Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Taylor Upshaw, Ex-Wolverine

 

Taylor Upshaw

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. 

3 comments:

  1. He outperformed in the "sense of urgency" expectation ... Upshaw busted his but through the whistle, so at the very least his play set a solid example for more talented players

    Best of luck and Go Blue

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  2. Carolina may be willing to give Jim Harbaugh everythig he wants.
    Might be gone by Monday. But that is the soonest. Probably little after that.

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  3. Solid underappreciated career. Been a handful of guys like him in recent years (e.g., Jeter) that have been mostly dismissed but showed up big late in their careers. Best of luck to him at his next stop.

    Michigan is going to need some young guys to step up at DE. Hopefully the culture is maintained. Harrell, McGregor, and Stewart are a solid core group. Moore, Guy, and Okie (if they're back) will get opportunity for sure.

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