Sean Taylor’s daughter honors her father with a North Carolina volleyball jersey

What’s the best way to honor your father? For Jackie Taylor, volleyball star at the University of North Carolina, the answer was simple.

Taylor chose the number 21 jersey to honor former Washington Commanders safety Sean Taylor, who was murdered in 2007 at the height of his outstanding NFL career.

The Tar Heels’ account on X revealed the pick. Jackie, a 6’1″ middle blocker, will begin her first season with the Tar Heels this fall.

Sean Taylor burst onto the NFL scene in 2004. Washington selected the Gulliver Prep and University of Miami standout with the fifth pick that year. The choice paid immediate dividends for the Commanders, as Sean finished fourth in the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He intercepted four passes and totaled 78 tackles that season.

Sean Taylor made a big impression in his short career

Sean put up solid numbers in 2005 before earning his first Pro Bowl honor after the 2006 season. With 114 tackles, Sean was on the fast track to NFL stardom. His impressive traits – a 6’2″, 230-pound safety who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds – made life difficult for opposing offenses.

And in 2007, Taylor continued his meteoric rise with five interceptions in nine games. However, a knee injury kept him out of the lineup when Washington headed to Tampa Bay for a season-ending game. Then-Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs told ESPN.com he didn’t know why Taylor returned home to Miami for the weekend.

According to a family friend, Taylor and his girlfriend were awakened by loud noises. Taylor reportedly reached for a machete he kept in his bedroom. However, an assailant burst through the bedroom door and fired two shots. One of the bullets struck Taylor in the femoral artery, causing significant blood loss. Taylor reportedly never regained consciousness and died on November 27, 2007.

In 2014, ESPN.com reported that the man who prosecutors said fired the fatal shot at Sean was sentenced to 57 years in prison. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Dennis Murphy imposed the sentence on 23-year-old Eric Rivera, one of five Fort Myers-area men charged in Taylor’s death after breaking into his home to steal cash.

Jackie Taylor, just 18 months old and in the house with her father, was not injured. She told ESPN.com in November that she is trying to keep her father in her life.

“My biggest concern has always been to make sure his name stays alive,” she said. “It was never a burden on me, but the connection to him was just a part of me.”

Jackie Taylor keeps her father’s spirit alive

Jackie helped launch the Sean Taylor Legacy Project, and she said she wants to keep his spirit alive by doing community service and giving back.

“My dad worked really hard to make something out of it,” Jackie said. “It was always something I never wanted to screw up or shy away from.”

Jackie was ranked as the No. 3 junior player in the state of Florida according to MaxPreps. She totaled 54 kills and 12 blocks in her final two games at Gulliver, including the game that earned the school its first state championship.

Her most powerful weapon is a thunderous spike. But even though it is an offensive weapon, it is a testament to her father’s style of play. Taylor approached his game with an aggressive attitude and did not allow the opponent to relax. And that is how Jackie plays on the volleyball court.

Douglas Fritz has been writing about sports for nearly four decades and publishes a Christian sports newsletter and podcast on Substack at Matthew516Sports. He started as a reporter for East Tennessee State University’s student newspaper, worked his way up to editor in chief, and began his career as a sportswriter at the Johnson City Press while still in college. During his 30-plus years with the Press, he covered University of Tennessee football, men’s and women’s basketball, ETSU track and field, and high school athletics. People he has interviewed include Dale Murphy, Bobby Cox, John Smoltz, and Bruce Smith. He is also a Christian screenwriter (five feature films and one short film), book author (three completed manuscripts and one novel), and songwriter.