Taylor was born on September 22, 1978, in Magnolia, Mississippi.[1] He attended South Pike High School and played quarterback, the same position he had played in elementary school and junior high school.[1][2] He began attending Jackson State University (JSU) in 1998[1] and spent his first two seasons as backup to Mark Washington.[1] He showed enough promise while backup to Washington that in 2000, Taylor's junior year, he was named starter at the position.[2] However, after struggling in his first two games, Taylor was benched for freshmanRobert Kent.[2]
One week after being benched at quarterback, Taylor switched to playing wide receiver.[2] In his first game at the new position he caught one pass.[2] He caught one again in the following game, before scoring his first career touchdown in the third.[2] He then went on to catch 26 passes in the next four games, including eight for 148 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas–Pine Bluff.[2] Taylor finished his junior year as Jackson State's third leading receiver, having recorded 559 yards and four touchdowns on 34 receptions.[2]
As a senior in 2001, Taylor broke the single-season school record for receptions,[3] finishing with 84 for 1,234 yards and 11 scores. He was named third-team All-American by The Sports Network and first-team Black college All-American by the Sheridan Broadcasting Network.[4] He additionally was the runner-up for the Conerly Trophy, given to the best player in Mississippi (with Eli Manning winning the award).[4] Although Taylor only appeared in a total of 19 games at wide receiver in his career at JSU, he finished with 1,793 receiving yards and over 175 catches.[4]
Taylor began a coaching career in 2005, being named wide receivers and quarterbacks coach at Coahoma Community College.[12] He served one year in that position before being named offensive coordinator, which he served as through 2011.[12] He left for Texas Southern in 2012, serving two years there as the recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach.[13] Taylor joined North Carolina Central in 2014, spending his first year as quarterbacks coach.[14] He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2015, and became the team's sole offensive coordinator in 2017.[10] While at North Carolina Central, he helped them earn three conference championships and an appearance in the 2016 Celebration Bowl.[15]
Taylor returned to his alma mater, Jackson State, in January 2019, being hired as quarterbacks coach.[16] He did not serve in that position, ultimately becoming the tight ends and wide receivers coach.[4] He served as interim offensive coordinator in 2020.[10] He rose to full-time offensive coordinator in 2021, while retaining his other positions.[17] After head coach Deion Sanders left for Colorado in December 2022, Taylor was named his successor.[17]
