Raw Talent Lands With 'Canes
Full football ride for kid who played five high school games
By ADAM KUPERSTEIN and BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 8:00 AM EDT, Tue, Feb 9, 2010
Delmar Taylor looks so natural as a football player, it's hard to believe the newest Miami Hurricane played in just five games in high school.
"I'm a raw player, I have very little experience of the game," said Taylor. "But when they saw my highlight tape, they said I have a lot of stuff that they like."
Taylor, a 6-foot-five 260-pound defensive tackle from the Bahamas, so impressed the U in a short tape of his Miami Beach High exploits that he was signed to a full scholarship.
"It's like a dream come true to me, I never thought this day would happen," Taylor said.
Taylor's football career was put on hold in 2006, when his mom was injured and needed the then 14-year-old Taylor to be the man of the house.
"He had to go home, take care of his mom and little brother," said uncle Anthony Hamilton. "He had to work with his uncle actually in a plumbing system, making money to support the family.”
When his mom became better, Taylor returned to South Florida and stayed with his uncle, where he was free to pursue his football dreams.
"It's like, amazing," said Hamilton. "His prayers were answered."
Taylor said that if not for the football scholarship, he would've gone back to being a plumber. And that explains why his mother was crying tears of joy when she found out her son was going to be a Hurricane.
“She was excited, she was shocked, she just couldn't believe it," Taylor said. "She was proud of me, she was glad that I stayed focused and I did what I had to do despite all the ups and downs in life."
“I must say I give God thanks because without him, he wouldn't have made it as far” said mom Dellarese Taylor.
First Published: Feb 9, 2010 7:39 AM EDT
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