Michael Taaffe Sends Message to Texas Longhorns Fans

Texas Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe delivered a signature performance in the win over Vanderbilt.

Sep 14, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) and edge Barryn Sorrell (88) celebrate a fourth down stop during the game against UTSA at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- After putting together his best performance of the season in Saturday's 27-24 win over No. 25 Vanderbilt, Texas Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe delivered a message to the fans.

“I’m so proud of Longhorn Nation," Taaffe said. "I appreciate all y'all. If y'all are listening, keep showing up. It makes a huge difference for us.”

The crowd at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville was nearly filled to the brim with burnt orange, and it seemed to ultimately make a difference in a game where the Longhorns were far from perfect.

Taaffe was one of the highlights in a mistake-filled win for Texas. He finished with six total tackles (three solo), a forced fumble and an interception. With Andrew Mukuba out due to a knee injury and Derek Williams Jr. already done for the season, Taaffe stepped up in a major way and continued to prove why he's one of the team's most important leaders.

The picked marked his first of the season and fourth of his career.

Taaffe had made it clear leading into the Vandy game that the team was going to learn from its mistakes after the loss to Georgia.

"I've heard Coach Saban say this before when just listening to his press conferences... when our team had a bad game, I almost hated winning that game because my team doesn't get to see how heavy those mistakes were," Taaffe said. "But now that we lost, and we feel that emotion of losing, we get to see how much those mistakes actually weigh, and we can take those into consideration, not just lightly, because we won. Well, we lost this time. And so now we understand how big mistakes are, how good college football teams are, and how hard it is to win and in this conference, especially."

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