There are nine basic forms of energy — from kinetic to sound, nuclear to light — but running back Kelvin Taylor would like to submit a tenth for your approval.
This type of energy is more simplistic and impactful.
Just one month ago, the sophomore had the symbol (+) and the word “Energy” tattooed on his right wrist to symbolize positive energy: the fuel that keeps him going when challenges come his way.
For football players, as with all human beings, it can be difficult to stay positive in the face of adversity. There are injuries to fight through, expectations to meet and — of course — losing.
Florida had a bit of all three on its way to a disastrous 4-8 season in 2013, but Taylor has found his own way to stay in good spirits even when the game he loves deals him a poor hand.
“I’m always a positive guy and no matter what you’ve got to be a positive guy so that’s why I got positive energy,” he said. “So that’s just one thing I love, positive energy and everybody that I like to hang out with are positive people so that’s why I got it.”
Last year, Taylor was able to stay positive by leaning on his family, his faith in God and good old fashioned hard work combined with a bit of patience that his time would come as the feature back in the UF backfield.
After teammate Matt Jones went down with a torn meniscus against LSU on Oct. 12, Taylor ran 10 times for 52 yards in Jones’ absence.
He got better as the season progressed and was at his best in Florida’s loss at South Carolina on Nov. 16 when he recorded 21 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns including the second-longest run of his career (29). But it wasn’t all success for him. Taylor struggled in pass-blocking situations as well as catching the ball out of the backfield.
“I could say last year just coming out of high school they really didn’t ask you to pass block that much,” he said. “But in college you’ve got to be a complete back and you’ve got to know how to pass block and you’ve got to know how to catch the ball out of the backfield, you’ve got to be a complete back.”
To round out his skill set, Taylor has taken extra reps with the JUGS machine after practice and worked on pass blocking drills with offensive tackle D.J. Humphries. He said he has forced those things into his workout plan and because of it he is “ready to go.”
In year No. 2, there’s no more thinking for Taylor but merely reading and reacting to situations. New offensive coordinator Kurt Roper has emphasized eye discipline and playing fast during practice.
Taylor said the transition from pro-style to up-tempo has been seamless.
“I feel like we fit into his offense great man,” he said. “We can play into space, it’s a downhill offense, it’s a very explosive offense, you can get a lot of different matchups in that offense so I feel like it’s going to be a lot of explosive plays and our offense is going to be just explosive this year, we’re very excited to get things rolling.”
Taylor’s head coach agrees.
“From a standpoint of the run game, the runs are the same and block the same,” Will Muschamp said at Florida media day.
“Their entry angle is a little different and those guys seem to really like what we did in the spring as far as those things are concerned from the (shot)gun. That was a concern going in, but I thought Kelvin had a really good spring.”
For Taylor and his teammates to reverse the polarity of their disappointing 2013, they’ll need an acute understanding of Roper’s offense.
That, and maybe just a little bit of positive energy.
Freshman running back Kelvin Taylor tries to escape a tackle during Florida's 19-14 loss to No. 10 South Carolina on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
UF running back Kelvin Taylor shows off a tattoo on his right wrist that reads "(+) energy"
