Michael Taaffe discusses Texas’ mindset, culture ahead of Big 12 title game
In media availability on Monday, sophomore defensive back Michael Taaffe spoke on what Texas’ mentality should be this week ahead of the Big 12 Championship game.
Taaffe began his collegiate career at Texas as a walk-on the same year as head coach Steve Sarkisian.
In 2021, the Longhorns struggled with a disappointing season, finishing 5-7. They even suffered a humiliating loss to Kansas in Austin. Some were even calling to fire Sark and start anew once again. It was not a fun time to be a Texas fan, but Sarkisian just needed a little bit of trust from everyone.
Fast forward two years, Sarkisian has the Texas Longhorns with an 11-1 record and a strong shot at making the College Football Playoff. The mindset that Sark and these players instilled is drastically different from that of the previous coaching staff, and that is what makes this team unique.
Here is what the veteran safety had to say about what kind of mentality the players have for this week.
“I have tried my best to instill that championship mindset here. Going from teams that were 5-7, to just doing my part little by little. But just understanding what this means to you. Does it
mean not going out on Friday and Saturday nights to sit there and study. Does it mean to not hangout with your girlfriend to watch film? Does it mean not getting on a video game, does it mean that much to you? Is it worth it to you? And you have to ask those questions, and if it is, great. Hop on board, come see me at 7 a.m. in the film room. I think 99% of our team is on board with that. They are willing to do whatever it takes to win this game, to see what happens with how college football is shaking out. I know that this is arguably one of the craziest college football seasons, and all we are worried about is Oklahoma State. That is all that our attention is on and all we are concerned about because we cannot control what anybody else does on Saturday but ourselves. Man, there is a lot going on around college football, but we are only worried about Oklahoma State.”
