Tag: Taylor Upshaw

Taylor Upshaw, Ex-Wolverine

Fifth year senior Taylor Upshaw announced yesterday that he would be entering the transfer portal. He joins classmate and position mate Julius Welschof, announcing one day after the latter.

Upshaw was a member of the class of 2018. A 247 Composite 3-star, the #25 strongside end, and #561 overall, Upshaw is the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Regan Upshaw. I gave him a TTB Rating of 62 (LINK) with this to say about him:

Otherwise, I expected more from an NFLer’s son. Upshaw is a little slow and tentative out of his stance. He stands up too high and is a little stiff-legged. He does not play with a sense of urgency and seems to be a split second slow to react. He also does not run through tackles, instead leaving his feet to swing ball carriers to the ground. He’s somewhat of a finesse player when he should be dominant with his size and relative athleticism.

Overall, I’m somewhat indifferent on Upshaw’s commitment. He will get top-notch coaching at Michigan from Don Brown and Greg Mattison, who have turned non-scholarship players like Ryan Glasgow into quality players. But of all the scholarship guys currently on the roster, Upshaw probably has the least impressive film. He reminds me of former Michigan defensive end/defensive tackle Greg Banks. Banks was a 2005 signee who started 9 games (all as a fifth year senior in 2009), making 56 tackles, 8.5 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 pass breakups throughout his career.

After redshirting in 2018, Upshaw made 2 tackles in 2019 in limited playing time. Over the next three seasons, he became a rotational player, making just two starts from 2020-2022. However, he was fairly productive given his backup role, making 44 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles in his career. He also notched a memorable interception of C.J. Stroud in the 2022 Ohio State game, a play that took place right before Donovan Edwards cinched the game with a long touchdown run to make it 45-23.

Michigan has Braiden McGregor and Eyabi Okie coming back next year, along with incoming transfer Josaiah Stewart. Even though Mike Morris is expected to move on to the NFL, I think Upshaw would have been a backup piece in 2023. Even with some decent productivity as a backup, I don’t see much of a reason to stick around for year six of coming off the bench.

2022 Season Countdown: #36 Taylor Upshaw

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

What to Watch in the Spring Game

The spring game will be shown on the Big Ten Network on Saturday, April 2, at 12:00 p.m.

Here are a few things I’ll be curious to watch:

WHO TAKES OVER FOR HASSAN HASKINS?
Michigan needs to replace its leading rusher and toughest back in Hassan Haskins, a 6’1″, 220-pounder who is off to the NFL after rushing for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021. The Wolverines have two very talented running backs left, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, but neither one has proven to be a bruiser or short yardage back. They have home run speed but were listed at 200 and 202 pounds, respectively, last season. Redshirt freshman Tavierre Dunlap (6’0″, 222) might be able to step into the role as a big back, but does he have the instincts and power that Haskins showed? Michigan doesn’t need a leading rusher – that will be Corum or Edwards – but they need someone who can pound the ball inside.

Hit the jump for more.

2021 Michigan vs. Michigan State Awards

Let’s see more of this guy . . . Andrel Anthony. Anthony pulled a Ricky White and came out of nowhere to have a huge game. He caught 6 passes for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both touchdowns were spectacular, with one 93-yard catch-and-run and a Moss-ing.

Hit the jump for more.

2021 Season Countdown: #22 Taylor Upshaw

Name: Taylor Upshaw
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 262 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) Braden River
Position: Outside linebacker
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #91
Last year: I ranked Upshaw #47 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He started two games and made 17 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble.
TTB Rating: 73

I’m internally embarrassed right now. And it’s about to become external.

I normally do a good job of keeping track of players as they matriculate through (and out of) Michigan’s program, but as I was plugging in Upshaw’s class year above, I did a double-take when I realized that he’s a redshirt junior. This will be his fourth year in the program, not his third. Maybe the shortened 2020 season had something do with it, but it just didn’t register to me.

Upshaw was a part-time starter last season once injuries happened to Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson. He acquitted himself fairly well and looked the part of an eventual contributor, even though he lacked flash plays. (But really, nobody flashed much on Michigan’s defense.) He registered his first career sack against a bad Penn State team. So there’s work to be done.

Right now Upshaw appears to be penciled in as one of the starting outside linebackers, along with Aidan Hutchinson. That’s a formidable duo coming off the edge, but Michigan also has a few other talented players or veterans who can spell Upshaw, including David Ojabo, Gabe Newburg, and others. I hope this is a breakout season for Upshaw and I think he will respond well to his new role, but considering Jim Harbaugh’s positive comments about Ojabo in particular, I have Upshaw on the low end of the starting group.

Prediction: Starting outside linebacker; 35 tackles, 5 sacks