Friends, colleagues and the media today are attempting to get a clearer picture of the real Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins player who died earlier from a gunshot wound in Miami.

The former Miami Hurricane was known on the field for his trash-talking and vicious hits. (He was once ejected and fined for spitting on Buccaneer running back Michael Pittman in 2006.) Off the field, former teammates said he was more caring but private.

"For being as visible and flamboyant a player as he is on the field, he is very reserved and soft-spoken off it,"  Joel Rodriguez told the Miami Herald. Rodriguez played three years with Taylor at UM. "It's not what you'd expect from a guy with that type of talent and mean streak."

But there's also the Sean Taylor who in 2005 was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm after pulling a gun and throwing a punch during a fight. (Click here to read more of the Miami Herald report.) Taylor was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, according to one AP report.

But teammates said Taylor turned himself around after the birth of his daughter in May 2006. "It's hard to expect a man to grow up
overnight," Redskins and UM teammate Clinton Portis told the AP."But ever since he
had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew
it."

Here are some other features about Taylor from other websites:

• Photo gallery from Fort Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel's website;
• Guest book from Sun-Sentinel website;
• Timeline of Sean Taylor;
• Photo gallery from Miami Herald;
• Taylor stopped for DUI (2004) from Miami Herald;
• Ex-UM star 'of interest' in shootings from Miami Herald.