Former Michigan football DL Taylor Upshaw commits to Deion Sanders, Colorado
Taylor Upshaw didn't have to go to Ohio State or the SEC to find a bigger name to play for than Jim Harbaugh's Michigan football program.
Upshaw, a Wolverines defensive lineman the past four seasons, announced Saturday he's transferring to play for Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. He had 36 tackles, 10½ tackles for a loss, five sacks and one interception over 37 career games.
After recording two sacks in 11 games in the 2021-22 season, the Florida native was expected to play a bigger role following the departures of David Ojabo and Aidan Hutchinson. Upshaw, 6 feet 4 and 255 pounds, appeared in a career-high 14 games in 2022-23 and finished with 12 tackles, 4½ tackles for a loss, two sacks and his lone career interception (vs. Ohio State).
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He was a three-star recruit — and top-100 class of 2018 Florida prospect — coming out of high school and originally committed to the Gators before picking the Wolverines. Regan Upshaw Jr., older brother of Taylor Upshaw, appeared in three games for Clemson in 2022, and Regan Upshaw Sr., the siblings' father who was born in Michigan, had 34½ sacks across five NFL seasons after playing at Cal.
Now Upshaw will play for Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and former MLB All-Star. Sanders took over at Colorado in December after leading Jackson State to a 12-0 regular season. He was 27-5 in three seasons for JSU after the Tigers posted a 21-40 record in the six seasons before Sanders arrived. The charismatic coach also recruited several five- and four-star prospects to the HBCU and away from the likes of Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan. Upshaw joins several others transferring into a Colorado program that went 8-10 in two seasons under Karl Dorrell and has just three bowl game appearances since 2006.
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Michigan went 13-1 and lost for the second consecutive season in the College Football Playoff semifinals, this time to TCU at the Fiesta Bowl. Harbaugh has since courted interest from at least one NFL team, creating another offseason of speculation regarding the former Pro Bowl quarterback. He interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings last year but they hired Kevin O'Connell (and play a playoff game Sunday after winning the NFC North).
Follow the Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@freepress.com or on Twitter @TDavisFreep.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Michigan LB Taylor Upshaw transfers to Deion Sanders' Colorado
