COLLEGE STATION, Texas — When Texas Longhorns redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe entered Kyle Field on Saturday before the No. 3 Longhorns faced off against the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies, he was wearing a pocket square as tribute to his late high school and college teammate Jake Ehlinger, who tragically passed away from a fentanyl overdose in 2021.
Michael Taaffe with an amazing tribute to Jake Ehlinger pregame pic.twitter.com/mK9rDdw0Jl
— OnTexasFootball (@ontexasfootball) November 30, 2024
As Taaffe tried to adhere to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s frequent adage of playing with emotion but not playing emotional, it was made all the more difficult by a tasteless sign by a Texas A&M fan that Taaffe had seen on College GameDay that morning.