Taliaferro's comeback now includes political win

When Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro was paralyzed by a spinal cord injury during a game in 2000, doctors weren't sure he'd ever recover.

He not only walked again, but he went on to earn degrees from Penn State and Rutgers-Camden School of Law, become a lawyer, and embark on a political career.

On election night, Taliaferro added another achievement to his comeback story: winning a seat on the seven-member Gloucester County Board of Freeholders.

"Ten, 11 years ago I never thought I'd be here," he said Tuesday night. "I feel like this is another chapter. The injury was a bad thing, but it helped prepare me for tonight."

The story of how the 29-year-old Taliaferro, who grew up in Voorhees and now lives in Woolwich Township, recovered from a devastating injury resonated with many around Philadelphia.

He was playing cornerback for the Nittany Lions in a game against tough Ohio State when his head snapped back during a tackle.

News of Taliaferro's paralyzing injury - seen live and in the replays - gripped the nation. He had planned to play someday in the National Football League.

"I had to step back and see what my life's goal was," he said in an October interview with The Inquirer.

Taliaferro slowly recovered the use of his legs. He walks today with a limp, and his fingers tend to bend inward.

An attorney, he works at the Cherry Hill office of Duane Morris, where he specializes in labor and gaming law.

He is a member of the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame and makes many appearances for the Adam Taliaferro Foundation (taliaferrofoundation.org), which supports efforts related to youth spinal injuries.

"He's taken the circumstances, the physical challenge, and beat astronomical odds to be full functional, when it didn't look he would get out of bed," said his running mate, Lyman Barnes, who has an environmental consulting business. "He turned it into a positive.

During the campaign, Republican officials had been careful not to diminish Taliaferro's achievements but portrayed him as a kind of carpetbagger in Gloucester County because he moved there just a year ago. They said he didn't know the county's issues or people.

But Taliaferro said he was ready. He and his wife, Erin, an accountant in Philadelphia, moved from Voorhees last year to be halfway between his parents and hers in Delaware.

He said he wanted to make a run at politics now before becoming a parent, while he could manage his law career and public service more easily.

Talking about his victory in an interview Tuesday night, Taliaferro maintained the athlete's focus on accentuating a team effort.

"We have so many volunteers, people supporting us, it was a real team effort. We're blessed," he said. "Getting in is the first part, but now I have to show I belong here."