Ferris State Senior Receiver Malik Taylor Earns NFL Opportunity With Tampa Bay
Malik Taylor Video Highlights 
Big Rapids, Mich. - Standout wide receiver Malik Taylor (Flint/Hill-McLoy) of the Ferris State University football program received an opportunity to showcase his skills in the National Football League (NFL) as he signed with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers immediately following the NFL Draft on Saturday night.
The 6-3 Taylor agreed to a preferred free agent deal with the Falcons and will join the squad soon for their rookie mini-camp.
Along with Taylor, Bulldog offensive tackle Devon Johnson (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) also was picked up as a preferred free agent by the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL on Saturday evening.
A four-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs, Taylor missed most of his senior campaign last fall due to injury after garnering presason 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 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.
Ferris State capped off the most successful season in school history by reaching the NCAA Division II National Championship game for the first time this past fall. FSU matched an all-time NCAA record with 15 victories (15-1) and won both the GLIAC and Super Region Three Championships this year under head coach Tony Annese.
Johnson and Taylor unoficially represent the 20th and 21st players in Bulldog history who join NFL organizations as free agents. They are also now among nine different FSU standouts who have earned opportunities in the National Football League in recent history as the Bulldogs had a NCAA Division II best seven former players take part in NFL training camps last summer.