Football intern has Super Bowl ring

Football intern has Super Bowl ring

Share
 

By ALEX FALK, Philadelphia Daily News

For seven seasons Travis Taylor was a starting wide receiver in the NFL, first with the Baltimore Ravens and then with the Minnesota Vikings. Now, he has moved on to a new role.

Taylor, a former University of Florida standout who was the 10th overall pick of the 2000 draft, now serves as the assistant wide-receivers coach at Rowan University as part of the NFL Players Association/NCAA Coaching Internship program. The point of the 1-year program is to take retired NFL players and expose them to a different side of football, one they were never able to experience as players.

"[Coaching] is a great learning opportunity for me," Taylor said. "I'm trying to take in as much as I can, and the coaches here at Rowan are great."

Rowan head coach Jay Accorsi is grateful to have Taylor on his staff.

"[The coaching internship program] is a great program," Accorsi said. "I think it's a win-win situation in all cases because we get a new coach . . . and he gets to experience college coaching at a different level than what he played."

Taylor, who won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie with the Ravens, believes his best coaching attribute is the vast amount of knowledge he gained from his experiences on the gridiron. But, at the same time, he realizes he can learn a lot from his fellow coaches. He works under wide-receivers coach Tyree Jackson.

Granted, that doesn't mean Taylor, 32, isn't still itching to play the game.

"It's hard because you have to have that connection with the kids," said Taylor, whose NFL career ended after the 2007 season, in which he played one game each for St. Louis and Oakland. "Part of me is still in the game because I'm so recently out of football. As a coach you don't want to get too personal and involved, but that's my personality - to be involved in every aspect of the team."

The other coaches and players appreciate having the chance to learn from someone who competed at the game's highest level.

"Travis has been working with our wide receivers and I think his credentials alone demand respect from the players," Accorsi said. "Certainly we are all getting experience from Travis, but our wide receivers are getting the most. I think his impact was immediate, as soon as he started working with our team."

But Taylor's value to the team isn't measured just in terms of his experience. His infectious personality has made just as much of an impact, according to Accorsi.

"Sometimes we forget about those things and we hone in on the physical attributes, but off the field, if you're a good person, and you work really hard, and you care in a lot of other areas, then you will be successful," Accorsi said. "He is just a lot of fun to have around." *



Read more: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20101006_Rowan_s_coaching_intern_has_Super_Bowl_ring.html#ixzz11dJFsRIN