TCU to honor former walk-on who died after battle with cancer

Phil Taylor fought until the very end.

In December 2016, Taylor was diagnosed with cancer. On Tuesday, three years and four months after he graduated from TCU, Taylor died in his sleep with his family at his side.

Taylor would’ve turned 26 in just under a month and was beloved by his friends and family members.

When the Horned Frogs host the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, TCU players will all have a sticker on their helmets displaying Taylor’s number, 35, as well as his initials.

The Mission Viejo, Calif., native was a four-year walk-on for the TCU football team from 2011 to 2015. His work ethic, commitment and love of his teammates earned him the respect of many in the program, including Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson and Mark Cohen of TCU’s media relations department.

He was also admired by many of his former teammates, including wide receiver Deante’ Gray, kicker Jaden Oberkrom and quarterback Bram Kohlhausen.

This past March, Taylor spoke to the Star-Telegram about how he ended up studying at TCU, his life and career at the school and his battle against cancer. You can read that feature story here.

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 11:38 AM.