No. 7: Lawrence Taylor

No. 7

Name: Lawrence Taylor

Position: DE/LB

Jersey #: 98

Years: 1977-80

Honors: First-Team All-America as a senior (unanimous); 1980 ACC Player of the Year; Named to the 50-year 50 Greatest ACC Players Ever team.

Notable Stats: 16 sacks in 1980 (still UNC single-season record); 21 career sacks; 33 tackles for loss of yardage (22 in 1980); 1 interception in 1979; 3 fumble recoveries in 1980.

In Closing: Taylor was a pretty good player as a junior but he really exploded as a senior in 1980. He didn’t even play football until his junior year in high school, so he had to learn the game when he arrived and didn’t play his first season and not a lot in his second. But by the time he was a senior, Taylor had become one of the best defensive players in the nation with a knack for making big plays.

His 16 sacks in 1980 remain a single-season school record. Those sacks totaled 157 yards lost by opponents. His tackle of Clemson QB Homer Jordan inside the 10-yard-line saving the game for the Tar Heels and ending a 7-game losing streak in Death Valley is still one of the most memorable defensive plays in school history. But he also made a game-saving play in the win earlier that season over Texas Tech. UNC’s last ACC championship came in 1980, and Taylor was an enormous part of that success. After not doing much until his junior season, Taylor’s last year at UNC was one of the greatest seasons in school history.

Prior Ranked Heels

30 - Natrone Means

29 - Jack Merritt

28 - Landon Turner

27 - Chris Hanburger

26 - Jeff Saturday

25 - Bob Lacey

24 - Bracey Walker

23 - Ethan Horton

22 - Brian Blados

21 - Leon Johnson

20 - George Barclay

19 - Brian Simmons

18 - David Drechsler

17 - Dee Hardison

16 - Ken Huff

15 - Marcus Jones

14 - Harris Barton

13 - Greg Ellis

12 - Paul Severin

11 - Mike Voight

10 - Dre' Bly

9 - Andy Bershak

8 - Kelvin Bryant