Taylor, 24, has made a living jarring receivers in the secondary for the Redskins and his jersey remains as popular as ever with Hurricanes fans. But lately, he had gotten into a bit of trouble including in 2005 for waving a gun at people he thought had stolen his car. I know folks automatically assume that means Taylor was a gangster or some guy that was hanging with the wrong crowd.
But according to his cousin, Florida State safety Anthony Leon, Taylor was trying to shed those friends he grew up with in Florida City. Leon, who told me has spent his morning crying and praying from his dorm room in Tallahassee, said Taylor had "started to calm down."
"He's been trying to stay away from bad company -- especially for his daughter's sake," Leon told me. "Sean wasn't a bad guy at all. He's got his personality on the football field and off it. All he was trying to do was protect his family. And they shot him."
Gulliver assistant coach,Ron Butler told me Taylor had stopped by Gulliver before the start of the season and often visited the school to speak to the team and to school administrators. Leon said he spoke to Taylor before the start of the season, "he told me just to keep trying hard, focus, that I was going to make it just like him."