Jaguars offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor prepares for first season without his Dad, Robert

This year won’t be like the last 24 for Jaguars offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor.

And how could it? For the past 24 years, Taylor had woken up in a world that still included Rev. Robert Taylor, a phenomenal father, husband, brother, supporter, hard worker, UPS driver, Assistant Pastor, God-fearing man, community leader and head of the household.

Or, as Jawaan called him, "Dad.”

Jawaan’s father died unexpectedly on Jan. 18. His passing left behind his wife, Wendy, and three children, including Jawaan, his brother Jeremy and sister Shaquitta. Jawaan’s parents were married for 27 years, and together for 29.

For Jawaan, the youngest of the three children, Robert meant everything. In fact, Jawaan’s football career might have never begun had it not been for his dad.

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A football career that almost wasn't

Jawaan’s Mom was against football. Wendy Taylor grew up in a household with four brothers who weren’t allowed to play the sport. Of course, she brought that philosophy into her own home, not wanting her children to get hurt playing one of the world’s most violent games.

Robert, though, grew up in football. He played for Cocoa High School, which is located on the East Central Florida coast, just a stone's throw from Kennedy Space Center. He was part of a Tigers defense that recorded six shutouts and allowed just 23 points during the 1987 season, an undefeated year that saw the Tigers win a district title and hold the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A.

Robert was a 6-foot-2, 230-pound defensive lineman, who would be one of three Cocoa High seniors to make First-Team Class 3A All-State team in 1987.

Football was his lifeline, but family reasons kept him from moving on to the next level.

Jawaan, on the other hand, did not have anything holding him back through his childhood and adolescent years. At some point, Robert wanted to make sure that his children’s dreams could come true.

“Robert is definitely the influence when it comes to football, because I never wanted my kids to play,” Wendy Taylor told the Florida Times-Union via telephone earlier this month. “And even when Jawaan started playing at the age of four, playing flag [football], my husband would take them to practice. He did all of that.”

Of course, Wendy did attend all of Jawaan’s games once he began playing, but Robert’s influence on Jawaan's football career was massive.

He would attend every game, take his son to all the football camps, and would work with him on his football technique and just throwing the pigskin around on Saturdays when he came home.

Robert motivated Jawaan since the beginning of his journey in little league through becoming a second-round draft pick, pick No. 35 overall to the Jaguars.

A turning point for Jawaan

It would be at age 13 or 14 when Robert saw potential in his youngest son. It was at that point that he realized there was something special brewing in the young football giant.

“(Robert) saw potential [in Jawaan]. He's like, ‘Yeah, if I can just get you to be mean, you got every tool it takes, Jawaan,’” Wendy recalled.

For Jawaan, that is exactly the type of father he recalled. At least in the way of football, he remembered his dad as being his biggest motivator who pushed him to be the best.

In a sit-down interview with the Florida Times-Union earlier this month, Jawaan reminisced about his father, someone who is irreplaceable and always trying to make his son’s dreams come true.

“Him being supportive, being at all my games and taking me to all my camps in high school, getting ready for college and just being my motivator, you know, pushing me,” Jawaan said. “Because he saw potential in me at a very young age before I saw it in myself.”

During one of the family’s annual pilgrimages to Nashville (Tenn.) for a church convention in 2015, the summer following Jawaan’s junior season at Cocoa High School, Robert changed Jawaan’s life for the better.

Jawaan could not earn a scholarship from the University of Florida without dropping some weight. He was 382 pounds at one point, Wendy recalled, but still moved like a 200-pound player.

So, his athleticism was never in question. Still, the journey to earn a scholarship and to get to his goal weight began on this trip.

That is why, during the 12-hour journey Robert spoke to Jawaan for close to nine out of 12 of those hours about what he needed to do.

Wendy recalled Robert telling Jawaan: "Jawaan, do you really think you can make it to the NFL? I'm telling you Jawaan; you have every quality [to play in the NFL]. ... I didn't make it Jawaan, but you can make it."

When the family finally got to their hotel in Nashville, and after the nine-hour motivational talk Jawaan and his father had on the ride there, that’s when the light turned on for the soon-to-be NFL offensive lineman.

“Jawaan was like, ‘You know what? I'm going to try this. My dad is encouraging me, I can do this,’” Wendy remembered, noting that when they got to the hotel Jawaan sought out the local grocery store, Kroger, where he and the family would start a collective weight-loss journey, just doing it the right way.

Everyone followed suit with the diet.

"We got you, Waany, (the family’s nickname for Jawaan). We got you," Wendy recalled. The entire time the family was in Nashville — about a week — they ate nothing but salads, fruit and as good of food as they could instead of the typical fast food they normally would get on long trips.

Jawaan also would take to the hotel gym, determined to follow what his dad told him, to lose weight and earn the scholarship offer from Florida he knew he deserved. He lost lose 10 pounds in just a week in Nashville. In August, Jawaan had lost 52 pounds.

“No one could even recognize him. Everybody is like, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ Just the right way. Working out three times a day. He worked out in the morning, he'll work out again in the afternoon, he will work out again at night.”

Jawaan never looked back. As recently as Aug. 4 this year, Jawaan weighed in at 327 pounds. He has never gained weight back, and he has maintained it to this day.

Inspiring more than just his family

Robert was not just an inspiration for Jawaan’s football career, either. He was an inspiration to everyone within the community on Florida's Space Coast.

As a UPS driver for 30 years and an assistant pastor, he was a local celebrity. That much was confirmed when 1,103 people attended his funeral service in January during the coronavirus pandemic.

That sort of community involvement for the Taylor family started when the children were young. Given Robert’s role in the church, the family would do plenty for the community, including fish fries, giving out free food, going on various trips and more.

“He was just a big, big giver,” Wendy said of Robert. “And just had a big heart.”

That is where Jawaan gets his generous mentality from, making sure the less fortunate can get something they might otherwise would not. Robert’s influence in the realm of equity goes beyond words.

“He was just a great dude and he had a nickname for every person he came across. He never met a stranger,” Jawaan said. “Everybody that had a chance to know him or see him day-to-day or spend time with him, all just had nothing but positive stuff to say about him.”

Robert passed down this ambition and drive to be a thoughtful member of the community to his family, which led to Jawaan’s call to give back.

Over the past two years, the Jaguars’ right tackle has held a free football camp in Melbourne, about 30 minutes south of his hometown,and this year’s was dedicated to Robert, who helped set up the camp during its first year in 2021.

“He was like a father figure to a lot of kids,” he said. “So, that motivated me to want to give back to the kids and community and just show the kids that if I can do it, they can do it, too. Like, anybody can make it out of Brevard County, even if he's not in the sports world.”

This community outreach and impact will continue. That's one way the family wants to honor Robert: giving back, doing things he would otherwise be doing if he were still with them. According to Wendy, that’s what he’d want.

“We have to respond in a positive way,” Wendy said. “Everything that dad would want us to do, give back. He was a big giver. He was a person that loved people. We are better people because of him, because of the type of person that he was, he came into our life … [he had] a great impact on us. And all we can do now is just continue to carry on the legacy. That's the goal. And that's what we want to do.”

Jawaan will honor dad in 2022 season

This season will be the first that Jawaan does not have his father’s daily motivational texts, or texts just before or after the football contests on Sundays.

Still, he has plenty of ways to honor his dad this season, including minor changes such as a profile picture or messages on social media.

On the field, Jawaan is used to his family attending games.

Upward of 30 family members make an appearance during his home games in Jacksonville. On gameday, Jawaan will typically point out and wave to his family members sitting in a section of the stadium.

On the final Sunday of last season, the team’s victory against the Indianapolis Colts, something different happened.

“That last game [in] particular I pointed only [my dad] out [in the stands] … I remember I was only able to point him out in the crowd and we did like one last wave, my last time playing in front of him,” Jawaan said. “So, I feel like it's going to be bittersweet my first game without him in the stands because he [was] always there but I can just say he's definitely missed, and we talk about him daily.”

The support Jawaan has received from his teammates and the Jaguars organization shouldn’t be understated, either.

Even though Robert’s funeral occurred during the early portions of the NFL offseason, multiple teammates and coaches made an appearance. He also received plenty of calls and texts offering support and condolences.

“That meant a lot to me just seeing the support I had from the organization," he said.

As part of how he remembers his dad, Jawaan carries around Robert’s obituary everywhere he goes for motivation in the morning. He talks to him on his way to work and, as a life-long memory, he has a portrait of him tattooed on his leg.

Every year the family will try to do something to celebrate him, whether that is during a holiday or like this year, organizing an easygoing kickback with all his former co-workers, friends and family, on his birthday, June 4. This year, of course, will be different without Robert on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but any chance the family gets to celebrate his life, they will take it.

“Because he just had that type of impact on us, you know?” Jawaan said.

That impact will continue throughout the rest of Jawaan’s life, but also through this season where he is currently faced with competition for his starting role on offense.

That, though, is no problem, according to Wendy. She accurately pointed out that Jawaan has yet to miss a snap in his three years with Jacksonville, starting every game since he was drafted — 49 in all.

“He loves competition,” Wendy said. “He's like that type of person with a strong mindset. When he gets something in his head, trust me, this is coming from his mother, he's very dedicated and he's going to make it happen. Trust me.

“That's how he [is]. And you know what? He gets that from his dad. That's how my husband was. He's that type of person.”

Since Robert’s passing, Wendy has taken more of a vocal role in motivating Jawaan, especially through this offseason while he is competing for playing time, but that is just the nature of the NFL.

“It's all a part of it being in the NFL, the competition comes. And you know you're going to have to compete. You have to fight for your job every day. People are lining up and waiting to get in your spot. So that's why you go out there and remember what your daddy always says, ‘Finish,’” Wendy recalled telling Jawaan.

“That's what he would always tell him, ‘Finish. Don't start it, finish. And on every snap play to the whistle.’"

That will undoubtedly be what Jawaan strives to do this year. Though different, Jawaan's worth ethic has been demonstrated throughout his football life, and it's something that Robert passed down to him by simply setting an example.

"He was a hard worker. He'll go to work some days and work a 14-hour shift and come home and wash all the cars, or come home and cut the grass at night. It was just crazy to see the work ethic he had," Jawaan recalled of his father.

"Some nights when he gets off UPS he'll have his church clothes in the car, he'll change once he gets to church and goes straight to preaching. So, seeing that just showed us what it takes to be successful. Nothing's given to you, you got to work hard every day for what you want."

While this season will be different, bittersweet, and emotional, Jawaan simply wants to celebrate his father in any way he can. Robert’s impact on everyone in and around the community and within his family is great, something that can be hard to quantify.

But Jawaan wants to do his best to honor him and wants the world to know just how much of an impact he had on him, his football career, and his life at 24-years-old.

“I just want (people) to know how great he was, how great of an impact he had on my life and my success and the reason why I’m here today.”

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars OL Jawaan Taylor remembers father Robert Taylor