Hometown Hero

     Former local football star Tyrod Taylor, has now been named the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Taylor attended Hampton High School and was a star in football, basketball and track, finishing his high school football career with a 34-4 record. He played quarterback, safety and kick returner. When Taylor graduated in 2007, ESPN ranked him the as the number 3 quarterback in the nation.  Taylor chose to further his career at the # 9 ranked football school in the nation, Virginia Tech located in Blacksburg, Va.

    Taylor had a fantastic collegiate career at Tech. He finished with a school record of 24 touchdowns and 2743 yards in his 2010 ACC player of the year campaign. He also holds Virginia Tech all-time records of most total yards, most total touchdowns and most quarterback rushing yards.

     Tyrod Taylor was the 180^th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2011. After being traded in 2014 Taylor won a 3-way battle for the Buffalo Bills. He, Matt Cassel and EJ Manuel were given playing time throughout 4 preseason games to see who was the best fit. After outperforming his competitors Tyrod was given the starting job, while Manuel was chosen as the backup and Matt Cassel was cut. Tyrod Taylor will start in the Bills first game against the Indianapolis colts on Sunday September 13^th. It looks like Tyrod was “Taylor-made” for this job.

- Kenny Quinn