Taliaferro brings message to Sharp students
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
10/24/2009

It wasn’t Happy Valley, but the students of Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School gave former Nittany Lion and motivational speaker Adam Taliaferro such a rousing welcome it was almost like being at Beaver Stadium on a Saturday afternoon.

Taliaferro, a high school football standout, smiled as the students welcomed him to their school with thunderous applause. Anyone who knows Taliaferro’s story would have been amazed that he was even standing up to greet the students. Eight years ago, he was only given a 3 percent chance to ever walk again.

Students broke out into the traditional “We Are…Penn State” chants early to welcome Taliaferro to the school.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Taliaferro – he played high school football at nearby Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees Township.

In the fifth game of his 2001 college football season, Taliaferro lined up as the starting cornerback against the rival Buckeyes of Ohio State. Just starting for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman was success enough, as coach Joe Paterno normally redshirts his freshmen players.

Early on in the game, Taliaferro went low to tackle Ohio State tailback Jerry Westbrook, and Taliaferro’s helmet collided awkwardly with Westbrook’s thigh. Taliaferro remained motionless on the turf after the collision.

“You know how your feet sometimes go to sleep, that tingling sensation? That’s what it felt like below my neck after that hit,” he told the students. “I couldn’t do anything, I could only blink.”

His C-5 vertebrae had been shattered on the play, bruising his spine. He was immediately transferred to Ohio State Medical Center, where he underwent surgery to repair the damage.

After that, doctors said it was unlikely Taliaferro would walk again.

But, what doctors didn’t know, Taliaferro said, was his character and extreme desire to succeed.

He had used it in football, and he was going to use it during his arduous rehabilitation at Magee Rehabilitation in Philadelphia.

Eight months after his injury, Taliaferro led his Nittany Lions out onto the field for their 2002 season in front of a stunned crowd, sprinting and skipping in front of his teammates. It was a long way from the hospital bed he had been trapped in eight months ago, wondering if he would ever be able to walk again.

“There will always be people telling you that you can’t do something. When they told me I wouldn’t be able to walk again, I made goals for myself,” Taliaferro said. “In one month I wanted to move my finger. The next month I wanted to be able to stand. It took me eight months, almost a full school year, to walk again. If you guys think you aren’t able to do something, just think of me. I have two legs, two arms, two eyes; I’m just like all of you.”

Following his football career, Taliaferro earned his law degree at Rutgers University and established the Adam Taliaferro Foundations, a charitable organization that helps support others with spinal cord injuries.

Rita Hilerio, PTA treasurer, presented Taliaferro with a check for $300 to the foundation. However, his motivational speaking is his passion, he said, helping young people believe in themselves and understanding that they can overcome anything.

“I believe everything happens to you for a reason. I wouldn’t be here talking to you today if I didn’t have my accident,” he said. “When one door closes, a million more open up.”