CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Cornerback Marco Wilson and tight end Kole Taylor are currently Bengals teammates hoping to make the 2025 roster, but they were once opponents who were involved in one of the most bizarre and costly penalties in college football history.

It was on Dec. 12, 2020, when the LSU Tigers, for whom Taylor played, traveled to Gainesville, Fla., to face the Florida Gators, for whom Wilson played. LSU was just playing out the string as it entered the game with a 3-5 record, while Florida was battling for a spot in the College Football Playoff with an 8-1 record.

The score was tied 34-34 with just over two minutes remaining and LSU was facing a 3rd-and-10 from its own 25-yard line. Quarterback Max Johnson eschewed forcing a pass into coverage to attempt to gain the first down, and tossed a checkdown to Taylor, who leaked out after initially staying into help with pass protection. It was Taylor’s third catch of the game, matching his production for the entire season to that point, but it went for only a four-yard gain before Wilson tackled him. That’s when chaos ensued.

Wilson somehow had one of Taylor’s shoes in his hands after the tackle and wound up chucking it down the field. Penalty flags flew from everywhere and Wilson was assessed two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which cost Florida 20 yards and gave LSU and automatic first down. Six plays later, Cade York, who kicked for the Bengals late last season when Evan McPherson went on injured reserve due to groin injury, kicked a 57-yard field goal to give LSU a 37-34 lead with 23 seconds left. That held up for the win after McPherson missed a 52-yard attempt with two seconds remaining in regulation that would have forced overtime.

“It really was just a heat of the moment,” Wilson said on Tuesday after the Bengals wrapped up an Organized Team Activity practice. “It was my last game in ‘The Swamp,’ we had been getting a lot of disrespect in relation to how we were really doing and who we were playing. I was just feeling those emotions and I made a big stop on third down and the guy’s shoe was in my hand and it was purple and gold and I just wanted it out of my hand.”

Wilson wasn’t aware that Taylor was a current teammate until he was questioned about the incident, but laughed and said, “I’m going to go talk to him in a minute.”

Taylor was aware that Wilson was a current teammate, but wasn’t sure he wanted to broach the subject with Wilson. “It’s probably not something he wants me to bring up,” said Taylor.

Looking back on it, Taylor said he really didn’t know what was happening in the moment. “I didn’t even realize my shoe came off until I stood up and then put my foot on the (field) and it was a little cold,” Taylor recalled. “That was kind of odd. Then I saw flags fly in and then I heard the ref say what he said and it all made sense. Then I watched the replay. That was an interesting one for sure.”

Taylor said there wasn’t much bad blood or trash talking during the game, which made the situation even more odd for Wilson to throw the shoe. “Nobody was talking, nothing at all really,” said Taylor. “You get caught up in the moment sometimes and everyone gets really excited.”

Wilson was criticized heavily, because the loss essentially knocked Florida from the College Football Playoff, and a loss the following week to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game sealed the Gators’ fate. He said he turned the situation into a learning experience.

“It’s good to go through stuff like that, because I took a lot of heat at a young age,” said Wilson. “I can spread the word down to the young guys if they’re going through something. Stuff is always going to happen. Now I know how to deal with a lot of adversity coming at me at once. I take everything in life as a learning opportunity and try to just move on from it.”

Now both Taylor and Wilson are looking to earn a roster spot with the Bengals.

The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Taylor was signed as an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia, where he transferred following the 2022 season at LSU. After catching only 17 passes for 135 yards in three seasons at LSU he snagged 78 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons at West Virginia.

“Leaving LSU it was just more I needed to escalate my game especially in the pass game,” said Taylor. “At LSU, I was more of a blocker as an in-line guy. I didn’t have a ton of route tree. I just needed to take that next step in the pass game. I left with no bad blood.”

He joins a crowded tight end room that features Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson and Cam Grandy, who all contributed last season. There is also 2023 sixth-round pick Tanner McLachlan in the mix and eventually 2023 fourth-round pick Erick All, Jr., who suffered a knee injury last season, will be back, as well.

“I thought it was a really good opportunity and (tight ends coach) James Casey is a really good coach,” said Taylor. “From everyone I know, I’ve heard he does a great job developing people. I had a lot of conversations with him. It just felt like the right fit.”

The 5-foot-11, 191-pound Wilson was originally a fourth round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2021 and was acquired by the Bengals off waivers from the New England Patriots on Nov. 11, 2024, and played in each of the final six games last season.

He played well in the handful of snaps he got, and thanks in part to Dax Hill still not cleared to play due to the knee surgery he underwent last season, Wilson worked with the first team defensive group in practice on Tuesday and went against the first team offense.

“Anytime I get a chance to go against them, especially Joe Burrow, it’s a great opportunity for me,” said Wilson. “Every time I’ve gone against him I just realize how great his ball placement is. That’s just pushing me to be a better corner. Even if you have great coverage the guy is just making the most perfect passes. It’s going to push you to be the best. I really appreciate that chance to go against that and get better.”

He got beat on a deep in route by standout wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on one play, and then talked to Chase about when they got a break.

“I was asking him to see what he was thinking, because he took the route pretty deep – deeper than what I expected,” said Wilson. “I asked him, ‘What did you see, just so I can get in the mindset of receiver?’ It’s always good to have teammates that are willing to help you out and not hold any information in, because they understand at the end of the day it’s going to help us on game day.”

With Wilson’s shoe-throwing incident five years in his past, he was reminded that McPherson could have bailed him out if he had made the field goal to force overtime against LSU. “As long as he makes every field goal now we’re all good,” said Wilson. “It’s for the money now.”