2020-21 Team Co-Captain ***

Career: Taylor played in and started more games than any other player in Eastern Washington history during his career, starting in all 60 of his appearances over six seasons. The five-time All-Big Sky selection missed the last 12 games in 2018 with a knee injury.

2021: Taylor earned second team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association, and he was selected as a member of the All-America third team by Hero Sports, Stats Perform and Phil Steele Publications. He was an All-Big Sky Conference first team selection after playing in and starting all 13 games for the Eagles. Taylor set the EWU record for most games started on 10/9/21 against Northern Colorado with the 53rd start of his career (previously Chris Schlichting with 52 between 2016-19). On 11/6/21, against Montana State, he passed Shaq Hill (2012-14, 55 games) to become the all-time leader in games played. Eastern finished first in the FCS in total offense per game, third in passing offense, and second in scoring offense. With 7,224 yards of total offense, the 2021 squad is ranked fourth all-time in EWU history. In the preseason, Taylor was selected to All-America squads by Stats Perform (second team) and Phil Steele Publications (second team) as an offensive lineman. He also earned All-Big Sky Conference accolades from the league office, and was a first team all-league selection by Phil Steele Publications. He was team co-captain for the second-straight season.

2020-21: Taylor earned first team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association and Phil Steele Publications, and was an All-Big Sky Conference first team selection. A starter at offensive tackle in all seven EWU games, he helped block for an Eastern team which finished third in FCS in total offense with an average of 524.9 yards per game after entering the postseason leading FCS. The Eagles were also fourth nationally in passing (367.3) and eighth in scoring offense (37.7). Eastern’s passing average was the third-best in school history and the average of 524.9 yards per game of total offense was fourth, just ahead of the 2019 average of 524.8 which led FCS. Selected as a senior team co-captain as voted upon by his teammates, joining quarterback Eric Barriere, running back Tamarick Pierce, linebacker Jack Sendelbach, safety Calin Criner and linebacker Ty Graham. The Big Sky Conference selected him to its preseason all-conference team. Phil Steele Publications selected him to its preseason All-Big Sky squad as a second team offensive lineman. He was granted a sixth year in the offseason by the NCAA to complete four years of eligibility because of seasons lost because of injuries.

2019: Was a second team All-Big Sky selection as chosen by the league’s head coaches after earning honorable mention accolades in 2016 and 2017. He started all 12 Eastern games at left offensive tackle. Eastern closed the 2019 season with the best offense in FCS, finishing at 524.8 yards per game. The Eagles had 2,450 yards of offense in the last four games of the season (612.5 per game) to take over the lead and maintain it. Eastern also ended the regular season second in scoring (40.6), fifth in passing (317.1) and 19th in rushing (207.8), and were the only team in FCS to rank in the top 24 in total offense, rushing and passing. Eastern had some impressive rushing performances in 2019, rushing for at least 174 yards eight times and at least 247 in six games (including the last four). The school’s 5.29 average per rush ranked 13th in FCS. The Eagles had a season-high 320 versus Cal Poly (11/16/19), and their best game of total offense was a school-record 769 yards versus Lindenwood (9/7/19). He was a third team preseason all-conference selection as chosen by Phil Steele Publications.

2018: He started and played in just three games in 2018 before being lost with a season-ending knee injury. At the time he was injured, EWU was leading the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense. In the three games he played, EWU averaged 542.0 yards per game to rank third in FCS, and was 16th in passing (300.7) and 20th in rushing (241.3) and 15th in scoring (37.7). EWU allowed just three sacks to rank 21st nationally, and had 677 yards of offense (349 passing) against Central Washington (9/1/18) and 570 yards (322 passing) versus Northern Arizona (9/8/18). The performance versus CWU ranks fifth in school history and the NAU game is 48th.

2017: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league’s head coaches). Started all 11 games, including 10 at left offensive guard. He also started against Fordham (9/16/17) at left tackle. He helped Eastern rank fifth in FCS in total offense (476.7 per game), and was also eighth in passing (320.5), 14th in scoring (34.5) and 11th in third down conversions (46.1 percent).

2016: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league’s head coaches). Taylor started all 14 Eastern games at left offensive tackle. He made his debut as an Eagle starter versus Washington State (9/3/16) in EWU’s thrilling 45-42 win. He was selected as the team’s offensive player of the week after helping EWU finish with 540 total yards in a 50-35 win at Northern Arizona (9/24/16). Eastern allowed just one sack on a day in which Gage Gubrud handled the ball 68 times (57 passes and 11 rushes). The offensive line shared the team offensive player of the week honor in a 35-16 win over Montana (10/29/16) and again in a 38-0 win over Richmond (12/10/16) in the FCS Playoffs. Taylor helped Eastern rank second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game, trailing only Sam Houston State at 547.3 per outing. Eastern was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game), and was third in third down conversions (52.1 percent), third in completion percentage (.679), third in scoring offense (42.4), and third in passing efficiency (168.2). Eastern quarterbacks were sacked only 24 times in 620 passing attempts (one sack per 25.8 attempts).

2015: Redshirted.

HS: Graduated from Stagg HS in 2015. Listed as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. As a senior in 2014, Taylor was named the San Joaquin Athletic Association Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was also a first team selection as an offensive lineman on the MaxPreps All-Sac-Joaquin Central Section team. He was named to the first team as an offensive lineman on the All-Area team selected by the Stockton Record. Prior to the season, Taylor was honored as a first team preseason offensive lineman in the Sac-Joaquin Section by Cal-Hi Sports. Taylor helped block for a Stagg offense that amassed close to 4,000 yards and scored over 60 touchdowns. On defense, he totaled 20 tackles, had one sack and one blocked field goal on the season. As a junior in 2013, Taylor was a first team All-Tri City Athletic League selection as an offensive lineman.

Personal: Taylor has completed his criminal justice degree and is now working toward a second degree in psychology. Born 4/9/97 in Stockton, Calif. Parents are Shawn and Wendi Taylor.