Big Ten Network to air emotional special on former Penn State DB Adam Taliaferro
Penn State has announced that the Big Ten Network will be airing a special on Adam Taliaferro, the former Nittany Lions defensive back who suffered a traumatic injury 20 years ago.
On Monday, Big Ten Network and Penn State released statements regarding the special:
The Big Ten Network will debut a special one-hour “The B1G Moment: Adam Taliaferro” on Tuesday night. The show will air at 7 p.m. ET and re-air on the network multiple times, including 1 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 p.m. on Thursday and 3 p.m. on Friday.
The special will spotlight Taliaferro’s emotional walk out of the Beaver Stadium tunnel in 2001. A year earlier, as a freshman defensive back at Penn State, Taliaferro suffered a severe spinal cord injury while making a tackle at Ohio State and was left with no movement in his extremities from the neck down.
Despite being given a 3 percent chance to ever walk again, following an inspiring rehabilitation and recovery process, he regained the ability to walk on his own and showcased his progress in front of a sold-out crowd in Happy Valley in 2001.
In addition to the special airing on Tuesday night, there will be multiple re-airing dates on the network.
Taliaferro was a highly-rated high school recruit who earned playing time at Penn State as a true freshman during the 2000 season. His career ended after just five games with the Nittany Lions because of the injury.