It was a rain-soaked Doak Campbell Stadium in the fall of 2003, and the number-two Miami Hurricanes were visiting their in-state-rival Florida State. In a battle of two top-five teams, Canes safety Sean Taylor had a game for the ages. Taylor intercepted Chris Rix twice, returning one for a touchdown, and was a nightmare for Bobby Bowden’s offense all day in a 22-14 Hurricanes victory.
For most of the country, it was Taylor’s coming-out party, if they hadn’t already known about the hard-hitting safety. Though for us around the Miami program, we had known of Taylor’s greatness before that day in Tallahassee.