This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Logan
John Taylor stood on Utah State's football practice field, about 10 miles away and two months removed from a life-changing moment.
Not life-ending, and that's where the story of his senior season begins.
Taylor really can't describe what happened that June afternoon, when he was among four USU defensive linemen injured in a devastating accident, with Travis Seefeldt driving and former Aggie softball player Sarah Vasquez riding with them.
"I'm not sure any of us really remembers it," Taylor said. "It was kind of just like a 'boom' — you're out. And I'm fine with that. I'm kind of thankful that I can't remember. It's not really something you want to think about."
Yet in a very real sense, Taylor wants that episode to stick with him, during this season and beyond. "It really makes you think about how every day is really just not guaranteed," he said.
This conversation came the day after Seefeldt returned to Logan last week from his home in Arizona, greeting his teammates in a celebratory scene that quarterback Chuckie Keeton described as "amazing." The last of the athletes to be released from a hospital, after a 12-day stay, Seefeldt hopes to play again in 2016. Adewale Adeoye and Edmund Faimalo are "progressing pretty good," USU defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe said, but only Taylor participated in camp this month.
"It's been a blessing to see them individually slowly come back and get healthy," Malloe said. "One, they're all alive, and that's something that we're all happy about. They've become our motivation, partly for the team and partly for the [defensive line] unit, to know … that tomorrow's never promised."
After last Saturday's scrimmage, lineman Ricky Ali'ifua said, "We couldn't ask for anything more than for them to be all right and be walking and [know] they'll play football again."
The practical aspect of the accident's impact is where this subject gets tricky. Whether in published stories or television graphics, this is bound to happen: The injured players will be packaged with a list of teammates who have been dismissed during the summer or suspended for the first two games. The catch-all headline: Adversity. You know, "Next man up," and all of that stuff.
No, no, no. This is different. As he talked through his recovery and return to the field, Taylor drove home the point that living through the accident will affect these players in ways only they can understand. They know what could have happened — maybe even should have happened — to them on that Friday afternoon in June, coming home from a Cache Valley water recreation area.
That's especially true of Seefeldt. He'll live with the thought of how, according to reports, he mistakenly thought a four-way stop would protect him as he advanced through the intersection, but a semi-truck had no such restriction in that direction. The point is, all of the athletes did live, and they're moving on with school, football and the rest of their lives — "as normal as you can," Taylor said.
The defensive linemen even joke about the accident now, which may seem insensitive or naïve, but probably is good strategy for coping — and bonding. "It's good," Malloe said. "It's all part of the healing process. You definitely can tell they're getting much closer than before, and it goes far beyond the field now."
Taylor will take the field Sept. 3 vs. Southern Utah in Logan, launching a senior season when he expects to contribute in the defensive line rotation. As a junior college transfer, he played in all 14 games last year. Taylor's most memorable play may have come in a loss at Colorado State, where he tried to scoop up a fumble inside the CSU 10-yard line. He misplayed the ball and allowed the Rams to recover it.
Moments like that occur all the time in football. In a way, what Taylor experienced this summer makes bringing up that play seem silly on my part. In another sense, such snapshots of his life are magnified more than ever, with opportunities to make lasting memories in 2015.
That's why, long before the official warmups, Taylor will walk onto the Maverik Stadium field next week and pause. "Just knowing I was close to not being able to step out there," he said, "it's going to be a great feeling."
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Healed and healing
Four Utah State defensive linemen and former USU softball player Sarah Vasquez were injured in an auto accident June 26. Their hospital release dates:
John Taylor June 28
Adewale Adeoye June 28
Edmund Faimalo June 30
Sarah Vasquez July 4
Travis Seefeldt July 7 —
About John Taylor
Position • Defensive end; strength is pass rushing.
Size • 6-foot-2, 275 pounds
High school • Colton (Calif.) HS.
Junior college • Riverside (Calif.) CC; teammate of USU defensive lineman Edmund Faimalo.
2014 season • Appeared in all 14 games, credited with total tackles and four quarterback hurries; shared a sack vs. Texas-El Paso in New Mexico Bowl.