When Caleb Taylor signed with the Jayhawks in 2019, he was a defensive end still learning to play the game. He was raw but had skills that college recruiters noticed.

“I only played football three years in high school and those three years it was actually my first time playing D-line and for all three years I was a defensive end,” Taylor recalled.

When he arrived at Kansas he started out as a defensive end playing three games as a true freshman. After an off season and small weight gain, he found himself lining up as a defensive tackle last year.

It was a new experience playing on the interior going up against guards and centers who easily had 30-40 pounds on him. Last year he played a cheeseburger under 260 pounds while he was learning a new position.

“It was the beginning of the season when we played Duke, I weighed in at 258 before the game,” Taylor said. “I was 297 this morning.”

That is a 40-pound change in a short amount of time.

“It took a lot of work, honestly,” Taylor said. “I mean, going into the weight room after practice, getting extra reps in, getting extra sets, being more conscientious of my diet, everything I put into my body, but really the biggest part of it was the weight room.”

One can see the difference with Taylor at first glance. His body looks much different than the redshirt freshman last year who was forced to play inside at 258 pounds.

A lot of the credit goes to Taylor for the discipline he showed in the program along with the change in nutrition. And some credit also goes to Matt Gildersleeve, who oversees the strength and conditioning program.

“Coach Gildersleeve is great,” Taylor said. “One of my favorite things about him is just the emphasis that he puts on things that other people won't put as much of an emphasis on. Everybody doesn't put the same emphasis on the same things. It's not just how we lift. It's not just that we lift the weights. It's how we lift them. It's not just what we do. It's how we do it. Everything we do, we do it perfectly. We do it to our standard.”

Taylor is ready this season to show what he can do after gaining experience at his new position.

“The biggest thing that I learned from last year is probably just belief,” he said. “Whether it's belief in our program, belief in myself, or whatever you believe in at the end of the day. If you believe you can do it, that just puts you so much further ahead of somebody who feel like they can't. So last year, that's what a lot of it was about for me mentally last year. Just starting to believe in myself more.”

Jim Panagos who recently joined Leipold's staff, has coached defensive linemen who have played in the NFL. He likes what he has seen from Taylor in spring ball.

"I've been really impressed with Caleb," Panagos said. "He's going to be a really good football player. He's got all the characteristics like how the players I've drafted previous in my career."