LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kelvin Taylor had his chance to put last week’s sideline berating by head coach Jim McElwain during Florida’s 31-24 win over East Carolina behind him on Saturday against Kentucky.
The talk during the week focused on how Taylor would respond to being publicly humiliated by his head coach in front of his entire team after his throat-slash gesture and after being demoted to third on the depth chart behind two freshmen — Jordan Cronkrite and Jordan Scarlett.
Taylor responded the best way he could: He let the situation go and had a clear mindset heading into the game.
"I just focused on my team and kept working hard in practice," Taylor said.
"Really I forgot all about that so, nothing at all. Same preparation for me, I go out there and encourage my teammates and we just got a win tonight."
Being demoted to third-string was probably more motivation for Taylor in the week of practice leading up to Kentucky than a punishment, because the junior running back didn’t spend too much time on the bench.
He came into the game on just the third play after Cronkrite got the start. And it didn’t take long for the Belle Glade native to make an impact for the Gators.
Taylor was a key component on the Gators’ second drive — one that started on the Wildcats’ 19-yard line after a Vernon Hargreaves III interception — as he got the bulk of the workload with four consecutive carries for 18 yards.
He took UF down to the 1-yard line and set up quarterback Will Grier’s one yard touchdown run where he outran two Kentucky players and dove into the end zone to give Florida an early 7-0 lead.
Taylor would go on to have the eventual game-winning touchdown as his three-yard plunge into the end zone just before the half would be the difference as the Gators escaped Lexington with a 14-9 win. While Taylor didn’t have the gaudiest statistics in the game — 16 carries for 45 yards — he was able to finally put the McElwain tirade in the past.
Florida secondary at full-strength: For the first time this season, UF was able to have its full complement of players in the secondary. Safety Keanu Neal played for the first time this season after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury, and the Bushnell native responded with nine tackles, one being a sack.
Neal teamed up with Marcus Maye who returned last week after being suspended and Hargreaves returned after being held out against ECU.
"I definitely feel like we’re our complete, knee-deep-in defense that we always preach," defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. said. "We’ve got two starters back in the secondary and also a starter back on the d-line. So it helped."
Gators rack up penalties: After being called for 12 penalties for 105 yards against East Carolina, Florida was better against Kentucky in terms of infractions — sort of. The Gators were penalized 10 times for 61 yards and have racked up 22 penalties in the last two games after having just one in their season-opener. However, McElwain said UF was more disciplined against Kentucky than the previous week.
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UF running back Kelvin Taylor rushes during Florida's 14-9 win against Kentucky on Sept. 19, 2015, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
