Steve Sarkisian will lean on Derek Williams and Xavier Filsaime

Photo via University of Texas

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said they don’t know how long Michael Taaffe will be out. He described it as a “significant loss” and expects Derek Williams and Xavier Filsaime to step up.

When asked about Filsaime, Sarkisian explained why the staff could depend on him.

“Well, high football IQ, very athletic. He can cover, he can tackle – you know, kind of the prerequisites of being a good safety,” Sarkisian said. “I think he has all the attributes to do that. We’ve seen him be very successful on special teams as well. He played a pretty significant amount of football against Oklahoma, so we’ve seen him have to play at a high level. But he’s got all the attributes and IQ to be a good player for us.”

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