Giants great Lawrence Taylor reveals what kept him from quitting football before Hall of Fame career began

Lawrence Taylor, one of the top defensive players in NFL history, almost quit football in high school. 

But his dad wouldn’t let him. 

Taylor, 66, talked about nearly quitting football during an appearance on OutKick’s "Maintaining with Tyrus." 

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"I thought it was too much. Like I said, when I went out for football in my junior year, I wanted to quit. And … my dad looked at me, ‘You’re not going to quit,’" Taylor recalled. 

"And then once I started to get it a little bit, he told me, ‘Hey, you got to be better than the next man just to be equals.’ So, listen, I’m going after who’s ever in front of me, that’s who I have to deal with."

The Pro Football Hall of Famer did a good job in his 13-year career of dealing with the person in front of him. Taylor spent his entire career with the New York Giants, winning two Super Bowls. 

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Taylor won the NFL MVP in 1986, becoming one of only two defensive players in NFL history to win the MVP.

In that 1986 season, Taylor had 20½ sacks. For Taylor, his goal was simple — find the football. 

"I think a lot of coaches, or my coaches anyway, allowed me to play the game the way I saw it. (People say) you got to get here, you got to go there. Well, no. I got to go outside here, but I’m trying to get to here. So, why can’t I just go there? I go to the football wherever it is. I go to the football," Taylor said. 

The ten-time Pro Bowler had 142 sacks in 184 career games.

The full interview with Taylor on OutKick will air at 9 a.m. ET Sunday. 

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