Alabama A&M Athletics

An architect of high powering offenses at the NCAA Division I and II level for the past five years, Taylor begins his fourth season on staff at Alabama A&M having joined Connell Maynor’s staff prior to the 2018 campaign.
 
ALABAMA A&M (2018-PRESENT, ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/RECIEVERS)
In three seasons as offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs, Taylor has built an offense that has not only led to an 18-10 overall record and 12-5 mark in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), but also accomplishments that have not been seen in the program’s history.
 
The highlight of that build would come during the Spring 2021 season when Alabama A&M earned a perfect 5-0 record and 3-0 league mark in an abbreviated COVID-19 season, accomplishing three impressive milestones in one fell swoop on May 1.
 
That day would see a thrilling 40-33 victory over No. 25 Arkansas-Pine Bluff that delivered the first SWAC Championship in 15 years (and second in program history), the first undefeated season since the 1966 campaign 53 seasons prior and the first ever Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) National Championship for the program.
 
Fueled in large part by players on the offensive side of the ball, that resurgence over the past three years saw 26 All-SWAC selections, including 16 offensive players with seven in each of the past two seasons. It has also seen a number of individuals claim other significant honors during that time.
 
Among those helping to fuel that offensive renaissance in Spring 2021 was senior quarterback Aqeel Glass (St. Louis, Mo.) who was named the Deacon Jones Award Winner as the nation’s Black College Football Player of the Year, an award for which he was also nominated in 2019.
 
Additionally, he became the first Bulldog to be named SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, was BOXTOROW National Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American for that organization while finishing 16-of-25 in the Walter Payton Award voting for the top player at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) among a host of other league and national recognitions.
 
Of the 12 All-American honors the program has garnered since 2018, sophomore wideout Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim (Miramar, Fla.), a former tryout and walk-on player, has delivered six of them, including American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Second-Team recognition following a tremendous Spring 2021 campaign. That made him just the fourth in program history, second in the DI Era and first since 2007 to earn that honor for that organization.
 
He helped to power an offense that ranked in the Top-10 in the NCAA in six categories, including No. 1 in Red Zone Offense (1.000), No. 4 in Passing Yards Per Completion (14.89), No. 5 in scoring offense (40.2), No. 6 in Passing Efficiency (156.99), No. 7 in Passing Offense (338.8), No. 8 in total offense (457.0). On top of that the Bulldogs had an individual rank in the Top-10 on offense 11 times.
 
That followed a tremendous 2019 campaign that saw A&M as the only FCS team in the country to produce a 3,500-yard passer (Glass), two 1,000-yard receivers (Ibrahim, Zabrian Moore) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Jordan Bentley).
 
It would be an offense that generated 5,535-yards to rank 13^th in the country and averaged 305.2 through the air and 156.1 on the ground, setting school records for total yards, passing yards, passing touchdowns and total touchdowns in the process. Glass led the air attack and the SWAC with 3,600 yards and 33 TDs, ranking in the Top-10 nationally for each along with yards per game (300.0), and Bentley ripped through defenses on the ground.
 
The power back finished fifth in the country in rushing yards (1,417), rushing yards per game (118.1), scoring per game (10.0) and total touchdowns (20) and was sixth in rushing TDs (18) and 10^th in all-purpose yards (1,665/138 per).
 
As a result of those efforts, Bentley was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, Phil Steele’s SWAC Player of the Year and appeared on All-American teams for six different organizations.
 
Over the course of his career, the last two under Taylor’s watch, Bentley would secure program records for single game rushing yards (245), single season rushing yards (1,417) and rushing TDs (18) and career marks in rushing yardage (3,204), touchdowns (43 – 39Rush/4Rec.) and points (260).
 
Ibrahim would also come to be one of the most feared wideouts under Taylor, going from unknown to a Jerry Rice Award finalist as the FCS level’s top freshman. He would also be named Freshman First-Team All-American by HERO Sports, Freshman of the Year by the SWAC, BOXTOROW and Phil Steele and First-Team All-SWAC while hauling in 59 catches for 1,004 yards and 11 scores.
 
That all built off a 2018 season that saw the 102^nd ranked offense from 2017 skyrocket 46 spots to finish at No. 56 in the country and go from 17.0 points per game to 28.2. That year Taylor guided the offense to 4,314 total yards of offense and averages of 243.0 through the air and 149.0 between the tackles. It would also be the campaign where Glass established himself under center, throwing for 2,426 yards and 20 touchdowns.
 
Led largely by an impressive offensive attack, the Spring 2021 season marked a steady improvement for the program from a 6-5 overall record and 5-2 mark in the SWAC in 2018 and 7-5 and 4-3 records, respectively, in 2019. The 2018 campaign also represented the first winning season for the program since 2012.

HAMPTON (2014-15, 2017, WIDE RECEIVERS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR)
A three-year member of the Pirates staff, Taylor returned to the program as offensive coordinator in 2017 after having served as wide receivers coach during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
 
The 2017 campaign would see the offense average 21.5 points and produce 3,537 yards with both wide receiver Ronald Bell and tailback Yahkee Johnson excelling individually. Bell led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in receptions, finishing with 60 for 674 yards and seven touchdowns while Johnson was third in rushing, carrying the rock 156 times for 783 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
For their efforts, along with offensive lineman Ryan Gould, Johnson and Bell were both named All-MEAC Second-Team while offensive lineman Malik Mackey garnered Third-Team recognition.
 
Taylor would produce during his first two year as well as wideout Twarn Mixson earned All-MEAC First-Team honors both seasons. The first would come after leading the league in both receptions (5.6) and receiving yards (68.3) per game and finishing second with six TD receptions among wideouts.
 
Mixson would claim the other, as well as BOXTOROW All-American honors, as the focal point of the MEAC’s second-best passing offense in 2015. That would come a season after quarterback Jaylian Williamson anchored the league’s top offense, beginning with a program record 407 yards passing at Old Dominion. He would be joined by Jerrell Antoine with 11 touchdowns in five starts.
 
FAYETTEVILLE STATE (2016, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR)
As a first-time offensive coordinator Taylor helped lead the Broncos to a second place finish in the Southern Division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). That would be fueled by a four-game winning streak in conference action and the play of three All-CIAA selections.
 
That group was led by freshman Stevie Greene who finished as the CIAA Rookie of the Year and was nominated for the HERO Sports DII Newcomer of the Year. That after leading all freshman tailbacks at the level with 1,150 yards on 219 carries, six of which ended up in the endzone.
 
He would be joined by sophomore wideout Gedari Liverman on the Second-Team while freshman offensive lineman Keon Smith earned Honorable Mention recognition. Smith and tailback Tony Credle would also earn spots on the league’s All-Rookie Team.
 
WINSTON-SALEM STATE (2010-13, WIDE RECEIVERS)
Over the course of four seasons, Taylor coached the top two receivers in program history in Jameze Massey and Jahuann Butler, a pair of CIAA Rookie of the Year winners, an All-American and helped lead WSSU to a 45-6 overall record. The 45 wins would be the most in school history in a four-year period.
 
In 2012 Massey delivered a campaign that featured 65 catches, 1,324 yards and 15 touchdowns while Butler finished with 1,236 yards, 62 grabs and 12 scores enroute to a second straight CIAA Championship, 14-1 overall record and a berth in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game.
 
Those individuals would go on to finish their careers as the top receivers by yardage in school history while the title game appearance was the first by an HBCU since 1983.
 
Bookended around that epic season would be NCAA Tournament campaigns in 2011 and 2013 which resulted in overall records of 13-1 and 10-2, respectively, and perfect 7-0 league marks in each year.
 
In addition to the exploits of Butler and Massey, Tehvyn Brantley and Chase Powell each earned CIAA Rookie of the Year. Brantley would do so in 2010 with 38 catches, 608 yards and five touchdowns and Powell notched 770 yards on 64 catches with seven TDs to earn the honor in 2013. Dominique Fitzgerald would add to that recognition with AFCA All-American honors in 2011.
 
HIGH SCHOOL COACHING CAREER (HOKE COUNTY HS, TOWERS HS)
Prior to embarking upon his collegiate coaching career, Taylor had success at both Hoke County High School (Raeford, N.C.) and Towers High School (Decatur, Ga.).
 
With Towers he spent two years as the assistant head varsity coach and offensive coordinator, guiding the No. 2 offense in the state and all of Dekalb County, the latter encompassing 22 schools. In that time, he coached the top running back and kick returner and No. 2 ranked passers in the area as well as eight-year NFL veteran Da’Norris Searcy. The latter went on to play at North Carolina and for Buffalo, Tennessee and Carolina in the pros from 2011-18.
 
While at Hoke, Taylor led the No. 17-ranked offense in the State of North Carolina, coaching the top wideout and third-ranked QB in the state.
 
COLLEGIATE PLAYING EXPERIENCE: 2000-03, FAYETTEVILLE STATE
An outstanding player for the Broncos, Taylor left FSU holding 25 school records and was a part of back-to-back CIAA Championships in 2002 and 2003.
 
Along the way he was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team in 2000 and earned an impressive four CIAA Rookie of the Week and seven Player of the Week honors.
 
During his entire time in Fayetteville, N.C. he developed under the tutelage of current Alabama A&M coach Connell Maynor, who served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
 
PROFESSIONAL PLAYING CAREER: NATIONAL INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AMERICAN INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Taylor played five years of professional football in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football League (AIFL) following his time at Fayetteville State. His career would see him suit up as a quarterback, wide receiver and kicker.

EDUCATION 
Taylor graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Fayetteville State University in 2005 and also holds a Master of Arts in Education with a Secondary Teacher Education concentration earned from University of Phoenix-Online in 2009.