Awards & Honors
- 2023: All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention (12/5)
- 2023: Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List (8/23)
2023: Started all 13 games on the defensive line for the Wildcats in 2023... Led the team with 8.5 sacks a mark that tied for fourth in the Pac-12... Made 31 total tackles (16 solo, 15 assists) with 11.5 tackles for loss, tied for third in the Pac-12, forced one fumble, six quarterback hurries, and one pass breakup... Notched season-high seven tackles against Utah on Nov. 18... Made season-high two sacks against Stanford on Sept. 23... Helped the Wildcats finish 5th in the Pac-12 in rush defense, allowing 118.23 yards per game... The Wildcats finished 25th nationally in rush defense, allowing 118.2 yards per game... Helped the defense excel on fourth down (5th, 30.0%) and in the red zone (17th, 76.0%)... Limited opponents to 21.1 points per game, which was 29th nationally... Helped the Wildcats win seven straight games to close the season, tying the longest in-season single-season winning streak in program history... The Cats defense helped win 10 games for the fourth time in program
Before Arizona: Four-year letterman (2019-20-21-22)... Appeared in 37 games in his career along the defensive line with two starts... Career highs at Michigan: Tackles
: 6 - at Rutgers (Nov. 21, 2020)... solos
: 3, 2x - last vs. Indiana (Nov. 6, 2021)... assists
: 4, 2x - last at Rutgers (Nov. 21, 2020)... TFLs: 3.0 - vs. Indiana (Nov. 6, 2021)... Sacks
: 1.0, 3x - vs. Indiana (Nov. 6, 2021)... Int: 1 - at Ohio State (Nov. 26, 2022)... FR: none... PBUs:
none... In 2022, appeared in all 14 games along the defensive line; made 12 tackles with 4.5 for loss including two sacks, one interception, and one quarterback hurry to earn his fourth varsity letter as a graduate student... Shared Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Illinois... Registered a solo tackle playing off the edge against Colorado State (Sept. 3)... Assisted on one tackle against Hawaii (Sept. 10)... Made a solo stop playing off the edge against UConn (Sept. 17)... Brought pressure off the edge playing against Maryland (Sept. 24), Nebraska (Nov. 12), TCU in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl/CFP Semifinal (Dec. 31)... Credited with one TFL playing off the edge at Iowa (Oct. 1)... Picked up one tackle for loss at Indiana (Oct. 8)... Assisted on a split-sack playing off the edge against Penn State (Oct. 15), and also hurried the quarterback... Made a solo tackle against Michigan State (Oct. 29)... Coming off the edge, was credited with a shared sack at Rutgers (Nov. 5)... Split a tackle for loss while playing along the defensive line and contributed on special teams against Illinois (Nov. 19)... Intercepted the first pass of his career and also made an assisted tackle at Ohio State (Nov. 26)... Split a sack playing along the defensive line against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship (Dec. 3)... In 2021, appeared in 12 games along the defensive line; made eight tackles including 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks; also had three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble to earn his third varsity letter as a senior... Shared Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Indiana... Played along the defensive line against Western Michigan (Sept. 4), Northern Illinois (Sept. 18), Rutgers (Sept. 25), at Wisconsin (Oct. 2), at Nebraska (Oct. 9), at Penn State (Nov. 13), and against Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl/CFP Semifinal (Dec. 31)... Contributed two tackles (one solo) with a sack against Washington (Sept. 11)... Generated a sack playing off the edge at Wisconsin (Oct. 2)... Saw snaps on the edge at Michigan State (Oct. 30) after missing time with an injury in the week prior... Made three TFLs with one sack among four solo tackles against Indiana... Credited with two quarterback hurries and made one solo tackle against Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game (Dec. 4)... In 2020, appeared in all six games with two starts along the defensive line; made 17 tackles with three for loss, two sacks, and one quarterback hurry to earn his second varsity letter as a junior... Made one solo tackle playing along the defensive line at Minnesota (Oct. 24)... Contributed along the defensive line against Michigan State (Oct. 31)... Made a pair of solo stops including one for loss to go with two quarterback hurries at Indiana (Nov. 7)... In his first career start, totaled five tackles against Wisconsin (Nov. 14)... Credited with six tackles including one for loss and his first forced fumble in a start at Rutgers (Nov. 21)... Registered a six-yard sack among three solo tackles against Penn State (Nov. 28)... In 2019, appeared in six games, playing along the defensive line in four with two tackles, and also contributed on special teams to earn his first varsity letter as a sophomore... Played along the defensive line against Rutgers (Sept. 28)... Contributed on special teams at Penn State (Oct. 19)... Credited his first career tackle playing on the defensive line and contributing on special teams against Notre Dame (Oct. 26)... Credited one solo tackle at Maryland (Nov. 2)... Played defensive line and on special teams against Michigan State (Nov. 16)... In 2018, did not see game action as a Freshman.
High School: Attended Braden River High School (2018) coached by Curt Bradley... Led Braden River to a 10-2 record an appearance in the FHSAA Class 7A playoffs as a senior... Accounted for 33 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one interception as a senior; returned the interception for a touchdown... Recorded 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and three pass breakups in his first season playing football as a junior... ESPN three-star recruit, ranked the No. 66 defensive end nationally and the 118th-best player in Florida... 247.com three-star recruit, rated as the 103rd player in Florida and the No. 23 strongside defensive end nationally... Rivals three-star prospect, listed as the No. 75 overall player in Florida and the No. 24 defensive end prospect in the country
Personal: Taylor Upshaw was born August 13, 1999... Father, Regan, played for five different teams over a nine-year NFL career... Brother, Regan Jr., plays football at Clemson... Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts majoring in communication and media
