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Belton, TX – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football player
Max Taylor has been named one of 112 nominees for the American Football Coaches Association's Good Works Team. The final, 22-player team will be announced in September. There will be two, 11-player teams selected. One team made up of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football players and a second team made up of NCAA Division I Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA football players.
Taylor, a senior offensive tackle from Lufkin High School, is the only American Southwest Conference player nominated for this year's team. For the past two years, he has organized the Sole 2 Soul campaign on the UMHB campus. The campaign raises money and takes donations of shoes to donate to orphans in Haiti through the "Hope for the Hungry" organization. In those two years, the campaign has raised nearly $3,300 and an additional four boxes of shoes for donation. Taylor's efforts have made a major difference in the lives of a group of 65 orphans in Haiti and took on special significance following this year's devastating earthquake. In addition to organizing and publicizing the event, Taylor has literally "walked the walk." Participants in the campaign have gone without shoes on the specified Sole 2 Soul day each of the past two years to help them better understand the plight of those who cannot afford shoes. He went to the UMHB admininistration to present his ideas and was joined by shoeless administrators, professors, staff members and student during the campaign. He has also volunteered his time with Hope for the Hungry outside of the Sole 2 Soul campaign and also participates in UMHB's annual Spring Revival.
On the field, Taylor is a three-year letterman and two-year starter on the offensive line for the Cru. He earned First team All-South Region honors from D3football.com last season and he was also a First Team American Southwest Conference All-Conference selection. Taylor has played for three ASC champions, three NCAA Division III National Championship qualifiers and a pair of National Semifinalist teams during his career at UMHB. He has been one of the highest grading offensive linemen for one of the nation's top rushing attacks over the past two seasons. Taylor also earned Second Team Preseason All-American honors from both D3football.com and Sporting News Magazine this summer.
In areas of giving back and volunteerism, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team represents the "best of the best" among more than 50,000 student-athletes participating in the sport at all four-year institutions. This year's total of 112 nominees eclipses the 106 nominees achieved last season, demonstrating the continued growth of the platform that is widely recognized as the most prestigious community service award in college football.
