South Jersey’s Jullian Taylor Suffered Season-Ending Injury Before the 49ers Playoff Run

South Jersey will have a representative at the Super Bowl, even though he won’t be playing.

Jullian Taylor, a second-year defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a late-December practice.

Taylor is a graduate of Williamstown, where he played for Frank Fucetola. He then went to Temple but battled injuries for most of his career.

In his first three seasons he played in just three games, mainly due to injuries. Then Taylor had a breakout senior season. He appeared in 12 games and had 22 solo tackles and 19 assists for 41 total tackles.

What got him noticed was the fact that he had 11 tackles for loss as a senior in 2017. Taylor played in the first six games of the season before missing a game against UConn.

He played really well down the stretch and saved his best for last. During his final home game, Taylor had 10 tackles against Central Florida, including 4.5 tackles for loss. That was a Central Florida team that won the American Athletic Conference title and was ranked 15th nationally at the time Temple

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His late-season surge and the fact that Taylor stayed healthy drew NFL interest and he was selected in the seventh round by the 49ers.

This season he appeared in six games.

Still, it’s a long way from Williamstown to the Super Bowl, which will be played in Miami.

Just like his time at Temple, Taylor thrived in his senior season with Williamstown. He played defensive end, tight end and some linebacker. 

Taylor was an all-South Jersey performer for a dominant team that went 12-0 and won the South Jersey Group 5 championship.

That was the first year that the NJSIAA introduced a Group 5 tournament and the Braves claimed the first-ever title in this class with a 43-20 win over Southern Regional.

Even though he isn’t playing in the Super Bowl, it’s a great experience for Turner, who even when healthy is battling for playing time on what many consider to be the best defensive line in the NFL.

He has played six games in each of his first two NFL season. This season in his limited time, he fared well with four tackles for loss.

With all the people playing football, just to get to this level is an impressive feat, especially considering all the injuries Taylor has had to overcome.

Now Taylor has a difficult rehab but will be motivated to come back. He has spent a lot of his career in college recovering from injuries, so he knows the dedication it takes and nobody should underestimate his dedication to return better than ever.

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Author: Marc Narducci; Photo by Marc Narducci