Adam Taliaferro - An Inspirational Football Player

Adam Taliaferro - An Inspirational Football Player

I’ve known Adam Taliaferro for almost two and a half years. I knew him before his horrific injury suffered at Ohio State. I knew him throughout his rigorous rehabilitation routine at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. I know him today, continuing to rehabilitate and inspire countless individuals through their daily struggles. Remarkably, throughout those two and a half years, he has remained unchanged. Obviously, there are physical differences. He is no longer able to perform the unbelievable athletic feats he was able to perform prior to our freshmen with the Penn State football team. No longer will his five foot ten inch frame be able to goal tend shots in the IM building. Physically, he is not able to deliver a crushing hit on Eric Mcoo on a blitz in one of our preseason scrimmages. However, when it comes to who we really are, our personalities, demeanor, and mannerisms, Adam Taliaferro has remained unchanged throughout his injury. He remains the lighthearted, spontaneous, and outgoing kid from "The Jers".

September 23, 2000 remains for me, one of the days of my life I will always remember. As a redshirt freshman, I remained home while the team, and Adam traveled to Ohio State for an afternoon game. It was the obvious fear conveyed through a television set that remains engrained into my memory. Knowing Adam, my roommate and I were able to see through his motionless the utter fear he was experiencing lying on that field. His recovery would be slow and painful. The other redshirt freshmen and I spent the rest of the season traveling to Magee Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia during away games to visit Adam and his family. Each week improvement was seen. From the first visit when nurses came often to change the position of his legs because he was unable to do so, to the first finger movement he experienced, to the first leg movement, and eventually, to seeing Adam stand, he remained unchanged. He was still upbeat, constantly making fun of himself and his newfound uncoordination. He flirted with the nurses and bonded with his roommate. He was still Adam. I know there have been dark moments for Adam throughout his rehabilitation. There must have been moments when he questioned his own ability to overcome this situation. However, he never allowed any of his friends to see these moments because to us, that wouldn’t be the Adam we’ve come to know.