The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Football’s Muhammad, Taaffe land on Jim Thorpe Award watch list
07.30.2025 | Football
Former Longhorn Jahdae Barron was the 2024 recipient for the award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best defensive back.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Football junior Malik Muhammad and senior Michael Taaffe were recognized on the preseason watch list for the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) and Jim Thorpe Association announced Wednesday. The award is given annually to the best defensive back in college football based on performance on the field, athletic ability and character.
It marks the first time for either earning a spot on the Thorpe Award watch list. Former Longhorn DB Jahdae Barron was the 2024 winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, becoming the third Texas football player in program history to win the award. He joined Michael Huff (2005) and Aaron Ross (2006), who won the award in back-to-back years. Texas is tied with LSU and Oklahoma for the most all-time Thorpe Award winners with three apiece.
Muhammad, a preseason Second-Team All-SEC selection, is a third-year defensive back who has played in 30 games with 18 starts, including 16 starts in 2024. The DeSoto, Texas, product recorded 36 total stops (32 solo), eight pass break-ups and a tackle for loss during his sophomore season. In Texas' SEC opener against Mississippi State on Sept. 28, he notched three solo tackles and a tackle for a loss. He tallied a career-high five solo stops in the CFP First Round vs. Clemson on Dec. 21 followed by a stellar performance against Arizona State in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, gathering three tackles (two solo) and two pass break-ups. His eight pass break-ups ranked third on the team behind Barron's 11 and Taaffe's 10.
Taaffe, a preseason First-Team All-SEC honoree, has also been placed on preseason watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lott IMPACT Trophy. He returns to the UT defense after garnering second-team All-America recognition from the Associated Press in 2024. An Austin, Texas native and former walk-on, Taaffe started all 16 games last season, ranking second on the team in total tackles (78), interceptions (2) and pass break-ups (10). He was the only Longhorn to record an interception and a forced fumble in the same game last season after doing so in Texas' win at No. 25/25 Vanderbilt on Oct. 26, earning the Burlsworth's Trophy National Player of the Week and the SEC's Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Taaffe forced two turnovers to go along with six tackles and a pass break-up against the Commodores. In the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs. Arizona State, Taaffe logged a career-high 10 tackles (six solo) and two pass break-ups to help send Texas to its second-consecutive CFP semifinal. Taaffe is a fifth-year defensive back who has played in 43 games with 26 starts.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 28, and finalists will be unveiled on Nov. 25. The winner will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 12 on ESPN.
Texas opens the season on the road at Ohio State at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Aug. 30, inside Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The game will broadcast as part of FOX's Big Noon Kickoff, and ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast live from the Ohio State University campus. College GameDay will air for three hours from 8-11 a.m. CT, hosted by Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Pat McAffee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and other ESPN personalities. It will be the final show for longtime ESPN personality Lee Corso as he is set to retire following Week 1 of the 2025 season.
