DeKalon Taylor has never lacked confidence.
That’s why Taylor was more than willing to bet on himself more than a year ago, believing the numbers he put up as a diminutive but electric running back at the FCS level would translate just fine at the power conference level at Colorado.
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Taylor was just starting to showcase those skills last year for the Buffaloes. And then an injury struck.
The silver lining of suffering a season-ending injury in the fourth game was that Taylor didn’t need to file a lawsuit in order to get the year of eligibility back. Returning for a second season with the Buffs, Taylor not only places to be a key figure in CU’s backfield, but his skill set could be a perfect match for the new Go-Go offense first-year offensive coordinator Brennan Marion is installing.
“Definitely a little bit more confidence,” Taylor said this week during CU’s preseason-opening workouts at Fountain-Fort Carson High School. “I always had confidence I could play at this level. I pretty much showed it the first three games. But outside of that, the coaching staff, they believe in everybody. They are like a family.
“We’re all so vulnerable with each other. That just gives me that extra confidence to go out there and trust my brother next to me is going to make sure he does his job. I’m going to do my job and we’re all going to do our jobs to get the success as a team.”
Taylor flashed some of the skills that made him such a versatile weapon during a three-year run at Incarnate Word during his debut season with the Buffs. Taylor scored the season’s first touchdown on an 8-yard reception. In his four games, Taylor rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt on a team that struggled to run the ball and finished with an average of just 3.5 yards per attempt overall.
Taylor also added 10 receptions for 106 yards, but his season was cut short after suffering an injury against Wyoming.
“I’m pretty excited for what I can do. But even just not me, we have so many weapons in the room,” Taylor said. “We’ve got so many weapons from the receiver room. The O-line is amazing. Overall, anybody in this offense can go at any given time.”
Like the rest of the Buffs, Taylor is adjusting to the new Go-Go offense designed by Marion. During the Buffs’ opening week of training camp, Marion discussed the battle for playing time among the running backs, a group that includes another returning Buff in Micah Welch, as well as transfers like Richard Young (Alabama) and two players who followed Marion to Boulder from Sacramento State — Damian Henderson II and JaQuail Smith.
“All of those guys can be explosive,” Marion said. “Been very violent, running downhill. They’ve done a better job in protections. That was the challenge from the spring to the summer, to understand protection. Those guys have done a really good job of understanding the protection and then being physical at the point of attack. The No. 1 rule if you want to play in the National Football League at running back is you have to protect the quarterback.
“Really proud of that group from a standpoint of trying to be three-down backs. Being able to catch the ball out of the backfield, being able to run the ball, and then being able to protect the quarterback obviously being the most important thing.”
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