Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns DB Michael Taaffe Named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week

Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe earned his first-career weekly award.

Isa Almeida

Oct 26, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) intercepts a pass against Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Oct 26, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) intercepts a pass against Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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Junior defensive back Michael Taaffe was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week following Texas' 27-24 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Taaffe shared the honor with Mississippi's Suntarine Perkins, who recorded 10 sacks to shut out Oklahoma in the second half of Saturday's encounter. Taaffe forced two turnovers including an interception and a forced fumble against No. 25 Vanderbilt to stop the Commodores from a scoring attempt before halftime.

The defensive back led the Texas defense registering six tackles and a pass breakup, ranking third in the team this season with 39 tackles. The Longhorn defense held Vanderbilt to 269 total yards.

Taaffe and the defense lead the nation in total defense (241.3), ranks second in ranks No. 2in scoring defense (11.5) and pass efficiency defense (90.77), and No. 3 in passing yards allowed (135.8), per Texas Athletics release.

This marks Taaffe's first weekly career honor. He is the second Longhorn to earn the award in defense, after Anthony Hill Jr. for the Oklahoma game, though other Texas players like Quinn Ewers, Jake Majors and Kelvin Banks Jr. have won offensive and offensive line honors this season.

The Austin native out of Westlake High School has played in 35 career games with 18 starts for a total of 113 total tackles (61 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions, five pass break-ups, one forced fumble and one blocked punt. Taaffe earned a scholarship at the end of his redshirt freshman year ahead of the 2022 Alamo Bowl match against Washington, he joined the Longhorns as a walk-on.

Taaffe and the Longhorns are set for a bye week before facing Florida at home on Nov. 9.

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Isa Almeida
ISA ALMEIDA

Isa Almeida is a writer covering the Texas Longhorns for SI/Fan Nation, having joined the team on June 1, 2024. Raised in Southeast Brazil, Isa is now a third-year Journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin. Fluent in both English and Portuguese, Isa brings a diverse background and a wealth of knowledge to her writing. In addition to her work with SI/Fan Nation, Isa also covers the soccer and women's basketball beats for The Daily Texan. Her journalism journey is firmly rooted in her academic pursuits and her passion for sports.