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FSU
Posted: Oct 25, 2020

Ferris State Alum Malik Taylor Becomes First Bulldog In 39 Years To Score NFL Touchdown

Big Rapids, Mich. - Former Ferris State University wide receiver Malik Taylor (Flint/Montrose) scored his first career touchdown in the National Football League (NFL) on Sunday (Oct. 25), becoming the first FSU alum in 39 years to score on football's biggest stage.

Taylor hauled in a one-yard scoring throw from Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the second quarter, giving the Packers a 21-0 lead en route to a 35-20 victory over the Houston Texans on the road. He finished the game with a career-high two receptions for six yards and has tallied three catches for 26 yards to date this year.

The touchdown was the first by a former Ferris State Football player since Ricky Patton totaled four touchdown in 1981 while helping the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl Championship. Patton started his collegiate career as a Bulldog before moving on to Jackson State. Taylor joins Patton as the only former players to wear a Bulldog uniform who have scored in the NFL.

Taylor, who was on the Packers' practice squad as a rookie last season, is one of five Ferris State alums currently on active NFL 53-man rosters this week. The five total representatives are the most of any NCAA Division II school in the country. 

A four-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs, Taylor missed most of his senior campaign in 2018 due to injury after garnering preseason recognition as one of the nation's top wideouts. He returned late in the year during FSU's playoff run to the NCAA Division II National Championship game and finished the year with seven catches for 88 yards and a score, including a key touchdown grab in Ferris State's national semifinal win at Minnesota State.

As a junior in 2017, Taylor caught a team-high 61 passes for 906 yards and six touchdowns as the Bulldogs reached the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals. The three-year starter also ranked as the team's leading receiver in 2016 when FSU advanced to the D2 National Semifinals by catching 47 balls for 1,017 yards and five scores. He appeared in nine games while making six grabs for 80 yards as a freshman following a redshirt campaign.

Overall, Taylor's 2,091 total receiving yards at Ferris State ranks seventh in school history as he made 121 total catches in a Bulldog uniform while also ranking as one of the squad's top return men on special teams.