LOGAN, Utah – When Sean Taylor receives his degree from Utah State, he will have accomplished something nobody else in his family has – graduate from college.
 
The Aggies' 6-foot-5, 300-pound starting right tackle, who is majoring in sociology, is on track to graduate in December.
 
"I'm really proud of Sean," said USU offensive line coach Steve Farmer. "I can't say enough good things about him. Luke Farmer, my son, loves Sean Taylor. They are close and they went to a car show together this summer, and that is just who Sean Taylor is. That meant more to Luke than it did to Sean, meaning Sean has such a big heart. He is so nice, too.
 
"I'm working a football camp and there is a car show, and he heard Luke asking me about it. Sean jumped right into it saying, 'I've got it, coach.' He took Luke to the car show and took care of him. That is just who he is. Sean has a huge heart."
 
The fact Taylor will be the first person in his family to graduate from college is quite a remarkable feat when you consider everything the native of Vallejo, Calif., overcame to get to where he is today.
 
When Taylor was just 6 years old, his entire world was turned upside down. That is when he found his little sister laying on the ground next to their mother, Felicia Smith, who had been shot to death in a double homicide on Mother's Day. The other victim was Taylor's aunt.
 
"I actually slept through the whole thing," Taylor recalled. "Thank God, because if I would have woken up, I was old enough to identify people – I was pretty smart for my age. I woke up and found my little sister next to my mom; I saw both bodies. The thing that woke me up was my sister crying.
 
"When I walked in there, I picked her up and I looked at the front door. You could obviously tell my mom was trying to leave and get out the front door, because it was cracked open. After the funeral, all of my siblings got split up and I was living with my dad, just bouncing around from home to home."
 
Growing up without his mother, Taylor would often ask himself, "Why me?" Who could blame him? But, he also saw the bigger picture. There was a reason he was spared that night.
 
"I knew there was something greater for me out there, because who actually sleeps through that many gunshots?" Taylor said. "I knew there was something out there for me, and I didn't want to waste my life just being on the streets. When you go through something like that, the first thing you think is, 'Oh, he's going to be one of those hell-raising kids. He's going to be mad at the world,' which I was for a little bit of time, but then God blessed me with another mom, and that was my grandmother.
 
"My grandmother stepped up tremendously and became the angel of my life. My grandma has always been there. As soon as that happened with my mom and aunt, she was the one to come pick me up from the police station – the whole nine yards. I even have her name tattooed on me."
 
Taylor's grandmother, Francis Taylor, officially took him in when he was a sophomore at Vallejo High School, providing her grandson the needed stability he hadn't had since that tragic Mother's Day.
 
"My dad kept going in and out of jail, and stuff like that, and we ended up getting evicted from our home," Taylor said. "I didn't tell my grandma for like the first three weeks. I was living at different friends' houses, or bouncing around, because by the time I was that age, I was old enough to realize my grandma had her own baggage, so I was trying to keep it from her. I finally just told her and she was like, 'You didn't even have to do that. You're going to come live with me.'
 
"My grandma helped me through high school and kept me focused on sports; she always tried to keep me into something. She knew that if I was active in sports, that meant my grades had to stay over a 2.0 or 2.5, or whatever the requirement was, and I wasn't just out messing around with all my free time. She was always my backbone and always gave me that extra push to be something more."
 
Taylor, whose first true love is baseball, has played football since he was a child. His tremendous arm strength gave him an advantage over other players, especially when it came to throwing the ball.
 
"I played football throughout the neighborhood, and I always had the best arm, so I always tried to play quarterback," Taylor said. "I actually ended up playing quarterback some in high school."
 
That didn't last long, though.
 
Taylor eventually made the move to the trenches, where he earned California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) all-Metropolitan League and all-area honors at defensive end as a senior at Vallejo HS. Following his senior campaign, Taylor played in the NAPA Valley All-Star Game.
 
After graduating from high school, Taylor enrolled at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., where he spent two seasons. He then made his way to Utah State, where he redshirted his first season in 2016.
 
"I met Sean when I first got here and he's always been really great about putting his arms around new guys and bringing them along, so I felt really welcomed when I met him," said fellow USU senior offensive lineman Roman Andrus. "I played left tackle all of last year and he always played right, so we would always talk tackle talk."
 
After redshirting in 2016, Taylor won the job at right tackle in 2017, where he started all 11 games he played in. He played 599 snaps and had an overall performance grade of 84 percent, which included 90 percent in effort, 86 percent in assignment and 79 percent in technique. He recorded 29 knockdowns on the season.
 
"To be involved in a situation like he was when he was a child, and kind of be a self-made man, my hat's off to Sean," Farmer said. "When I first got here, he was, quite frankly, a very immature young man that had a hard time going to class, going to weights or any of those things. Credit to Sean Taylor, he decided to make a 180-degree turn and has really become a staple in our offense."
 
Taylor had never heard of Utah State until he saw Laney College safeties coach Donald Dicko donning Aggie apparel. Dicko played for the Aggies in the late 1990s.
 
"I always used to see him rocking Utah State apparel, so I finally asked him, 'Coach Dicko, What is Utah State, bro?'" Taylor said. "He showed me some pictures and I was like, 'That place is dope.' What's crazy is the next spring, after my first junior college season, Utah State ended up being my first offer.
 
"The thing that really stuck out to me about Utah State was the fact that (head) coach (Matt) Wells was calling me every day asking, 'How are you doing? How is your family? He is the only head coach that actually came and sat in my living room. He talked to my grandparents and explained everything to them. I didn't meet the other head coaches until I got to their program, so that was a big separation. Then when I got here, it was just love."
 
During his senior season with the Aggies, Taylor has been a fixture at right tackle, starting all 12 games there. He has helped pave the way for a Utah State offense that has set numerous school records this season, including touchdowns and points scored.
 
"Sean is my right-hand man," said senior offensive lineman Rob Castaneda, who has started all 12 games for Utah State at right guard this season. "He is my right tackle and we control the right side. I can trust in Sean to always have my back no matter what. A lot of people have doubted Sean and he has faced a lot of adversity, but has really come through it all."
 
Prior to every game, Taylor honors his late mother by making his way to the end zone, placing his hands across his chest, then kissing both of his hands.
 
"And, I just throw (my hands) into the sky, telling her that I love her and this is for you, and for my grandpa, too," added Taylor.
 
Once he plays his final game for the Aggies, Taylor wants to continue playing at the next level. But if that doesn't work out, he wants to remain close to the game he loves by becoming a coach.
 
"I want to help young men develop into grown men, and try to give them that extra step and tool in life," Taylor said.
 
Does Taylor have a favorite coach he wants to be like?
 
"I take a little from every coach," he said. "Every coach has their own flavor and style, and every coach communicates with players differently. I think what makes you become a great coach is learning from others, so you nitpick at the things you like a lot, and you pit it all into one and try to make it your cup of tea of what you like to do with coaching.
 
"With coaching, you just have to really love the kids, love what you're doing, and love football."
 
Taylor, who oftentimes can be seen with a wide grin, certainly has all three of those qualities.