How Coronavirus Rocked Calvin Taylor Jr.'s Draft Prep Months after he Successfully Guaranteed a Win over Louisville

Calvin Taylor Jr. saved his best for last.

The Kentucky defensive lineman recorded 8.5 sacks in 2019, the second-most in the SEC. An unlikely rise for the former basketball player, few predicted the 6-9 pass rusher could ever play in the SEC, let alone at the next level. He made the most of his platform in 2019 but his final professional tryout will likely never take place.

The coronavirus pandemic forced Kentucky to postpone its Pro Day, the final chance for many football players to perform in front of NFL scouts in-person. It’s unlikely that event will be rescheduled prior to the April 23 NFL Draft.

“The Pro Day (postponement) was gut-wrenching because there’s a lot of guys that have put in a lot of work. A lot of people all over the country have put in a lot of work to showcase some things,” Taylor said Tuesday morning on Kentucky Roll Call. “It’s just kind of sad to not be able to showcase that, but everything happens for a reason.”

Taylor can still speak to NFL teams via text or phone call, although those conversations are much more infrequent now that scouts aren’t visiting football facilities. Taylor has also been forced to halt training and stay away from the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.

“I haven’t been (training) but I’m developing a plan to start training again soon.”

As Taylor figures out how to move forward, we looked back on the 2019 Kentucky football season. Taylor had his fair share of big moments, especially in the closing minutes of the win over Arkansas, but nothing grabbed headlines quite like his statement leading into the Governor’s Cup. “We will win.” Taylor revealed today that win guarantee did not go over too well with his coaches.

“It was a rough week. But at the same time — I didn’t understand it. I’m not a person to believe in bulletin board material. It’s not going to change the way we were going to have to play, so I never understood that. All my teammates were like, ‘what were you supposed to say?’ We were cool with it. We were so confident that we were going to win, so it was no problem.”

Louisville fans had a problem with it. Louisville coaches had a problem with all of the L’s the Wildcats threw down while dismantling the Cards 45-13.

“If we’re losing we can’t do that,” Taylor said. “I didn’t understand that because I didn’t know it was a big deal until after. I’ve been doing that for five years now so I don’t know.”

The Cats talked plenty of trash in the Battle for the Governor’s Cup while the stunned Cards remained silent. That was not the case at the Belk Bowl. Calvin Taylor Jr.’s favorite win in 2019, the teams were chirping back and forth all week until Kentucky won in the final minute. His only regret was being inside the locker room when Lynn Bowden drew first blood.

“I could see that happening. I wasn’t shocked. I wish we were all outside, but it had to happen,” he said.

Taylor may be on his way out but he did provide some insight into what Kentucky’s defensive line will look like in 2020 with Anwar Stewart leading the way.

“He’s a great coach,” Taylor said. “He was our GA for two years. He’s a guy that can talk the game because you believe it. He played at such a high level and also played there (at UK) so you have that respect from that point. And you know he knows how to rush the passer. He knows how to be a D-lineman. I would say you expect them to be real violent, fast, and I think they’ll rush the passer really well next year.”

In the 15-minute conversation Taylor talked about playing in the rain almost regularly, he reacted to the Tom Brady news and almost revealed Mark Stoops’ nickname. You can listen to the entire conversation here.