Caleb Taylor had a conversation with defensive tackles coach Jim Panagos during the UCF game last season because he wanted to get more playing time. Panagos talked about wanting to see Taylor work on his technique and effort.

That conversation unlocked a strong end to the season and has gotten a lot of praise heading into 2024.

“I sat down with him and said hey, these are three things you have to do,” Panagos said. “And he took it to heart and you saw his progress from that four game stretch where, you know, Iowa State he was the player of the game for us on defense.

"I think it gave him confidence and then when your player has confidence they tend to grow. And right now he has a lot of confidence, and he’s doing a great job being a leader of our football team.”

Taylor said he took the conversation to heart and tried to execute what Panagos told him. He also agreed that he started to play more comfortably in the rest of the season.

“So those two games [Iowa State and Oklahoma State] are huge,” Taylor said. “And, you know, you always. Some people are always a little nervous when they first come out, but just being able to make those plays over the season, you know, the anxiety lessens and lessons a bit as you go on. So those two games helped with that a lot, too.”

Lance Leipold mentioned earlier in camp that there used to be questions about Taylor being all the way bought in. He struggled to maintain weight but is past that now and has gained a lot of maturity in trust from Kansas’ head coach.

Coming into this season, Taylor is focused on stepping up as a vocal leader. This is his fifth season at Kansas and he thinks his play on the field is now lining up with the respect he’s gotten in the locker room.

“I feel like I've always had a decent level of respect with my teammates, but for me, it was being comfortable, one, with that, and then, two, my performance lining up with the person that I thought that I was becoming and that I could be,” Taylor said.

“And it was just a matter of keep working hard, doing everything that I was doing. And like I said, once you gain everybody's respect and show people that you're doing it the right way and doing the right things, and then you go on and try to bring some people with you slowly, slowly, you know, more people want to come with you rather than you having to go out and force them.”

Part of Taylor’s growing leadership is him taking the reins on the off-the-field activities within the defensive tackle group. Former Jayhawks Sam Burt and Jelani Arnold started a tradition where the defensive linemen would go get food on Thursdays.

When Arnold graduated, he asked Taylor “to make sure that the culture and the tightness of the room doesn’t die.” Now, it’s become a consistent thing, from watching Thursday Night Football games to fights to just spending time with each other.

“We definitely do a lot off the field together,” Taylor said. “We love each other. We spend a bunch of time together, and it's always good. So, yeah, I'm excited, and that's another good chance for us to be able to build that chemistry with the younger guys as well as the transfer.”

The time they spend together off the field has led to the group having more trust on the field.

“I think that it helps us push each other and it helps us trust each other just because we know each other better,” Taylor said. “We know each other, we know what gets to each other, what each other needs. And then, like I said, it's easier to go out there and play with your best friend than it is just with somebody that you just met yesterday.”

Taylor expects a big year out of the defensive tackles. He thinks the group, a combination of veterans and young guys, are extremely hard workers.

“I expect us to play extremely hard,” Taylor said. “I expect us to be able to play, to be able to get some of our younger guys some reps, too, and I expect them to go out and perform because they've been working extremely hard. Like I said, I expect. I expect a good year out of us. I feel like we had a decent year last year, and I think we'll have another one this year.”

Panagos expects a big year out of Taylor individually as well. He thinks he’s set up to have a great senior year.

“I really value him and really appreciate what he’s doing right now,” Panagos said. “We need Caleb to have a great senior year. Senior year is important for players.”