"The Biggest Loser" has nothing on defensive tackle Phil Taylor. The 21st pick of the draft this year, now property of the Cleveland Browns, made a ton of money by dropping a ton of weight. ThePostGame.com interviewed the big defensive tackle during the grueling preparation for his big night.
ThePostGame.com: You're how big?
Taylor: I'm 6-4, 335.
ThePostGame.com: And they call you "Lil Phil"? How’s that?
Taylor: My dad's name is Phil, and he's bigger than me. He's about 6'5", 370. He had Crohn's Disease. He had to have open-heart surgery. I'm trying to get him to eat right, 'cause I love him. He was always tall but not always big-big. He never played football. He was a basketball guy.
ThePostGame.com: So how did you get into football?
Taylor: The first time I wanted to go out and play football, I might have been 12. They said I had to play with the 15- and 16-year-olds. It was tough. I was always into basketball. I didn't play football till ninth grade.
ThePostGame.com: Did you ever run into an offensive lineman you couldn't handle?
Taylor: Not that I know of.
ThePostGame.com: What happened at Penn State?
Taylor: I was young. I learned from it. Now I'm just making the best out of a second chance.
ThePostGame.com: What was difficult about the transition to Baylor?
Taylor: After my sophomore season at Penn State, I wasn’t doing any off-season workouts. I was on my own. I was young and I let that get to me. My weight skyrocketed up. When I first got to Baylor, I was 384.
ThePostGame.com: And now?
Taylor: From 384 my junior season, I got down to 365. Right now I’m 332.
ThePostGame.com: What were you eating to get to 384?
Taylor: I wasn't eating bad things. Just too much of some things. Like fried foods and eating late at night.
ThePostGame.com: Still tempted?
Taylor: Nope. One of my cousins is a bigger guy too. He came up to me and said, "When you come home, you should have some of my grandmother’s fried chicken." I told him, "I eat baked now -- and you should too."
ThePostGame.com: So you can stay at 330?
Taylor: I want to get down to 325. I can be an inspiration for someone else trying to lose weight. I can help them on their journey too. If I work hard, it'll pay off.
ThePostGame.com: Literally. You realize you are earning millions of dollars by dropping that weight?
Taylor: Yeah. Just can't spend it on food.
