[Ed. 10/13/22: Bumped ahead of the big one against Penn State]
There are certain names in U-M history that when mentioned immediately bring to mind a certain game or, in some cases, a distinct moment in time. If you are over 30, you probably agree that Daydrion Taylor is one of those names. Here’s why:
Damn.
For context, that’s from Michigan’s trip to Penn State in November 1997 during a Saturday dubbed by ESPN as “Judgement Day”.
In two decades much has changed in football, especially around player safety. Today broadcasters would treat a hit like that differently. Certainly, they’d be discussing targeting and more concerned about the welfare of both players. But that’s how it was back then, no doubt.
I imagine for many in Happy Valley they remember Bob Stephenson, the guy on the other end of that collision for that play as well.
The PA Observer-Reporter ran a piece on Stephenson back on December 24, 1997 where he discussed the play:
“I remember the catch and turning upfield. Joe Jurevicius was blocking Woodson and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I have room to run.’ I didn’t see anybody else,” Stephenson said. That’s all he remembers – until he regained consciousness.
“I knew where I was, but I thought, ‘What’s going on? Why are all these people around me?’” Stephenson said.
Stephenson said he felt fine. He was helped to the sidelines, where he stood and joked with this teammates.
“The adrenaline was still flowing,” he said. Twenty minutes later, the euphoria died.
“When they took time into the locker room, I started getting sick and I got a headache.” Stephenson said.
He was diagnosed with a Grad 3 concussion, the worst according to NCAA guidelines. Its symptoms include loss of consciousness, temporary amnesia and nausea.
“Some of my teammates have told me they thought I was dead. If not, they thought I’d be paralyzed.”
You can still feel that hit 25 years later.
