Michael Taaffe

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Michael Taaffe
File:Michael Taaffe.jpg
Taaffe in 2024
No. 16 – Texas Longhorns
PositionSafety
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Personal information
Born (2003-02-18) February 18, 2003 (age 23)
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestlake (Austin, Texas)
College
Awards and highlights
Coaching profile at Pro Football ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Stats at Pro Football ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Michael Joseph Taaffe (born February 18, 2003) is an American college football safety for the Texas Longhorns.

High School career

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Taaffe attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. He played cornerback and wide receiver in high school. As a senior, Taaffe recorded 60 tackles and five interceptions while catching 18 passes for 297 yards and three touchdown receptions.[1] Taaffe's most notable high school highlight is intercepting Carroll Senior High School and future Texas Quarterback Quinn Ewers twice in their state championship game. Also, Taaffe helped lead Westlake to back-to-back state championship titles.[2] On November 5, 2020, Taaffe committed to Rice.[3] However, Taaffe was offered a walk-on spot at Texas and decided to accept the Longhorns offer.

College career

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2021 Season

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Taaffe was a walk-on at Texas and saw no playing time during his freshman year.

2022 Season

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When Taaffe was a redshirt freshman, he played in 13 games totaling 26 combined tackles. Prior to the Alamo Bowl, Taaffe was granted a full scholarship by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian on December 18, 2022.[4]

2023 Season

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During Taaffe's sophomore season, he amassed a total of 48 tackles and 3 interceptions.[5] This led to Taaffe earning honorable mention All-Big 12 and a Burlsworth Trophy nominee.[6][7]

2024 Season

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During Taaffe's junior season, he earned SEC co-defensive player of the week and Burlsworth Trophy walk-on of the week honors.[8][9] Taaffe also earned second team AP All-American honors.[10] During the 2024 College Football Playoffs, a high hit by Taaffe led to the Big 12 commissioner to call for consistency in targeting penalty calls.[11] He ended the season with 78 tackles, 10 pass deflections, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 5 interceptions.[12]

2025 Season

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Taaffe chose to return to Texas for his fifth and final year, forgoing the NFL draft.[13] After Week 3, he was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which honors 22 college football players for extraordinary commitment to community service.[14] In Week 6 against Florida, Taaffe recorded his first interception of the season.[15] After Week 7, he was named a Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year semifinalist.[16] In Week 8 against Kentucky, Taaffe suffered a thumb injury in the fourth quarter and missed the next two games.[17] At the end of October, Taaffe was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.[18] On December 4, he was named to the SEC Football Community Service Team.[19] On December 8, Taaffe was recognized as a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy at the award ceremony, becoming the first Longhorn in program to be selected as a finalist.[20] At the end of the season, Taaffe was named to the All-SEC first team and won the Wuerffel Trophy.[21][22]

College statistics

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Season GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Int Yds TD PD FR Yds TD FF
Texas Longhorns
2021 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 13 13 13 26 0.5 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2023 14 28 20 48 2.5 0.0 3 45 0 2 0 0 0 0
2024 16 14 38 78 5.5 2.0 2 9 0 10 1 0 0 1
2025 10 38 32 70 1.0 1.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Career 53 119 103 222 9.5 3.0 7 54 0 14 1 0 0 1

Personal life

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Taaffe is a Christian.[23]

References

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