Texas Longhorns' Michael Taaffe Jokes About Controversial Non-Call

After entering as heavy favorites for their College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl, the Texas Longhorns escaped by the skin of their teeth with a 39-31 victory in double overtime, and even that came with some controversy. On the Sun Devils' final drive in regulation, receiver Melquan Stovall hauled in a pass for a 10-yard gain before taking a big hit from Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe. Despite some apparent helmet-to-helmet contact, Taaffe was not called for targeting on the field, a decision that was upheld after review.

If officials had called Taaffe for targeting, the Sun Devils would've received an automatic first down in field-goal range, or at least on the edge of it, with a chance to win in regulation. Of course, the no-call generated a ton of controversy, not just for the decision itself, but for how much it swung the game in a crucial moment. It probably doesn't help that Arizona State was the underdog, and thus had many neutral fans rooting for it.



Three months later, though, it seems Taaffe now has a sense of humor about the whole ordeal. “This might get a laugh out of some of y'all, but I tend to tackle high at times, so I'm trying to work on lower pad level, the hips, instead of maybe the helmet sometimes,” Taaffe told reporters. That joke may draw some reactions in and of itself, but with the game well in the rear-view mirror, it's just a fun bit of banter at this point.

Taaffe, a senior from Austin, is coming off a superb season in which he had 78 tackles, 10 passes defended, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The second-team All-American chose to return to Texas for another year, and with Jahdae Barron off to the NFL , he's now the undisputed leader of the Longhorns' secondary. The pieces around Taaffe, however, are very different.

In addition to Barron, starting safety Andrew Mukuba, a third-team All-SEC selection in his lone year with the Longhorns, is off to the NFL as well. As Taaffe takes charge he'll do so with several new and younger players by his side ..