FAYETTEVILLE — Michael Taylor did not play for the Arkansas Razorbacks last season after transferring late in the summer from Riverside (Calif.) City College, but Taylor didn’t let the year away from game action get him down.
Taylor turned the heads of his teammates and the coaching staff on the defensive scout team while getting a season’s worth of work in the hybrid role of defensive end and outside linebacker that the Razorbacks would adopt as part of their change to a 3-4 defense over the winter.
“I knew I wasn’t able to play, so I was like ‘OK, let me do my thing to my advantage to show them they did the right thing to come and get me and recruit me,’ ” Taylor said. “I took it like every day was a game for me because I wouldn’t get to play on game day.
“So I would just perfect my craft and do as much as I can to help the team and better myself and … show them that I’m somebody they can rely on in the future.”
Taylor, a 6-3, 260-pounder, originally from Orlando, Fla., played defensive end at Riverside, but he expanded his role for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
He imitated Texas A&M standout end Myles Garrett as the Razorbacks prepared to play the Aggies, and for other games he took his hand off the ground and played stand-up linebacker.
“The thing is when we were playing TCU, I was standing up,” he said. “When we played Auburn, I was standing up.
“Texas A&M, I was playing Myles Garrett. It varied, and some of those things did help with what I’m doing now.”
Taylor is running with the first team at the outside linebacker spot called “Hog” in the new front schemed up by Coach Bret Bielema, defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads and the defensive staff.
While the “Hog” and the other outside spot called “Razor” will have what Bielema calls “mirrored” responsibilities from time to time, based on offensive shifts or motions, he envisions Taylor’s position as bearing more of the responsibilities normally associated with playing end.
The “Hog” will have pass coverage assignments, blitz calls and will quite often have to control the edge on that side of the formation.
“It’s going well so far, trying to adjust to a new position,” Taylor said. “The [pass] drop is new to me. On the D-line, I didn’t drop as much, dropping to the flats, reading run and pass.
“Sometimes I have to go with the wheel routes. You’re running down the field, and me weighing 260 running down the field is not as easy as for some other guys. But I think I’m adjusting so far.”
The defense did not call any shifts, stunts or pressures in Saturday’s scrimmage, which was one of the reasons the first-team run game excelled with Rawleigh Williams and Devwah Whaley running behind a more physical front. However, the twists and the line games are in the works, which will allow for a player of Taylor’s skill set to have more impact.
“I think he has to get used to setting that edge, playing with his hands,” Bielema said Saturday. “I saw him make a play into the boundary … that one he kind of strung out. He’s very athletic. He’s very tough.
“He knocked Devwah pretty hard in Thursday’s practice, who almost knocked into our quarterback, so I know his aggression is good.”
Bielema said new outside linebackers coach Chad Walker, who has touted Taylor’s pass-rushing skills, has done a good job so far.
“So it’s just continued reps [for Taylor], but I’m pleased with where he’s at,” Bielema said.
The same could be said for Taylor, who left after one season at Riverside despite having another year of eligibility there.
“They did talk about staying and getting more offers, but I think the best decision was for me to come here and understand SEC football and get used to it, because it is a different game and a different speed and people don’t understand that,” Taylor said.
“It helped me to come out here and adjust with the first-team offense that I was going against with Skip [Dan Skipper] and all them for my situation.”
The NCAA did not grant Taylor eligibility last season, but that ruling is under appeal by the Razorbacks.
“We’ve got a waiver [request] and an appeal going in,” Bielema said. “So he has two years for sure, and we’re going to cross our fingers and try to get him a third one as well.”