After losing a few notable pieces in the offseason to graduation and the NFL Draft, Kansas’ defensive line has shifted its leadership onto some new faces this spring.
“It wasn’t something that was unnatural to me necessarily, it was just the fact that ‘Okay, I’m not the young guy anymore. I don’t have to wait my turn anymore, it’s my time, so I’ve got to take advantage of that,'” said defensive tackle Caleb Taylor on embracing his new role this year.
“I think Caleb Taylor’s having a great spring ball… he’s really working hard. I see him taking the next step in his progression,” said defensive tackles coach Jim Panagos. “I tell the players every time, everyone’s process is their journey, some players get it right away, some players get it three years, some players get it four years or two years. But right now Caleb is really practicing at a high level and he’s really doing a great job with leadership also.”
Taylor’s leadership has come off the field on top of his strong voice on the field, as he explained the importance that the spring holds just to bring the guys together. He said he hosts the defensive line at his house at least once a week, as they meet on Thursdays to watch whatever game is on TV and play board games.
“We’re having a watch party on Sunday for the national championship,” Taylor said. “Just whenever we have some free time… we just love being around each other.”
“Yeah it actually hasn’t been hard at all, we have a lot of great personalities in the room. Coach P did a great job bringing a group of people together that just gets along really well,” he continued. “So in terms of chemistry and all of that, it’s good and I just hope we can see the results of it this season on the field.”
“The spring brings us all together,” tackle Tommy Dunn agreed. “We go and learn to fight together in the weight room, get through the struggles… when somebody makes a play we all celebrate and get to know each other through getting hype, so spring is really good for us to see where we’re at.”
While this includes the off-field bonding that Taylor detailed, both Dunn and Panagos know the importance of instilling this in scrimmages as well through newly developed leadership.
“I see Tommy… doing stuff that I’ve never seen before because they get experience,” Panagos said.
“[Taylor and I] turn everybody up, we always keep the energy so we’re never going through the motions,” Dunn said. “If we feel like people are just going through the motions, that’s when we crank it up even more.”
“We’re making each other better. Nobody’s taking their foot off the gas… we’re all doing everything to be prepared for the ball.”
Another layer of this comes from Panagos’ trust in his guys as they navigate a new year without the powerhouse presence of Austin Booker, Dominick Puni and Devin Phillips.
“He just wants the best out of all of us, he pushes us to the max,” Dunn said. “He sees something in each of us that we don’t see and he sets high standards for us, and we got to reach it.”
“(This group) is a really good mixture of experience, inexperience and right now they’re working really hard,” Panagos said.
Dunn and Taylor’s experience has not only set them up in the leadership department, but has also molded their approach to spring practice in general.
“I feel more comfortable because I know the game and how fast it is, how physical it is,” Dunn said. “It made me more comfortable to know what to expect this season because I’ve been in that fire already.”
“The thing about Caleb was, last season I had a conversation with him. He said ‘Coach, I want to play,’ I said, ‘Well these are the three things you have to [do].’ And he did it. And now he’s got confidence,” Panagos said about Taylor’s spring development. “Now his weight’s up, he’s a fifth-year senior, so it’s his time to really step up and help us lead this team.”
This mix of experience and freshness that Panagos noted has really given a great opportunity to new coming Jayhawks playing in their first or second round of spring ball.
“We have a really good starting five on the O-line… so being able to get those reps against them was huge for me,” Taylor said, “but also [is big] for the young guys who have had just as many reps against those types of people … it’s great for their development to be able to go against someone like that every day.”
While there’s more to be worked on before a new defensive line is set in stone for the regular season opener in August, Kansas has seen plenty of progress over the past weeks of spring practice. The variety-filled defensive front has fed off of each other’s differing experiences to push motivation to practice for the real deal and prepare for an expectation-filled 2024 season.
