Michael Taaffe doesn't have to sneak into the Cotton Bowl anymore like he did in 2018
Michael Taaffe has two years of playing experience in the Red River Shootout, including taking part in Texas’ 49-0 win in 2022. But there’s a certain, unique memory from 2018 that stood out for the Longhorns safety.
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“I went to College GameDay when I was sophomore in high school,” Taaffe said Monday. “Sam (Ehlinger) took us when Kyler (Murray) tried to come back and (Cameron) Dicker hit that field goal to win. I was there. Me and my buddy snuck on the field and watched Sam and all them run out of the tunnel. I was trying to get in Sam’s way and try to get his acknowledgement because we’re really good family friends.”
The storybook tale took a turn, however.
“Then I felt a grab on my neck and I was thrown out,” Taaffe said.
Luckily, he managed to find his way back into the stadium to see the thrilling 48-45 Texas victory.
Taaffe said he had shown up for College GameDay at the State Fair of Texas and got to the set around 4 a.m. to be in the front row. Around 7 a.m., he and his friends were ready to try something else.
“Let’s just go to the field and see what’s going on,” Taaffe said. “Let’s watch warmups. We were playing high school football so we wanted to see what they did to warm up and how it married up with how we do it at Westlake.”
He’d continue: “If we don’t see anybody, let’s just go on the field. We went on, and it worked until about right before kickoff.”
Taaffe said he was unable to get Ehlinger’s attention prior to kickoff. That was probably for the best as the Longhorns needed Ehlinger’s 24-for-35 effort that netted 314 yards and two scores as well as his three rushing touchdowns.
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On Saturday against Oklahoma, the younger Chap wants to emulate what he saw from Ehlinger six years ago.
“I hope I have the same approach that Sam had,” Taaffe said. “He had tunnel vision. They came out of the gate and they were scoring on those guys like no other.”
Taaffe is a Longhorn through and through. If his efforts to get on the Cotton Bowl field as a high schooler don’t make that clear, then his words Monday where he claimed multiple times he would die for his team should do the job.
“I do everything for this team and so just getting to play games like this is truly an honor to me,” Taaffe said.
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Six years ago, Taaffe had to sneak onto the field in order to be a part of the Red River Shootout. This year, he’ll be a front and center part of the Longhorns’ efforts to retake the Golden Hat.
