Preseason Check-in: DE Justin Taylor

At the urging of his cousin, current UNC freshman defensive back Terry Shankle, Justin Taylor came out for the varsity football team only two weeks before the start of last season. Taylor, now a senior, had never played football before, but South Stanly (Norwood, N.C.) head coach Luke Little found a role for the athletic 6-4, 220-pound prospect.

Taylor did well last season at defensive end and on special teams, and Coach Little expects more out of his standout prospect this season. So far, though, he has been sidelined for most of preseason practice.

“He tweaked a hamstring in the last 7-on-7 game we had. We’ve kept him out of practice up until this week,” Little said. “He got through his entire first practice fine until the end. Then, he tweaked it again. Our first game is this Friday. We feel like we can win without him this week. We have a bye next week and we feel like we should win again in week three. Week four is the start of conference play, so we may hold him out until then so he can be healthy.”

South Stanly’s defense has changed this season, meaning the Virginia Tech recruit will be manning another spot. Taylor had impressed in the new role before the hamstring pull.

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