Former Lakeland and USF star Jamar Taylor dies at 33

LAKELAND — Lakeland High School football fans will remember Jamar Taylor as an athlete who was part of one of the greatest backfields in Polk County history who helped the Dreadnaughts win three consecutive state titles and two national titles.

Victory Christian assistant football coach Nic Moody, a teammate of Taylor's in high school, has different memories.

"Oh my god, man I've never seen a man so passionate about family and his kids at such a young age," Moody said.

Taylor was hospitalized during the weekend with a brain aneurysm, his uncle, Daraford Jones said, and died Tuesday night. He was 33.

"It's a huge loss to our whole Dreadnaught family," Lakeland coach Bill Castle said. "Jamar was the ultimate competitor. He was such a huge part of our 2004, 2005 and 2006 championships. He had his good days, his bad days, but he had a really big heart. He's going to be missed. It makes you sick to your stomach. It's such a huge loss."

Born Feb. 23, 1988, in Frankfurt, Germany, Taylor grew up in Lakeland, and baseball was his first love.

"Jamar was very shy and quiet growing up," Jones said. "He actually was best at baseball. He was very intelligent."

Former Lakeland linebacker Scott Bryant recalled when his West Lakeland team went to play Taylor's East Lakeland when they were about 12 or 13 years old. Taylor's coach let him pitch and Taylor "struck out our entire team," Bryant recalled.

"I remember saying this guy is a beast," Bryant said.

Taylor also played baseball in high school, but in football he was one of the top prospects in the state.

Taylor started at running back as a freshman. With Chris Rainey now strong enough to be a starting back when they were both sophomores, and with Steve Chancey a strong, blocking fullback, Taylor was moved to linebacker, where he finished with 80 tackles.

"He moved to linebacker for the better of the team," Castle said. "He just loved the game of football."

Taylor moved back to running back as a junior and with Rainey gave the Dreadnaughts a devastating 1-2 punch in the backfield. Even sharing the load with Rainey, Taylor rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his final two seasons. He rushed for 153 yards in the state championship game as a junior when the Dreadnaughts defeated St. Thomas Aquinas.

Taylor finished his career with 3,244 yards rushing, fifth all time at Lakeland.

"As he grew up, I saw him becoming more patient and realizing that he knew that if he just did what he needed to do, that he was gonna be good," said former assistant coach Frankie Webster, who was Taylor's position coach. "He really kind of came into his own. He became an amazing team player. At first, as a freshman and sophomore, he was very frustrated with that power struggle between him and Rainey. But he knew that both of them were equally talented, just in different aspects. And he really took on the role of being a team player and doing his role for the better of the team. He knew it was going to pay off for him, and it did with him getting a scholarship to Alabama, graduating (high school) early and being able to go do that."

A low-key personality off the field, Taylor was an intense competitor. Bryant recalled he and Taylor going at it so hard in practice that Castle had to call them into his office to find out if there was a problem between the two players.

"Outside of practice, we were like brothers," Bryant said. "We were cool. But during practice, a switch would just turn on. He was a different animal."

Off the field, Taylor was quick with a smile and got along with everyone. Webster recalled Taylor going with him to read to kids in elementary school.

"We would go over there and we'd do reading to the the students, and they would have lunch with him, and he was just very kind," Webster said.

After starting his college career at Alabama in the spring of 2007, Taylor, who was very close to his mother Leatha Jones, transferred to South Florida to be closer to his family.

At USF, Taylor was part of a rotation at running back and battled injuries. He scored the winning touchdown when USF knocked off West Virginia. His best year was 2008 when he rushed for 300 yards on 62 carries, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown in the Bulls' upset win over Kansas.

Since then, Taylor, who worked for Publix, has been all about his family. He had five children, including three with his wife, Brittany.

"My memories are more on a personal level," Moody said. "He wouldn't let nothing come before him being a father. That's my greatest memory of Jamar, just how family oriented. The fact that he had a kid at an early age, that didn't deter him from taking care of his responsibilities off the field."

As of Tuesday afternoon, funeral services had not been finalized.