Sean Taylor was never very subtle on a football field.

As a teenage tailback at Miami Gulliver Prep, he roared his way into the consciousness of South Florida football fans by breaking the state record for touchdowns with 44 -- the final three accomplished in the state championship victory against Marianna his senior season.

As a young man at the University of Miami, he did his damage on defense as a hard-hitting safety who dished out trash talk along with ferocious tackles.

And as a four-year NFL veteran with the Redskins, he has been no less understated. He was ejected and fined $17,000 for spitting on Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006 -- one of several fines imposed during his career for late hits or other violations.

But off the field, say friends, former teammates and coaches, the man tied for the NFC lead with five interceptions is respectful, caring and extremely private.

Taylor, 24, is recovering at Jackson Memorial after being shot Monday during an invasion at his Palmetto Bay home. He is not the mean-spirited brute the world sees on Sundays, friends say.

''It's strange,'' said Joel Rodriguez, who played with Taylor at UM for three seasons and last saw Taylor in February before the Pro Bowl. ``For being as visible and flamboyant a player as he is on the field, he is very reserved and soft-spoken off it. It's not what you'd expect from a guy with that type of talent and mean streak.

``He is very, very quiet and very much one of the guys who blended into the framework of the team. He never tried to dominate the locker room. He was friendly, a good teammate. He never missed practice, showed up on time, went to class.''

UM team chaplain Steve Caldwell lives ''10 to 15 blocks'' from Taylor, who was at his Palmetto Bay home this past weekend while recuperating from a sprained knee.

On Monday morning, Caldwell received a phone call saying Taylor, whom Caldwell grew to know well through frequent games of dominoes in the UM locker room, was struggling for his life.

`DUMBFOUNDED'

''Honestly, I'm dumbfounded,'' said Caldwell, who has been with the football team since 1998, three years before Taylor arrived.

''The last [UM death] was Bryan Pata,'' Caldwell said. 'I was on and off for Marlin Barnes' murder, Chris Campbell, Al Blades, Pata . . . I don't know. It seems somebody has it out for our guys -- maybe that's not the right way to say it. But I don't know how to say it, fashion it, articulate it. It's just another unfortunate incident happening to one of our guys.''

It was early Monday morning when former UM tight end Buck Ortega got two text messages from agent Drew Rosenhaus.

''One said I was being signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad,'' Ortega said. ``The other said Sean Taylor had been shot. It made me sick.''

Ortega, 26, was Taylor's roommate for two years when they played for the Hurricanes. Taylor left for the NFL after his junior season in 2003. Before that, they were good friends and teammates at Gulliver.

''I don't have a clue what happened,'' said Ortega, who packed his bags to go to New Orleans and hurried from his home in Delray Beach to stop at Jackson Memorial before he left. ``He was a great roommate and a great friend. He was respectful, no problems at all. We used to fish together, play video games, ride around and go out to eat. He's a quiet kid, never went around bragging.''

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