Taco Charlton: biography
Taco Charlton is an American football player who is currently playing for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. Before the professional career, he played college football at Michigan and then was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Childhood and youth
Taco Charlton was born in Columbus and spent his childhood in Pickerington, Ohio. Taco was an Ohio State fan. The player grew up 10-15 minutes from the stadium. In the interviews, the sportsman said a lot about his family support. According to his words, his family members always cheered for him. His mom, dad and little sister were die-hard Michigan fans and they wanted Taco to be truly successful.
When Taco was giving an interview on the radio during the "Dennis & Cowlishaw Show", he spoke out that growing up in Columbus, Ohio State really influenced his later life. The player rooted for the football team the Cowboys when he would watch NFL football as a kid. His father tried to inspire his son to become a professional football player. From childhood, the Cowboys was the team that Taco would watch and would cheer for just because his dad instilled that into him. So the most interesting fact is that Taco didn't really like football growing up. He played just to play, but that was mostly because his dad wanted me to do that. Taco wanted to play basketball in college growing up. It is unbelievable how the situation changed, and Taco has become a famous football player.
Taco was a premature baby; his mother, Tamara, was on bed rest during her pregnancy. During that time, Taco Bell was airing the ad campaign: "Make a run for the border!" So Taco’ mother was joking a lot that her son was just trying to rush and run for the border, that is why he was born ahead of schedule. It was the time, when she started to call him Taco. This name stuck to the football player.
College football career
At the beginning of his career, after playing in Pickerington High School Central in Pickerington, Taco was offered to play college football. The sportsman also played basketball while he was in high school.
In 2013, during his freshman season the player performed in ten games as a backup defensive end. In 2014, Taco played in twelve games with one start showing a great result: 19 tackles and 3.5 sacks. In 2015, the sportsman also appeared in 13 games with three starts his junior year.
In 2016, Taco turned out out to be a starter his senior year. After performing in the 2016 season, the sportsman received many praises from his coaches and team, and also from media and his fans.
Professional football career
After Taco became a first round-pick, the player got an invitation to the NFL combine.
In March, 2017, Taco took part in Michigan's Pro Day along with other famous players.
He wonderfully performed in games. Eight head coaches were among the team representatives and scouts from all 32 NFL teams that attended Michigan's Pro Day: Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Todd Bowles (Jets), Jim Caldwell (Lions), and five others.
In 2017, the Cowboys chose Taco out of Michigan in the first round of the NFL Draft during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
In May, 2017, the Dallas Cowboys signed Taco to a four-year contract. The sportsman played with strong players, including Damontre Moore and Benson Mayowa. He trained a lot to play well in a backup defensive end position.
Taco had great success in his regular season in the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against the New York Giants.
In the next game, Charlton performed well during the Cowboys' game against the Denver Broncos. Taco remained a backup player. He recorded his first career sack against the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to the latest news, Taco Charlton has become a free agent. On September 18, 2019, Taco was released by the team per his request, after Dallas failed to find a trade partner. He would be free to sign with whatever team he wants. He was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins. Taco, who has drafted in the 1st-round of the 2017 NFL Draft, joined several other flameouts on the Dolphins’ 2019 roster, including fellow former 1st-rounders like QB Josh Rosen and DL Robert Nkemdiche, both of whom were drafted by Arizona in the last few years as well.
Personal life
Charlton's nickname, "Taco", was given to him by his mother and grandmother in his childhood.
The player has almost 120,000 of readers on his Twitter profile. He is also an active user of Instagram where has over 200,000 of followers.
All information about his private life stays unknown, so it’s difficult to say if he has a wife or children. Most likely, he is single now.
The player has an interesting tattoo, the Columbus area code.
He is good friends with Jake Butt, an American football tight end, who called him “roommate and brother”. Jake Butt and Taco should be on "All-Name" teams forever. The two were teammates at Michigan and rivals in high school. Both grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, but went to different high schools, according to an ESPN story by Chantel Jennings. Two sportsmen faced one another in both football and basketball games.
The funny fact is that the player has a dish named after him: a taco-styled pizza.
The net worth of the player is $8 million. He has career earnings of $6.82 million. The talented sportsman gets his salary mainly from sports, but he also takes part in numerous endorsements.
Achievements
- First-team All-Big Ten, 2016
- The sixth-best edge rusher in the draft by Sports Illustrated
- The sixth-best defensive end by ESPN
- The seventh-best edge rusher by Pro Football Focus
