Miami defensive line coach Jason Taylor met with CBS Sports HQ for an interview at Miami's Pro Day. A transcript of the discussion is below:
CBS: You’ve had two of the best defensive linemen in college football in Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. What have you seen in their development?
Jason Taylor: Yeah, they are. The number one thing is those guys love football. They’ve fallen in love with the process of being great, and that’s a challenge at every level—high school, college, pro. It’s not always easy, it’s not always fun, but those guys are special in how they approach it.
Their commitment to the work, their willingness to be coached—and to be coached hard—that’s what separates them. When your best players are also your hardest workers, and the guys you can demand the most from, you’re cooking with gas.
It was a great run watching them develop over three or four years here, especially this past year with how they changed their bodies and refined themselves to become top draft prospects. I’m proud of them. I’m going to miss them. But that’s how this game works—the next guys are up, and I’m excited about the group coming behind them.
CBS: What makes each of them special physically on the field?
Jason Taylor: Bain—he’s built like a fire hydrant, like a Volkswagen. He’s dense. Dense muscle mass, great bend, really flexible in his lower half. His ankle flexion is elite. He’s powerful, strong, and he came from a really good high school program and just kept building on that here.
But it always goes back to this—he loves football. If you love ball, you’ll do whatever it takes to be great. If you just like what football gives you, it’s hit or miss. Bain has always been ten toes down, the hardest worker, and he’s violent. Not just physical—violent. We talk about that a lot. Violent approach to everything—on the field, in meetings, in recovery, in nutrition. He lives that.
Mesidor is a different story. He came from West Virginia playing inside at like 260 pounds, which is crazy. Then he comes here, plays some end, goes through adversity, has to get his body right. Last year he played three technique at 280 in a system that really didn’t fit him, but he just wanted to be on the field.
He told me in camp, “Coach, you can’t have your best player on the bench. I’ve got to play—nose, three-tech, whatever.” That’s who he is.
Then he comes back for another year, drops down to 265, cuts body fat by 4%, commits to completely reshaping himself. He’s always been a student of the game—honestly, he’s a pain in the *** in the best way because he never stops asking questions.
Both of those guys made me a better coach, a better man. I love them to death.
CBS: There was a moment after Pro Day where your son ran up to Rueben Bain Jr. and embraced him. What does that say about your program and culture?
Jason Taylor: That’s exactly what it is—it’s real. It’s not lip service. What those guys mean to me and my family, and what we try to mean to them, it’s genuine.
My son Jordan was six months old when I took this job. Now he’s four and a half and runs around like he owns the place. He calls them “Baney” and “Mez.” You ask him what he wants for Christmas, he says their names. That’s all he knows.
I was watching a 40-yard dash earlier and turned around— Mesidor was holding Jordan while watching it. That’s special.
If you say you want to be a family, you’ve got to live it. If you say you want to be physical and violent, you’ve got to do it every day. It has to show up on the field and off the field.
Those guys are like sons to me. I’ve got one on the way and 19 more upstairs in that D-line room. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
CBS: What did you see from Carson Beck’s growth over the course of the season?
Jason Taylor: When he first got here, he wasn’t throwing yet—he was still recovering—so we trusted the evaluation from the offensive staff.
What I saw was growth in leadership. I always talk about “gravity”—you’ve got to be contagious, you’ve got to pull people in. As the season went on, Carson got more comfortable, and people got more comfortable around him. His gravity grew.
You saw it in big moments—winning at Texas A&M, playing physical against Ohio State, what he did at Ole Miss using his legs. The more he used his legs late in the season, the more dangerous we became.
He blossomed. We knew he had the arm, but I saw the biggest growth in leadership and presence. We went from Cam Ward to Carson Beck—two years of really high-level quarterback play—and now you reset again. Mensah comes in, and you go again.
CBS: What will draft night be like for you when Bain and Mesidor hear their names called?
Jason Taylor: I’ll be overjoyed. I’m an emotional guy—I get emotional with people I love.
My son got drafted last year, so nothing will ever top that. But seeing Bain and Mes hopefully go early, that’ll be special.
If Bain cries, I’ll cry. If Mes cries, I’ll cry. It’s that simple.
They’re family.
