Name: Taylor Upshaw
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 255 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) Braden River
Position: Edge*
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #91
Last year: I ranked Upshaw #22 and said he would be the starting outside linebacker with 35 tackles and 5 sacks (LINK). He made 8 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 3 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 73
I pegged Upshaw as a starter last year, but that was before one of the biggest breakout seasons in Michigan history, when David Ojabo went from having 1 total tackle in his career to making 35 tackles, 11 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles. Upshaw played a limited backup role as one of several edge rushers to get a bunch of playing time, including Mike Morris, Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, and others. He put up good numbers, too, for how much he had to rotate with other players. In fact, he finished third on the team in sacks (2.5) after Aidan Hutchinson’s program 14 and Ojabo’s 11.
The odd part this off-season is that a bunch of other players have earned more practice hype, so I’m not sure how to feel about Upshaw. Going into what could be his final season, the son of former NFL defensive end Regan Upshaw has just two starts under his belt but has better TFL and sack numbers than Morris, Harrell, and Julius Welschof, all of whom have more people talking about them. I can’t sort out whether an increased role for Upshaw is implied or if he’s somehow getting outperformed. So while he’s here at #36, he could very easily outplay this ranking.
Prediction: Backup edge
*The updated roster calls defensive ends/outside linebackers “edge” now, so that’s the term I’ll use for those positions since they’re pretty interchangeable
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