Hampton native will back up Flacco

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The chances of him seeing any playing time on Sunday are pretty slim, but that's the last thing Virginia Tech quarterback and Hampton native Tyrod Taylor is worried about.

"The goal down here is to win." Taylor said.

And that he has done at every level, leading the Hampton Crabbers to a state title his junior year. Mike Smith who has been coaching football at Hampton for 40 years said he knew Tyrod was special early on.

"The first evidence of that was during a scrimmage when he was in the 9th grade, we had a returning senior quarterback that got his leg broke and Tyrod had to go in a take over and won all five games as a freshman," Smith said.

Taylor was named first team all-state his senior year and was rated the number one dual-threat quarterback in the country. 

Taylor even announced his college choice, Virginia Tech, live on the Sportswrap.

At Tech, Taylor eventually won the starting job and his senior year he was named ACC Player of the Year.

Despite all his accomplishments, Taylor said even if he's not playing, it doesn't get much better then this.

"The Super Bowl definitely outweighs everything, and I have a lot of great moments. As a kid, that's what you always dream of and that's what you always want to get to is the Super Bowl," Taylor told the media Tuesday in New Orleans.

The only significant playing time Taylor saw this season as a Raven was against the Bengals.

The guy who wore number 5 until he was a Raven said he's learning a lot from Joe Flacco. Afterall, the Ravens starter does have six playoff road wins -- that's the most by a starting quarterback in NFL history.

"[Flacco] has been playing very well the two years that I've been here and I've learned a lot from him on and off the field," Taylor said.

His high school coach told WAVY.com, just like Flacco, Taylor is fearless.

"He had a great leadership qualities, he likes a challenge and competition of the game," Smith said.

Now, Taylor is just living that childhood dream that started by playing backyard football in Hampton.

The only thing that would make that dream better is a win.

"I didn't know how soon it would come or if it would come, but God has blessed me and this team and we've been playing well and I'm just trying to finish off the season with a win," Taylor said.