Matthew 7:7 reads: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Junior linebacker Taurean York has been asking, seeking and knocking since the very beginning of his football career. The two-year team captain was not a consensus five-star or blue chip prospect — hell, he wasn’t even originally committed to Texas A&M.
The Temple native grew up just 30 minutes outside of Waco and intended to go to Baylor before decommitting from the Bears on Dec. 11, 2022. Two days later, on Dec. 13, York received a scholarship from A&M and committed to the Aggies within just six days. For York, the scholarship to A&M, 80 miles southeast of Temple, wasn’t just the chance to further his athletic career, but proof that the countless hours he and his mom spent driving around to different camps was worth it.
“I knew where I belonged,” York said. “That’s kind of why I decommitted from Baylor, you know, great people, great staff, Coach [Dave] Aranda, great man. But, I knew ultimately I belonged on the biggest stage in front of the biggest crowd and the best fan base in America. So, just a really good feeling to know that you called your shot, you took care of business and you just continue to do things the right way.”
And call his shot he did. The three-star recruit out of Temple High School stood at just 5-foot-10 and 227 pounds, but that didn’t matter to York, nor to then-A&M defensive coordinator DJ Durkin. Despite being the 13th-ranked recruit from A&M’s 2023 signing class, York’s intelligence and competitive spirit instantly earned him a starting spot in the defensive lineup for the Aggies.
“I did not believe him [Durkin] because at that point where A&M was at, they did not play people of my status,” York said. “And so I didn’t really believe him until the second day, I kept starting and I was like, ‘OK, he’s the real deal, he’s a man of his word.’”
Durkin was indeed a man of his word, as York started all 13 games of his freshman season, finishing second in total tackles while also being named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team.
However, the 2023 season was not one to remember for the 12th Man as A&M finished just 7-5 and fired then-head coach Jimbo Fisher for the largest buy-out in college football history at $76.8 million. A coaching change might have deterred some, yet it only added fuel to York’s fire.
Fisher’s replacement, head coach Mike Elko, was a name York knew all too well: Elko had spent the 2022-23 seasons at Duke, where he nearly signed York right out of high school after offering him a scholarship to play for the Blue Devils.
Under the new regime, York was voted team captain by his teammates, an honor that the once-83rd ranked linebacker recruit accepted with great pride.
“It means a lot because I know what it took to get here,” York said at the time. “And with me being still 18 years old and being chosen by my teammates to lead a group of men who are much older than me, I felt like it meant the world to me to be honest.”
York started every single game during his collegiate career, claiming to have missed practice only once due to sickness. The Maroon and White ironman served as the eyes and ears of Elko’s defense — racking up 155 combined tackles, including 17 tackles for loss, all the while guiding A&M’s defense to the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance.
Playing for the Aggies answered prayers York had been saying since he was a 14-year-old freshman starting on varsity. However, following his three seasons in Aggieland, he believed it was time for the next stage of his career, so, on Jan. 6, York declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, forgoing his final year of eligibility.
The road to the NFL can be described as “the world’s strangest job interview,” and for York, this interview process has become all too familiar. Since entering his name into the draft, he’s been on a mission to prove scouts and skeptics wrong about the kid from Temple.
“To be honest with you, kinda feel like high school a little bit,” York said. “Everybody loves bigger, stronger, faster, you know. … But I’ve already been through it once, so I’m not really letting it shake me.”
York has done everything he possibly can to be noticed by NFL scouts, but ultimately when and where he goes in this year’s draft doesn’t matter, really. Because the 5-foot-10 linebacker, who didn’t have a single offer after his junior year of high school, won’t stop knocking — take it from the man himself.
“There’s so many times where I felt like I wasn’t going to get a fair chance, or, you know, they’re not going to give me the respect I deserve, and they’re still not,” York said. “But that’s okay, though. I’m just going to continue to work and continue to outdo people, outlast people. Like, when we look up in 20 years, I’m still going to be taking care of business.”
