Phil Taylor aiming for fresh start with Browns

By Nate Ulrich

Akron Beacon Journal

Phil Taylor entered the 2011 NFL draft with red flags attached to his resume.

Character issues. Weight problems. Medical concerns.

Despite all of that, the Browns felt comfortable enough to select Taylor 21st overall. They even traded up six spots to make sure they got him.

Now Taylor, a massive defensive tackle, is participating in the Browns’ training camp, which opens to the public Sunday. He wouldn’t be in Berea if general manager Tom Heckert thought those aforementioned warnings were anything other than false alarms.

So why does Heckert believe that he can trust Taylor? Well, he and his personnel staff have investigated.

Brian Norwood was one of the men whom the Browns questioned during the pre-draft process. He is a football coach at Baylor University and the father of Browns wide receiver Jordan Norwood.

The elder Norwood was an assistant coach at Penn State University during Taylor’s first two college seasons. He was also the defensive coordinator at Baylor when Taylor seemingly turned his life and his career around.

“Sometimes [young men] make mistakes,” said Brian Norwood, who’s now Baylor’s associate head coach. “Thank God for second opportunities, and I think Phil made the most of that. Coming to Baylor, it was great to see his maturity because his senior year, he was a leader.”

Taylor’s demise at Penn State was the result of off-the-field incidents, including his involvement in a fight at the campus student union in October 2007. He eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and was ultimately dismissed from the football team.

“I just made a mistake as a young guy there, and I learned from it,” Taylor said after he was drafted. “You can only get better from learning from things you do in the past, so I learned from that.”

After the 2007 season, Norwood left Penn State to take control of Baylor’s defense. He thought Taylor might join him.

The two have a strong connection that was formed even before Norwood helped recruit Taylor when the latter was a standout athlete at Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, Md. Like Taylor, Norwood hails from Prince George’s County. Growing up, Norwood was coached by Taylor’s uncle, Reggie Williams.

“When he [came to Baylor], he didn’t look back,” said Norwood. “I can’t remember when Phil was like, ‘Hey, I’ve gotta go back home.’ His family [visited]. He always wanted to see his family. But other than that, he was really on a mission.”

After sitting out the 2008 season because of NCAA transfer rules, Taylor began a quest to resurrect his career. There was just one problem: The 6-foot-3 Taylor ballooned to about 380 pounds while he was sidelined. He recorded 25 tackles and a half sack as a junior, but he didn’t trim down to his ideal playing weight — between 330-335 — until his senior season. It paid off as he compiled 62 tackles, two sacks and grabbed the attention of NFL scouts.

His weight hasn’t skyrocketed since.

“Right now, Phil watches what he eats,” Norwood said. “I’m not even concerned about the weight deal. Phil will do what he needs to do, and he’ll work his butt off.”