Florida State's Darvin Taylor refuses to let injuries keep him down

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The past three years haven’t been easy for Darvin Taylor, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at him.

Taylor’s wide smile and easy laugh doesn’t let on that the past year has been one of the toughest of his life after being medically disqualified from playing the game he loves.

“It was difficult,” Taylor said told the Tallahassee Democrat.

“It was heartbreaking, but at the end of the day you have to understand that God has a plan for everybody. You may not see it now, but with the right guidance from my parents, coaches, and the staff here at Florida State, I’ll be all good.”

He came to Florida State as a four-star defensive tackle out of Chester, Virginia in the 2015 recruiting class with a lot of expectations for him on the football field.

Unfortunately, those expectations will go unmet, and it’s not because of effort or knowledge or even talent.

It’s because of bad luck.

Taylor suffered a significant shoulder injury during his first spring at FSU, and many inside the FSU program wondered if he would ever be able to play again.

“It’s hard on you mentally,” Taylor said.

“I started playing tackle football in seventh grade. I wasn’t the best, but when I got to high school I was the best, at least for my area. Coming to Florida State, redshirting, and getting hurt that first spring.

"Getting that first surgery in, and then coming back that second spring, I believe I had a good one, and then getting hurt again during the season, it’s frustrating.”

He wouldn’t.

Taylor had multiple surgeries and would be right on the verge of finally being healthy when the shoulder would give out again.

After two years of never being able to get healthy, Taylor hung up his cleats for the last time and was medically disqualified. He never played a snap at FSU.

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But he didn’t leave for home.

Taylor is a Seminole at heart and wants to finish what he started.

He will be graduating from FSU after 3 ½ years with a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in business.

He was also a consistent figure at practice during the spring, and was out at the Junior Noles camp this week helping out.

“I’m just helping out with player development and just sticking around with different dinners and stuff like that to make sure I stay engaged with the team,” Taylor said.

“I’m still a part of the team. I definitely didn’t want to isolate myself because that would have made the transition that much harder.”

Taylor isn’t leaving FSU after the fall either. He has plans to go to grad school and get his MBA and then get a doctorate in sports psychology.

He doesn’t want to get into coaching, though it is something he’s discussed with his father. He wants to help players when they’re off the field and their careers are coming to a close, which is something that he unfortunately has experience with.

“Coaching isn’t something that I want to do, but I do want to do something with player development where I’m helping these boys off the field and I’ll still be around the team,” Taylor said.

“You’ve got to understand that at some point the air is going to come out of that ball one day.”