Bruce Taylor: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Virginia Tech LB

The most famous Bruce in NFL history also happens to come from Virginia Tech.

Bruce Smith terrorized opposing quarterbacks for years. Bruce Taylor is no Smith, but he hopes to make his mark in the NFL.

Here are five things you should know about him.

Combine results courtesy of NFL.com. College stats courtesy of sports-reference.com.

Background

Full Name: Bruce William Taylor Jr.

Birthday: December 31, 1989

Hometown: Riceboro, Georgia

School: Virginia Tech

Year: Senior (redshirt)

Major: Human Development

Twitter: @I_GotTheJuice51 (unverified)

Bruce Taylor was a tackling machine coming out of high school. He made 188 total tackles as a senior at Myrtle Beach High School.

Collegiate Stats

As you can see, Taylor had his best season as a sophomore. An injury cut his junior season short, and his senior season wasn't nearly as prolific.

Defense

Year	Solo	Ast	Tot	Loss	Sk	FF	PD
2009	2	4	6	0.5	0	0	0
2010	41	50	91	15.5	6	0	4
2011	21	32	53	7	5	0	0
2012	46	30	76	10.5	5.5	1	5
Career	110	116	226	33.5	16.5	1	9

Draft Process

Measurables

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 237 lbs

Arm Length: 33.125"

Hand Size: 10.375"

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 5.01 seconds 

225-pound bench press: 19 reps

Broad jump: 115.0 inches 

Vertical jump: 30.5 inches 

20-yard shuttle: 4.39 seconds 

3-cone drill: 7.21 seconds 

One of the quiet disappointments of the NFL combine came from Bruce Taylor, who couldn't even crack five seconds in the 40-yard dash. Of course, 40 times aren't everything—Brandon Spikes ran it in 5.05 seconds.

Taylor did improve on it with a 4.93-second run at Virginia Tech's pro day.

Mending the Family

At first blush, it might seem like Bruce Taylor's father was his namesake who played for the San Francisco 49ers. That could not be further from the truth.

The big linebacker did not have his father around growing up. The elder Taylor was arrested and incarcerated on robbery charges while his wife was pregnant with their son.

By the time he was released, his wife had moved on and Bruce Jr. was getting ready to get into high school. But he persevered.

Taylor Sr. cleaned up his life while in jail, and he has been able to celebrate his son's success with his ex-wife (via Kyle Tucker of the Virginia Pilot).

"

On fine fall afternoons in Blacksburg, when sunlight and cheers for Little Bruce wash over them, old wounds feel more than healed. For a few hours, it's like they never even happened.

Bruce Taylor Jr.'s parents sit together and smile at what they made.

"It's what's been pulling everybody back together," Bruce Sr. said. "I look at him and hear the people yelling for him, and it overwhelms me. I look at her and I know that she struggled for a real long time.

"I'm just so happy that it turned out right for them, and I'm lucky I get to see it."

"

Observations

Here is what the Twitterverse has had to say about Michael Buchanan:

"

Bruce Taylor not letting slow 40 time put a damper on NFL combine performance blogs.roanoke.com/andybittervirg… via @andybittervt

— NFL Draft Bible (@NFLDraftBible) March 3, 2013"

"

LB Bruce Taylor, #VirginiaTech on defenses he ran; "We did anything from Tamp-2 to single man. So I'm prepared." twitpic.com/c6a0j1

— Joe Everett (@RookieDraft) February 23, 2013"

"

Kevin Reddick and Bruce Taylor are guys that could go either way. They need someone to help them be good NFL guys and they can be imo.

— C wick B (@CwickB) April 17, 2013"

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