Michael Taaffe’s heartbreaking primal scream after Cotton Bowl loss perfectly captures Longhorn Nation’s feelings

“We left it out there, everything that we had, and it was cut short. That was emotional for me,” Taaffe said. “And just got so much love for these guys. Came in here a walk on and now I'm an All-American, but I don't care about that. I care about the love of my teammates. That's truly all I care about.

“Those are cool accolades, but hearing that a teammate loves me is so much cooler and it’s so much just fulfilling in your heart, as a teammate, as a leader, as a guy on the team,” Taaffe added. “I tell everybody, football is the best sport in America. It's best sport to ever be creative, because you get faced with real life adversity, real life challenges in your life.”

Taaffe had four tackles against the Buckeyes. But he was on the sideline and couldn’t do anything on the game’s biggest play when Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer strip-sacked Quinn Ewers and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

“This team’s not over. We’re going to stay together. We’re going to communicate. We’ll always have each other’s back. But the season’s over. That hurt,” Taaffe said. “Wearing this burnt orange means something to me. It holds a lot of pride in my life.

“I’m a fifth-generation Longhorn. I grew up wanting to be in this stage every moment of my life.”