Michael Taaffe: DB · Texas · #16.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Michael Taaffe
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Fourth year in the same secondary at Texas. All-America (AFCA) in 2025 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 10 tackles against Kentucky — Week 8, 2025.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
70 tackles. 1 pass defended. 2 interceptions. 1 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Yahoo Sports Oct 31
Saturday Down South Oct 25Yahoo Sports Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 10 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 7-14@ No. 3 Ohio State | 9 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-7vs San José State | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-10vs UTEP | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 55-0vs Sam Houston | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 21-29@ Florida | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 23-6vs No. 6 Oklahoma | 9 | 7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 16-13@ Kentucky | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 12 | L 10-35@ No. 5 Georgia | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 52-37vs Arkansas | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-17vs No. 3 Texas A&M | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 38 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
1%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
70tackles this seasonTFL rate
1%1 TFL70 tackles · 1 for loss · 1 sack · 1 pass breakup · 2 interceptions.
4 seasons under Steve Sarkisian — 43-13 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 5.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 8.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 7.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Pass share
50.2%
419 pass / 415 run
Plays / game
64.2
13 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
417 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Named to an All-America team by a recognized selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Unranked recruit. Now #64 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2025
How it ended
Four seasons at Texas, 217 tackles, an All-American season (2025) — drafted at #158 overall by the Miami Dolphins.
A stat line in 46 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
named by 1 selector
National awards
Wuerffel
2025 season
ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM
All-SEC 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Steve Sarkisian.
Next stop · NFL
Miami Dolphins2026 NFL rookie season
Miami Dolphins2026 NFL rookie season
