According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Texas Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe underwent thumb surgery on Monday. Taaffe is expected to miss some time but the exact timeline is not yet known. If there is any positive news on the situation, the injury is not expected to end his season.
In a defense full of stud players, Taaffe is one of the more important players for Texas. His experience in the back-end helps in what is a highly competitive safety room, having played 50 games throughout his career. Taaffe originally came into the program as a walk-on before working his way onto full scholarship under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“Every single day when I wake up, I think, ‘Man, this is awesome, I’m truly living my dream,” Taaffe said during the preseason about playing at Texas. “Everything I do every single day is because I’m so blessed.”
Taaffe has played in all seven games this season for Texas, recording 51 tackles and one tackle for a loss. His lone interception of the year came when the Longhorns traveled down to Gainesville, a game they eventually lost to Florida. His play shows up in many ways we cannot see on the stat sheet, though.
Exactly when the injury took place is unclear. Texas just went through a roller coaster the past two weeks despite two wins. Beating Oklahoma in Dallas during the Red River Shootout (a place where thumb injuries were a big talking point due to John Mateer) brought the high point of the season thus far, before crashing back down to reality at Kroger Field against Kentucky. Overtime was needed to beat the Wildcats, including a goal line stand from Taaffe’s unit.
Next up on the schedule is a trip to Starkville to play Mississippi State, the second one in program history. Texas then hosts Vanderbilt for what could be quite an important showdown before enjoying a bye week. Two of the final three games for UT are considered massive rivalries, going up against Arkansas and Texas A&M — both in Austin. No easy task comes in the other game, rolling into Athens for a showdown vs. Georgia.
If Taaffe does not miss the rest of the season, as Nakos reports, he should be able to at least play in the Texas A&M season finale. No matter when he returns, Texas is going to miss one of its top defensive backs in a big way.