Interview with Colorado LB Davion Taylor

Tyler Habursky

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Last week, Colorado linebacker Davion Taylor took time out of his busy schedule to sit down and talk for me with a little bit. Coming out of Colorado, Davion had a great senior season and put himself on the map. He put himself in position to go to the Senior Bowl, the best pre-draft all-star game. What sets Davion apart is his speed, as he was a big-time track guy in high school and also in college. He will be someone to watch at the combine as he could put up some wild numbers. Let’s get into my talk with Davion Taylor.

Q: “So in high school you were a big track guy and you also ran in college too. Tell me about that?”

Davion: “Yeah I ran 10.7 in high school (100m). I had a hamstring injury last year but before then I ran every year for Colorado. With the new coaching staff coming in I knew I had to prove myself to them, so football was more important.”

Q: “What are you looking to run at the combine?”

Davion: “Low 4.4’s high 4.3s. I’m just trying to break the record. I’ll probably weigh 228, 230 and then lose the water weight to go down to 225 when I run because 225 is my peak because I can carry all my weight and run my fastest. I weighed about 215, 216 when I ran the 10.5 at Colorado.”

Q: “Talk to me a little bit about your situation in high school. You were a 4 star, but you never played in any games.”

Davion: “I played starting in Junior High and played through 10th grade year when I played Junior Varsity. And my religion we keep a sabbath day starting Friday night when the sun sets, Sunday night when the sun sets. I lived like 3 minutes away from my school, so I practiced with the team and I played like a game and a half with the team in high school. How it went was, the sun was setting around 7:30 and the game started at 6:00 so the coach talked to my mom and got her to agree to let me play until halftime and she agreed. I was playing so well the first game that coach called my mom and said he’s got to play for us. I don’t know what they ended up talking about, but like she let me play for halftime the one game. She wasn’t comfortable with it, so I’m just happy to play in those 2 games.”

Photo by AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Q: “Last week you were down in Mobile for the Senior Bowl. How was that experience?”



Davion: “Oh you know, it was a great experience being there to really challenge me because I play outside linebacker and the role, I was playing there was inside linebacker so I was able to play like Mike and Will. It really just challenged me to learn a new, NFL system and just show my versatility to show that I can play anywhere around the field.”

Q: “If you could pick, where would you play?”

Davion: “I’d play on the outside. I like being out in space more.”

Q: “10 years ago the league wouldn’t consider moving a guy like you on the inside, but now that the league is becoming a lot faster and smaller, they won’t be afraid to throw you on the inside. There were some other guys in Mobile like that too. I don’t know if you met Akeem Davis-Gaither, but he’s a similar player to you.”

Davion: “Yeah he was my roommate. Me and him got close. We were talking about how were both undersized and similar.”

Q: “What would you say is a strength of yours? And what about a weakness?”

Davion: “Probably covering like Running backs and Tight Ends and my speed are two of the main ones. A weakness would probably be coverage on slots just because the role they had me playing at CU they had me playing over some slots man to man and that would be one of my weaknesses. Probably also my pass rushing I feel like I could get better with my hands and learning different moves that can get me past the line even faster.”

Q: “Some of those guys are the best seniors in the country and it’s a lot better competition than just the PAC-12. When you got there were there any guys you were blown away with by their talent?”

Davion: “I feel like all of them were like that. I played on the South team, so it was a lot of SEC players and those dudes were big. They had 4-5 dudes from Alabama, and I was like yep, I see why they go to the National Championship. Them dudes was huge. The one that played outside linebacker [Terrell Lewis]. He was like 250-260 he was crazy.”

Q: “Talk about the relationships you’ve made at Colorado and how valuable of an experience was that for you?”

Davion: “I made a lot of relationships. Nate Landman was a team captain and I learned a lot from him. Even the young guys I built good relationships with them too. I believed in myself, but I felt like they helped me become a better leader and help me become the person I am.”

Q: “When did you take over that leadership role for Colorado. And what kind of leader are you?”

Davion: “I am a lead by example type guy. My senior year, with new coaches coming in, I felt like I had to reprove myself again. At the beginning of the season I was still becoming a leader, but by the middle of the season I feel like I was that leader. Whether it was leading by example, going to watch extra film, trying to be the first one on the field, first one dressed. To bring the mindset that I’m always trying to be first with everything.”

Q: “Usually in the NFL draft there aren’t too many Colorado players drafted, but this year we have you and Laviska Shenault. Tell me about your relationship with him.”

Davion: “We weren’t close close, but on the field, we were like brothers. It was a great experience playing against him because he’s always going to bring his best whether that be in practice or the games. Every day of practice we’ll compete and most days he’ll get me because he’s a different type of athlete because he’s quick and he’s big and fast. I just liked the way he challenged me because it made me a better player and a better person. We all just help each other get better every day.”

Q: “Who are some Colorado players no one’s talking about that we should pay attention to next year?”

Davion: “I feel like you guys already know about KD Nixon. But I’ll go Nate Landman. He’s probably one of the biggest sleepers just because he was first team all PAC12, but I feel like he makes so many plays that go unnoticed.”

Q: “Who was the best player you went against in your entire college career?”

Davion: “Me personally, it was probably Justin Herbert. I feel like we kind of underestimated him. He just came on to the field and was just throwing first downs and he was doing everything perfect and that team was so disciplined. I can see why he’s going top 10.”