Michael A. Taylor is a former American football player. He played at the quarterback position for the University of Michigan from 1986 to 1989, the final four years of Bo Schembechler's tenure as the school's head football coach. He was Michigan's starting quarterback in 1988 and 1989 and led the Wolverines to Big Ten Conference championships both years. He finished his career at Michigan as the school's all-time leader in passing efficiency. Early years Taylor was raised by his mother and grandmother in Lincoln Heights, Ohio. Taylor credited them for instilling his desire to win: "They gave me my sense of values and drive to excel. I have to do everything as well as I can to let them know how much I love and appreciate them for heading me in the right direction." Taylor attended Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio where he led them to a Div I state championship in 1983. University of Michigan 1986 season Taylor enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1985. As a redshirt freshman in 1986, Taylor appeared briefly in 4 games, rushing for 33 yards on 5 carries and scoring a touchdown against Illinois. 1987 season As a sophomore in 1987, Taylor appeared in seven games for Michigan, including two games as the starting quarterback. Taylor threw his first touchdown pass for Michigan in a backup role against Wisconsin. He got his first start after junior quarterback Demetrius Brown broke the thumb on his throwing hand in the Indiana game. Prior to Brown's thumb injury, Taylor had completed only 9 of 21 pass attempts for 133 yards, 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown. At the time, Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler expressed confidence in Taylor, telling the press: "Michael Taylor is a fine quarterback. He's smart. He's a good quarterback. If we have to play Taylor, we'll be all right." Taylor got the start at quarterback against Northwestern, but Schembechler kept to a running game due to the inexperience of his quarterback. Michigan rushed 50 times in the game for 374 yards and passed only 5 times – the fewest pass attempts by a Michigan team since 1977. Despite the emphasis on the running game, Taylor proved to be the star of the game, as he rushed for 144 yards, averaged 10.3 yards per carry, and scored 2 touchdowns. Taylor had a 65-yard touchdown run and had runs of 31 yards in