2021 Season Countdown: #22 Taylor Upshaw

 

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