In his final season at Park Crossing High School in Montgomery, Cam Taylor-Britt passed for 1,466 yards and 16 touchdowns and ran for 1,030 yards and 14 touchdowns to earn All-State recognition as the Thunderbirds quarterback.

In his first season for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, Taylor-Britt has started the past 11 games and will be at cornerback against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

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Taylor-Britt said his former position in high school had helped him adjust to his current position in the NFL.

“Just knowing route recognition,” Taylor-Britt said. “And that’s kind of helped me as well just learning through these games. Yeah, I know routes and everything, but in the NFL, they take things a lot deeper, so that’s one thing that I’ve been understanding as I go through this season.

“It’s helped me out also just knowing the quarterback’s throwing motion and when he’s actually going to release the ball and when to break, so yeah, it helps out.”

After joining the Bengals in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft from Nebraska, where he made the transition from the offensive to the defensive backfield, Taylor-Britt had surgery on Aug. 16 to address a core-muscle injury. He missed the first six games of the season.

Taylor-Britt made his debut in a reserve role in a 35-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 23. He’s started every game since and has played in one loss in his NFL career.

Taylor-Britt made his first start as an injury replacement for Eli Apple in a 32-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 31. Apple returned the next week, but Cincinnati’s other starting cornerback, Chidobe Awuzie, had gone down with a season-ending injury against the Browns, keeping Taylor-Britt in the lineup.

“Throughout (injured reserve), I was still working my butt off, learning plays day in and day out in there with coaches,” Taylor-Britt said about his confidence as a rookie defensive back. “I feel like my preparation is a lot better than yours. And I’m coming here to stop you. That’s how I feel about it.”

In the Bengals’ 27-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the AFC playoffs last week, Taylor-Britt came up with the first interception of his career. He picked off Bills QB Josh Allen at the Cincinnati 2-yard line with 1:02 remaining in the game. That came after he’d broken up a long pass that was right on the money to Buffalo wide receiver Gabe Davis in Cincinnati territory late in the third quarter.

In the locker room after the game, Bengals coach Zac Taylor tossed Taylor-Britt a game ball and the rookie got to lead the “Who Dey” cheer.

“It just felt like a movie, honestly,” Taylor-Britt said about the victory over Buffalo. “We were sitting on the sideline talking about it. Just watching snow fall, it was a crazy game, loud as ever – that’s some things that when you’re a kid you dream about. That’s something that you see in the movies – this-is-the-game-to-win-it-all type deal. And it was – win or go home, at the end of the day. But I just took it all in, and especially having my parents there – of course, I seen my mama’s face, and that’s when it came. It actually happened, and she got to witness that.”

The Bengals and the Chiefs will square off at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. CBS will televise the game.

Sunday’s winner will represent the AFC in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12.

“I feel like I’ve improved tremendously throughout this season,” Taylor-Britt said. “It’s plenty more to go, most definitely. …

“The more reps that you get the more comfortable that you are. I’ve been getting reps since the Falcons game, so why wouldn’t I be comfortable?”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.