Henry Jamaar Taylor is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 for the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The Giants selected Taylor in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft

2004 NFL Draft

The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...

 out of Texas A&M

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

. Jamaar was a promising prospect until he suffered a knee injury in college that drastically hurt his draft status. Some experts considered him a second round pick before his injury. Then his rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 season, Jamaar had a 100-yard game against the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. On the year he caught four passes for 146 yards. Jamaar spent most of his time in the NFL on the injured reserve list but showed some promise during the preseason and during his 100-yard game against the Eagles. Ultimately his knee problems lingered and cut his career short as his retirement was announced on June 2, 2006. During a game against the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

, Taylor was pushed into the sidelines on a punt

Punt (football)

In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....

 and crashed into Vikings head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 Mike Tice

Mike Tice

Michael Peter Tice is an American football National Football League coach, best known as the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.-Playing career:...

. Tice needed knee surgery as a result of the collision which he had after the conclusion of the season.

High school years

Taylor attended Mission High School

Mission High School (Mission, Texas)

Mission High School is a secondary school located in Mission, Texas.Mission High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Mission Consolidated Independent School District....

 (Mission, Texas

Mission, Texas

Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,058 at the 2010 census Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mission is located at ....

) and was a letterman in football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

. In football, he was a three-year letterman, twice named the teams' Most Valuable Player, and as a senior, he was an All-State selection.