DeKalon Taylor doesn’t sound like a player easing back into Colorado. He sounds like someone ready to cash in on everything the Buffs’ new offense can offer.
That’s what makes his return so intriguing. Taylor had every reason to leave after last season’s injury cut short a start that flashed big-play juice right away. Instead, he chose to stay in Boulder, and he made it clear why.
“I was always coming back to Colorado,” DeKalon Taylor told DNVR’s Scott Procter. “I love it here.
I love the fans. I love the people here, I love Coach Prime and my teammates.
I said I have to come back and do it for those guys.
“There’s no way I go out like that. I promised too much on the table.”
Taylor’s first season with Colorado opened with a bang. He scored the fastest first touchdown of a season since 2018 in the opener against Georgia Tech, then found the end zone again in Week 2 against Delaware while piling up 97 yards on 11 touches. But a season-ending injury in Week 4 ended that momentum before it could really take off, leaving him with the option to redshirt and return or look elsewhere.
He chose the former without much hesitation.
Now he gets a fresh start in Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense, and that’s where the fit starts to look dangerous. Marion’s scheme is built to move players around and feature their best traits, with two running backs often on the field. In his book on the offense’s philosophy, Marion writes “we want our backs to be able to get out in space and be assets in the passing game, not liabilities.”
For Taylor, who started his college career as a wide receiver at Incarnate Word, that’s exactly the kind of setup he wanted to see.
“I feel like I’ll get to fully showcase my skillset,” DeKalon Taylor said. “But also there’s other guys on the team that have some crazy skillsets that y’all are going to get to see, too.
“This offense opens so many doors for so many people to be open and you know an offensive coordinator is great and a play is great when everybody’s open.”
That versatility is a big reason Taylor is aiming high for 2026. He isn’t just talking about a solid year. He’s writing down a target that would put him among the most productive backs in the country.
“I want be a top running back in the nation, I want at least 2,000 yards all-purpose and 10-plus TDs,” DeKalon Taylor said. “I’m a big ‘write it down’ guy because even when I was at Incarnate Word, before I had my breakout season there (1,260 all-purpose yards), that whole year every time we went into meetings, I wrote down what I wanted to do and I when I did it.”
Taylor also sees a clear reason those numbers are possible: the offensive line in front of him. He likes the way that group plays and communicates, and he made it plain he trusts them to set the tone.
“It’s their intensity,” DeKalon Taylor said of what he loves most about Colorado’s offensive line. “They’re, they’re aggressive.
They know how to get off the ball. Then even outside of getting off the ball, when we get into pass protection, they overcommunicate and make sure I know what’s going on.
“They don’t let anybody touch that quarterback. They’re some mean guys.”
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