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Michael Taaffe
Taaffe in 2024
No. 16 – Texas Longhorns
PositionSafety
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Personal information
Born (2003-02-18) February 18, 2003 (age 22)
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestlake (Austin, Texas)
College
Awards and highlights
Stats at ESPN

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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  1. ^ "Michael Taaffe". Max Preps.
  2. ^ "Westlake secures third straight state championship after topping Denton Guyer". KVUE. December 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Michael Taaffe". 247Sports.
  4. ^ "The remarkable rise of Texas former walk-on S Michael Taaffe". Burnt Orange Nation. October 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Michael Taaffe". Texas Longhorns.
  6. ^ "2023 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced" (PDF). Big 12 Sports. November 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "No. 7/6 Football's Taaffe nominated for Burlsworth Trophy". Texas Longhorns. October 31, 2023.
  8. ^ "Texas Longhorns DB Michael Taaffe Named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week". Sports Illustrated. October 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "Michael Taaffe named Burlsworth Trophy Walk-On of the Week". Inside Texas. October 29, 2024.
  10. ^ "2024 AP All-America Team: Travis Hunter snares honors at three positions, SEC leads with six first-team picks". CBS Sports. December 16, 2024.
  11. ^ AP (January 2, 2025). "Big 12 commissioner calls for 'national standards' for calling targeting after controversial play". Associated Press News.
  12. ^ "Michael Taaffe Career Stats - NCAAF". ESPN. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  13. ^ Scruggs, Jordan (January 14, 2025). "Texas safety Michael Taaffe to return to Longhorns for fifth and final season". 247Sports. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  14. ^ Tafolla, Grace (September 16, 2025). "No. 8/7 Football's Taaffe named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  15. ^ "Michael Taaffe College Gamelog". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  16. ^ Tafolla, Grace (October 14, 2025). "No. 21/17 Football's Taaffe named Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year semifinalist". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  17. ^ Brown, Chip (October 21, 2025). "Sources: The timetable for Texas safety Michael Taaffe's return from thumb surgery". 247Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  18. ^ Tafolla, Grace (October 28, 2025). "No. 20/19 Football's Taaffe tabbed Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  19. ^ Tafolla, Grace (December 4, 2025). "No. 14/14/13 Football's Taaffe selected to SEC Football Community Service Team". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  20. ^ Tafolla, Grace (December 8, 2025). "No. 14/14/13 Football's Taaffe recognized as a finalist for 2025 Burlsworth Trophy". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  21. ^ "2025 All-SEC Football Team presented by Allstate Announced". secsports. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  22. ^ Tafolla, Grace (December 12, 2025). "No. 14/14/13 Football's Taaffe wins 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  23. ^ "Compelled by Purpose: The Michael Taaffe Story at Texas". Sam Acho. August 13, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
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