Taylor Tappin

Early life

Taylor Tappin grew up in Windsor, California, with his parents Herm and Mary, an older brother Tyler, and two younger brothers Patrick and Phillip. He first played football in high school, starting at offensive tackle for Windsor High School's Jaguars during his junior and senior years, where he earned All-North Bay League honors both seasons. After his senior year, he committed to play college football for the Sacramento State Hornets in the Big Sky Conference.

College career

Tappin spent his first year at Sacramento State as a redshirt before seeing action in nine games as a reserve offensive lineman and special teams contributor in 2015. The following season, he appeared in nine games and started four at right tackle, helping the Hornets average 171 rushing yards per game. In 2017, he started 11 games at right tackle on an offensive line that powered the program’s best rushing season since 1999, averaging 225.8 yards per game.

As a redshirt senior in 2018, he started all 10 games at left tackle, anchoring a line that averaged 187 rushing yards per game and 5 yards per carry, with 18 rushing touchdowns. That year, he earned All-Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention and Sacramento State’s John Gesek Lineman of the Year award. Across his junior and senior seasons, he started 25 consecutive games, splitting time between left tackle (10 starts) and right tackle (15 starts).

Professional career

In October 2019, Tappin signed with the Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League. However, he did not play for the team after the 2020 IFL season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Panthers subsequently withdrew from the IFL's 2021 season. Tappin played offensive line for the Aviators of The Spring League for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

In 2020, he played one game for the Aviators in the TSL (fall season) championship, where the team lost to the Generals. Tappin returned to the team for the 2021 spring season as the starting right tackle. On July 22, 2021, Tappin signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL, and later was activated from the Reserve/Suspended List on July 27, after clearing the requisite quarantine period. On July 29, the Redblacks released him ahead of the CFL roster deadline.

On November 5, 2021, the Montreal Alouettes signed Tappin before formally adding him to the team's practice squad on November 9, after clearing the requisite (COVID-19) quarantine period. In mid-November 2021, Ottawa signed Tappin off of Montreal's practice squad. On November 19, 2021, Tappin made his professional football and CFL debut, playing tackle for the Redblacks in their Week 16 win over the Montreal Alouettes. Following his debut with Ottawa, Tappin reverted to Montreal's practice squad.

He signed with the Alouettes for the 2022 season, and was released in June 2022. Tappin signed with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL on December 16, 2022. He was released on April 9, 2023. Tappin announced his retirement from football on February 2, 2024.

Personal life

Tappin maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school at Windsor. In 2019, he graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering.

While training for and playing professional football, Tappin simultaneously works as an engineering technician for Brelje & Race Consulting Engineers, where he focuses in structural engineering and water resources, specifically water resource distribution system projects. His specific areas of interest in engineering include bridge design, water resources, and land development. He is currently pursuing his Engineer in Training (EIT) certification on the track to earn a Professional Engineering (PE) license.