Trooper Taylor facts for kids

Carl "Trooper" Taylor was born on February 20, 1970. He is an American college football coach. He currently works at Texas A&M University. He is the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Texas A&M team. He joined the team after Mike Elko became the head coach there.

Before this, Taylor was an assistant coach at Auburn University from 2009 to 2012. He was the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach under Gene Chizik. He also worked as a co-offensive coordinator for Oklahoma State. Trooper Taylor has coached wide receivers for over ten years. He has mostly worked in the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences.

About Trooper Taylor

Taylor grew up in Cuero, Texas. He was part of a large family. He earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor University in 1992. He is married to Evi Crosby-Taylor. She was also a scholarship athlete in track and field at Baylor. They got married in 1993 on the field at Baylor's Floyd Casey Stadium. They have two children, a son named Blaise and a daughter named Starr.

Coaching Journey

Taylor played defensive back for the Baylor Bears from 1988 to 1991. He became the school's top player for kickoff returns and return yards. After playing in the 1991 Copper Bowl and finishing his degree, Taylor started coaching. He joined Baylor's coaching staff as a graduate assistant for two years. In 1994, he became the wide receivers coach. He coached the secondary for two years, then returned to coaching receivers. After Baylor, he coached running backs at New Mexico.

Coaching at Tulane and Tennessee

In 1999, head coach Chris Scelfo brought Taylor to Tulane as the wide receivers coach. Taylor stayed with the Green Wave for five years. Then, he joined Phillip Fulmer's staff at Tennessee. Taylor first coached running backs. In 2005, he was promoted to assistant head coach of player development. In this role, he helped student-athletes with their schoolwork and social lives. In 2006, Taylor coached wide receivers. He helped the Vols achieve a strong passing offense.

Moving to Oklahoma State and Auburn

After the 2007 season, Taylor left Tennessee. He became a co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Oklahoma State. He worked under Mike Gundy, whom he had coached with before at Baylor. In 2008, Taylor's receivers helped the Cowboys become one of the top offenses in the nation.

On January 5, 2009, Gene Chizik hired Taylor to be the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at Auburn.

Recognitions and Bowl Games

Coach Taylor has been recognized as a top national recruiter many times. This happened in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 by different sports websites. He has coached in nine bowl games. These include the 1994 Alamo Bowl, 2002 Hawaii Bowl, 2005 Cotton Bowl Classic, 2007 Outback Bowl, 2008 Outback Bowl, 2008 Holiday Bowl, 2010 Outback Bowl, the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, and the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

In 2023, he became the interim head coach for Duke after Coach Elko left.

Players Trooper Taylor Coached

Taylor has coached many talented players during his career. At Tulane, he coached four wide receivers who later played in the NFL. One of them was Roydell Williams. He also coached a top receiving group in 2001. Adrian Burnette, Kerwin Cook, and Terrell Harris combined for many receiving yards.

At Tennessee, he coached NFL running backs Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr.. In 2004, they both rushed for over 1,000 yards in the same season. He also coached Robert Meachem, a future NFL wide receiver, who earned All-America honors in 2006. In 2007, Taylor helped new receivers Lucas Taylor, Austin Rogers, and Josh Briscoe achieve great success.

In 2008, Taylor coached All-American receiver Dez Bryant at Oklahoma State. Bryant was one of the nation's leading receivers.

Head Coaching Record