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Jonathan White

Taylor Rapp is 21 years old and is yet to play a game of pro football but he is determined to be a role model.
“There’s not a lot of Asian-Americans in sport,” he said in his instalment of the Rolling With The Rookies video series. “In football there’s none.
“My mission is to inspire Asian-American kids who don’t have someone to look up to. I want to be that role model that they can be inspired by.”
The former Washington Huskies safety revealed more to The Post Game, the sports agency who produced the Rolling with the Rookies series.


“There was really no one that I could really look up to in football specifically,” he said.
“I mean, there’s like Jeremy Lin in Linsanity when that happened, but I couldn’t really connect with him because he was in basketball. I never even really played basketball. When it came to football and baseball, I never really saw any Chinese players.

“I had to say, you know, I’m going to be the first one, or more accurately, I need to do everything I can to be the first one. As I achieved at the division one level my mission became to really inspire young Asian-American kids who are in my position when I was growing up, who don’t have someone to look up to.
“I want to be that role model or that figure that they can look up to and relate to and be inspired by.”
Rapp was born to a Shanghainese mother and Canadian father, growing up in Bellingham in Washington state, a town hardly renowned for producing athletes. He had other troubles as a child.

Thank you @Hyundai for rolling with me back to my hometown in Bellingham, WA and featuring my story in the third season of Rolling with the Rookies. Check out link in bio for full documentary. #Hyundai pic.twitter.com/Gs3mDPuiIX
— Taylor Rapp (@trapp07) 24 April 2019

“Kids at school, they looked at me differently because I was different,” Rapp said in his video.
“Growing up having traditional home-made Chinese dishes with my grandparents and mom, there were times when even I was embarrassed when I was younger for being ‘different’. But as I matured, that’s when I really started to embrace my heritage, embrace where I came from. Today I embrace it more than ever.”
Not coming from a town renowned for athletes was one obstacle to get noticed, the other he says was the way he looked.

"Turn that hate into wins."@mvp86hinesward delivers an inspiring message to fellow Asian-American football player and draft prospect Taylor Rapp. #NFLDraft @trapp07 pic.twitter.com/C31cJYQM1L
— NFL (@NFL) 23 April 2019

He was often overlooked at summer football camps because of his appearance. “I didn’t look like the typical football player to college coaches,” he said, but h e is not expected to be overlooked for much longer.
The safety, who led the Huskies to three division titles in a row, is projected to be a top 50 pick in the NFL draft when it begins on Thursday.
Rapp led Washington in sacks in 2018 with the lowest missed tackle percentage in the Pac-12, and NFL fans on social media are excited at the prospect of him being signed by their teams.
While Rapp might be the only Chinese-American in the draft he will not be the only player with Asian heritage.

Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Kyler Murray, who is of South Korean heritage, is expected to be picked in the first round. The two rookies could represent a watershed moment for the NFL.
The number of players of Asian heritage in the almost 100 years of the NFL can be counted on two hands – to put that in context there have been nearly 50 Englishman who have made the grade in the NFL.
Early pioneers Walter Achiu in the 1920s and Wally Yonamine in the 1940s led the way, followed by Roman Gabriel in the ’60s and ’70s.

#Eagles have signed OT Ed Wang, first ever Chinese player drafted in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/YXyWPhUt
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) 15 February 2013

Then came John Lee in the ’80s and Eugene Chung in the 1990s, whose son Kyle plays at Virginia Tech. Dat Nguyen followed at the turn of the century, alongside the NFL’s first Filipino player Eugene Amano at the Tennessee Titans.
At the same time the NFL’s two most successful players of Asian heritage were playing: Teddy Bruschi, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, and Hines Ward, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The latter has wished Rapp well ahead of the draft, telling the safety to “turn that hate into wins”.

Learned to use that hate and doubt for positive fuel from a young age.. Will continue to show that WE can play ball. Appreciate the kind words and support from one of the best to ever do it and fellow Asian-American @mvp86hinesward https://t.co/QTQTu70F7x
— Taylor Rapp (@trapp07) 24 April 2019

Chinese-Americans such as Rapp have been even more underrepresented in the pros. He will follow in the footsteps of Ed Wang, the offensive tackle drafted by the Buffalo Bills with their fifth round pick in 2010. Wang played six games for the Bills before moving to the Oakland Raiders then the Philadelphia Eagles. He played at neither team in a career that was cut short by injury.
Rapp’s success would certainly aid the NFL in their desire to crack the China market, one which commissioner Roger Goodell described as a “priority” earlier this year.
It is estimated that about 30,000 youngsters are engaged in American football in China and that number is projected to reach 120,000 by next year, Shanghai-based sports agency Mailman told Forbes in January.
One day, maybe, one of those players will follow in Rapp’s footsteps.


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NFL (National Football League)

Football’s Jeremy Lin? NFL Draft prospect Taylor Rapp set to be second Chinese-American in pro football

Taylor Rapp led the Washington Huskies to three division titles in a row. Photo: YouTube

Dec 8, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray poses for photos during a press conference at the New York Marriott Marquis after winning the Heisman Trophy. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Feb 13, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Jeremy Lin (17) shoots for a basket past Washington Wizards forward Jabari Parker (12) in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

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Washington Huskies safety determined to be role model for Asian-Americans
He is joined in the draft by Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, another player with Asian heritage


Washington Huskies safety determined to be role model for Asian-Americans


Chinese-Americans

Football’s Jeremy Lin? NFL Draft prospect Taylor Rapp set to be second Chinese-American in pro football

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Washington Huskies safety determined to be role model for Asian-Americans He is joined in the draft by Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, another player with Asian heritage

Washington Huskies safety determined to be role model for Asian-Americans

He is joined in the draft by Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, another player with Asian heritage