Texas football DB Michael Taaffe 'a full go' after offseason surgery

Through the first two weeks of practice, Texas football safety Michael Taaffe had to go through practice with a cast on his left hand and a green jersey across his pads.

Much to his displeasure, he couldn’t go through full-contact drills.

“I’m sick of this green jersey,” Taaffe muttered to no one in particular during a practice session open to reporters earlier this month.

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But the green jersey is gone, and the hitting is up, based on what Taaffe told media members during a Zoom interview Thursday evening.

“I'm full live right now,” he said. “I've been playing, I've been hitting, I've been tackling, I've been catching. So, I'm ready to go. I'm not going to let anything get in my way. I believe that I'm a ballhawk, and so it doesn't matter what I have on my hand, if I see the ball in the air, I'm going to go get it.”

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Taaffe, a junior from nearby Westlake High School, may not have ideal size or special speed — two reasons he first joined the Longhorns as a walk-on in 2021 . But the 6-foot, 195-pound has earned his scholarship with incredible instincts, proven ball skills and undeniable production. He’s played in 27 games over the past two seasons, a stretch that includes nine starts for an injury-plagued secondary a year ago. He had 48 tackles and three interceptions last season, continuing a trend of takeaways that stretches back to his days at Westlake, where he earned back-to-back defensive MVP honors in state title games.

Taaffe didn’t get into specifics about the injury to his left hand or wrist but did say he underwent surgery in May and “the doctor is very pleased with how it's going.” And, no, the injury didn’t come from arm-wrestling with his good friend, sophomore quarterback Arch Manning , as one reporting wag jokingly asked.

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“No, I wouldn't want to arm-wrestle Arch,” Taaffe said. “He's pretty big. I know his legs are huge, but he's a strong man. He can sling it, too.

“As far as my arm, I'm making very good strides. Like I said, I'm tackling, I'm catching, I'm getting off blocks. Everything that you need to do as a DB, I'm doing it. I can play at the highest level with whatever is on my hand.”

Taaffe is expected to play a critical role in a safety rotation that includes returning starter Derek Williams as well as Clemson transfer Andrew Mukuba , an Austin native from LBJ High School.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football DB Michael Taaffe 'a full go' after offseason surgery