Morehead State senior defensive end Vaughn Taylor, Jr., truly had one of the best seasons in program history this fall. The Washington, D.C. native was recently named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List, but now as the season has concluded, he is a finalist for the award honoring the nation's best defensive FCS player.
Taylor, Jr., is one of 25 finalists. A 50-member, national media panel will select the winner, who will be announced on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas - the eve of the FCS championship game.
Taylor, Jr., led the PFL and ranked second in the FCS in tackles for loss this year with 23.0, which is the second-best single-season total in program history. He also achieved a goal of 10.0 sacks. Taylor, Jr., is the Morehead State career record holder in tackles for loss.
He put up some monster games this fall, having 3.0 or more tackles for loss in five separate games, including 4.0 against Point (Ga.). He also had 12 total tackles and 3.5 for losses against Dayton and 12 total and 3.0 behind the line against Davidson.
Taylor's Jr.'s totals helped the Eagles rank in the top 10 in the FCS in team tackles for loss per game. He had at least a hand in one tackle for loss in all 11 games this fall and finished with a TFL in 15 of his final 17 college games.
A transfer from Kansas, he was a unanimous First-Team All-PFL pick in the spring season and was also First-Team All-PFL after the 2019 season.
