Larry Taylor (born May 30, 1985) is an American former professional football wide receiver and kick returner.
He originally signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League as a free agent in 2008.
Raised by his grandmother since he was 2, Taylor was taken under wing by David Lucca and Ross Teider, fathers of football teammates, who helped him to escape from the streets and eventually transfer to Glades Day School for his junior year of high school.
[5] Taylor's speed—measured at 4.3 seconds on the 40-yard dash—made him an attractive target for Division I football programs;[5] his diminutive size—5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) and 157 pounds (71 kg)—caused that interest to abate.
[6] Schools such as Tennessee and Mississippi State evaluated Taylor but eventually declined to offer a scholarship.
In the end Connecticut, Eastern Michigan, and Middle Tennessee State made scholarship offers.
UConn improved from next-to-last in Division I-A in punt returns to 27th overall thanks to Taylor's performance.
With thirteen minutes remaining in the third quarter and UConn trailing Louisville 7–0, Taylor received a 45-yard punt on the Connecticut 26-yard line.
The Louisville players slowed down and stopped, believing Taylor had made a fair catch and the play was over.
In the offseason, the Big East worked to improve its officiating processes to prevent a call like this from happening again.
His performance in training camp caused him to become a subplot in HBO's Hard Knocks documentary series about the Jets.
Taylor played a significant role in returning punts and kicks for 3 seasons with the Stampders.