(WHTM)– On September 1, 2001, Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro led the Nittany Lions onto the field against Miami less than a year after suffering a serious spinal injury.

On September 23, 2000, Taliaferro suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury while tackling tailback Jerry Westrbooks during a game against Penn State rivals Ohio State, according to the Adam Taliaferro Foundation. The injury paralyzed the cornerback in just the fifth game of his collegiate career.

Doctors told his parents he would likely never walk again after spinal fusion surgery. A miracle happened three months later when he walked out of Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia.

Less than a year after the injury, Taliaferro did what was once thought impossible and led the Nittany Lions onto the field against the Miami Hurricanes. The game was also the first game in the newly expanded Beaver Stadium, which grew to a capacity of 107,282.

Though his football career was over, he remained part of the team as a student-assistant coach under Joe Paterno.

A book about Taliaferro’s life and recovery from his injury, titled “Miracle in the Making,” was written by Sam Carchidi and Scott Brown in 2001.

He later earned a Bachelor of Science in Labor and Industrial Relations from Penn State in 2005.

Taliaferro later turned to politics and was elected to serve on the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He would later be selected by the local Democratic committees of the 3rd district to fill a vacant seat on the New Jersey General Assembly in 2015, according to True New Jersey.

Taliaferro lost his seat in 2022 to his Republican opponents.

Today, he serves as the chairman of the Adam Taliaferro Foundation, which provides emotional, financial, and educational support to individuals who have suffered severe spinal cord injuries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.