MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Of course, a question about Kole Taylor's shoe was going to come up during his first visit with West Virginia media following the annual Gold-Blue Spring Game played at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, April 22.
 
For those unaware, Taylor, LSU's reserve freshman tight end playing against Florida in 2020, caught a pass from quarterback Max Johnson late in the game and jumped to try and avoid tacklers Tre'vez Johnson and Marco Wilson. But the duo stopped him well short of a first down with the Gators seemingly gaining possession of the football in a tie game.
 
But in the process of bringing Taylor down, Wilson grabbed Taylor's Nike Vapor Edge Pro 360 cleat and tossed it down the field in celebration of Florida's drive-ending stop. Wilson was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which gave LSU 15 yards and a fresh set of downs, and the Tigers capitalized on it by kicking a game-winning field goal with 23 seconds left.
 
That is the memory LSU fans will always have of Kole Taylor, and it's one of those odd-ball things that preoccupies the minds of some.
 
"It's something that will stick with me my entire career," Taylor said recently. "It was good to be able to play in that game my freshman year. We were running some sort of vertical concept and I was the check down and it was third and 10. He threw it to me, and I was like, 'Ugh, why are you throwing me a check down on third and 10?'
 
"But I tried to make a play and I tried to go up and over, and he grabbed my shoe and threw it, and we ended up winning. It was a really good team win," he said.
 
A good win and a cute story, for sure, but Taylor is seeking more from his college football career than just being a side story to a memorable victory.
 
In three seasons at LSU, the former four-star recruit out of Grand Junction, Colorado, wanted more of a prominent role than the 17 catches for 192 yards and a touchdown he got in 32 games for the Tigers. So, he jumped into the transfer portal and ended up at West Virginia - with both shoes still on his feet.
 
Why West Virginia, a place not exactly known for using the tight end a lot?
 
"The biggest thing I was looking for was somewhere where I was going to be wanted and utilized in the offense, and I think I did find that," Taylor explained. "Throughout the spring, I built a lot of trust with the coaches and as you could see (during the spring game) they called some plays for me to get the ball in my hands."
 
When Taylor sat down with the Mountaineer coaches before making his decision to transfer, they explained to him their desire to utilize the tight end more in the passing game this year.
 
"We talked about what their plan is to use the tight end," he said. "Obviously, in the past, they hadn't used the tight end all that much, but at Troy they used it a good bit, and they kind of wanted to revamp the offense and (the tight end) was a piece that they wanted to help revamp it. Throughout the recruiting process, they showed me a lot of film from stuff that they plan on doing, and I think they've kept the promise.
 
"A lot of people can sell things, but really what it came down to was I had trust in my ability," he added. "I knew if I came here, and I showed that I could make plays, that would kind of force them into making me get the ball and everything."
 
What West Virginia has gotten in Taylor is a 6-foot-7, 250-pound pass-catching target capable of attacking the middle of the field. During spring practices, Taylor consistently demonstrated his ability to catch balls in traffic against much smaller defenders.
 
If you recall years ago, when West Virginia faced Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, the Mountaineer defensive coaches were concerned about finding a way to slow down massive Georgia tight end Leonard Pope, and they were greatly relieved when the offense got a big early lead and the Bulldogs didn't throw to him as much as anticipated.
 
A couple of years ago, everyone saw the success Iowa State had with its big tight ends in the passing game matched up against much smaller defenders. Coach Neal Brown has been wanting to incorporate an element of this in his offensive attack  by bringing in someone who, in his words, can "get open by birth."
 
Kole Taylor is one of those guys. The tight end laughed when asked to describe that phrase.
 
"I was blessed with height and length, so to me that's what it means," he said. "I can get a mismatch on a lot of DBs and safeties so, naturally, I have the ability to go over top and make a lot of catches that aren't in the range of DBs and safeties."
 
Whether or not the tight end becomes a significant part of West Virginia's attack this year remains to be seen. The Mountaineers have the best collection of returning offensive linemen since at least 2016, a deep running backs room, and two athletic quarterbacks who can take off and run and not stop running until they cross the goal line.
 
Those are some of the knowns.
 
The unknowns are what Brown and his staff can add from the transfer portal later this spring to help bolster the wide receiver corps. 
 
With the development of Taylor, redshirt freshman Will Dixon, whom Brown has complimented  several times this spring, and others, the tight end position is turning into another known.
 
For his part, Taylor said he came from a place with talented football players to go to a place with talented football players.
 
"We had some talent where I was, and I think we have some good talent here," he noted. "I don't really see a difference. We've got two really good quarterbacks and good wide receivers.
 
"Obviously, our O-line is stacked, and we've got a really good running backs room – probably one of the best in the nation, so I'm really excited about what we have here," he said.
 
Taylor admitted he's also excited about playing in a great atmosphere at Beaver Stadium when West Virginia kicks off the 2023 season at Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 2. It's an environment he was accustomed to playing in the SEC, and it's one his West Virginia teammates have experienced playing at Texas and Oklahoma.
 
His advice to them is the same advice they can give to others.
 
"We played in front of 100,000 pretty much every game, so I've been in that atmosphere," he explained. "It's a fun atmosphere, and you just can't let it get to you. When you are on the field, you've got to do your job each and every play.
 
"You're going to get booed, and it's going to happen, but you've got to focus and lock in every single play," he concluded.

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