| Michael Taaffe | |
| School: | Texas Longhorns |
| Currentnumber: | 16 |
| Currentposition: | Safety |
| Class: | Junior |
| Major: | Physical Culture and Sports |
| Birth Date: | 18 February 2003 |
| Heightft: | 6 |
| Heightin: | 0 |
| Weight Lb: | 195 |
| Highlights: | |
| Highschool: | Westlake (Austin, Texas) |
| Pastschools: |
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| Espn: | 4880346 |
Michael Joseph Taaffe (born February 18, 2003) is an American football safety for the Texas Longhorns.
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.
Taaffe saw no playing time during his freshman year. However, when Taaffe was a redshirt freshman, he played in 13 games totaling 26 combined tackles. During Taaffe's sophomore year, he had a similar season as the previous one totaling 25 tackles. Prior to the Alamo Bowl, Taaffe was granted a full scholarship by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian on December 18, 2022.[4] During Taaffe's junior 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] During Taaffe's senior season, he earned SEC co-defensive player of the week and Burlsworth Trophy walk-on of the week honors.[8] [9]