4 key injured Texas players heading into OU

Michael Taaffe, S

In the first half against Mississippi State a couple of weeks ago, redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe suffered an injury after a big collision with a Bulldogs offensive player. While Taaffe was taken to the sideline earlier in that game against the Bulldogs, he would later return and make a sizable impact on Texas's secondary down the stretch in the second half to help the defense seal the win in the SEC opener.

The extra week during the bye week for Taaffe to rest up and recover before the OU game is valuable for Texas's defense. Taaffe is a key part of the secondary, as he's playing some of the best and most consistent defense of his collegiate career after the season's first five games.

Taaffe has been playing a much more physical brand of football for the Longhorns secondary this season. And it's come with some great results, as Taaffe is having a career year with the highest defensive grade of his three years as a regular contributor to Texas's defense.

Playing a more physical brand of football, though, in the SEC can run its fair share of risks, as the risk of injury obviously goes up against more physically-gifted and athletic players week in and week out.

Texas's safety room has also been pretty banged up at different points of the early part of this season. True freshman Xavier Filsaime, sophomore Jelani McDonald, and sophomore Derek Williams Jr. have all missed at least one game due to an injury early this season.

But the Longhorns, especially with Taaffe, should be pretty healthy at safety this weekend against the Sooners' offense.