Fred Taylor Named Finalist For Pro Football Hall of Fame
Taylor played at Florida from 1994-97 and was a first-round selection in the 1998 NFL Draft.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gator Great and NFL standout Fred Taylor has been named a modern-era finalist for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame, it was announced Wednesday.
Taylor, a standout running back for Florida from 1994-97, earned first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and was named All-SEC his senior year after leading the Gators in rushing that season with 1,292 yards on 214 carries and 13 touchdowns. Taylor had eight 100-yard rushing performances that year, which ranks second all-time in school history.
A member of the 1996 National Championship team under legendary coach Steve Spurrier, Taylor finished his career at Florida with 3,075 rushing yards on 537 carries and 31 touchdowns. He ranks fifth in school history in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Taylor was a first-round selection in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He went on to play 13 seasons in the NFL-11 with Jacksonville and two for the New England Patriots.
He recorded seven 1,000-yards seasons throughout his NFL career and totaled 11,695 rushing yards and 66 touchdowns. He ranks No. 17 on the NFL’s all-time rushing yards list and his 4.6-yards-per carry average ranks behind only Barry Sanders and Jim Brown among players with more career rushing yards.
Taylor was inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.
Taylor is one of 15 Modern-Era finalists. The slate of candidates in the Modern-Era Player category will be considered when the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee meets prior to Super Bowl LVIII. The Class of 2024 will be unveiled publicly Feb. 8 during the “NFL Honors presented by Invisalign” broadcast from Las Vegas on CBS Television Network and NFL Network and streamed on Paramount+ and NFL+. The show airs at 9 p.m. ET.
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