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Texas Longhorns DB Jahdae Barron And Michael Taaffe Share ‘Winning Mindset’

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Texas Longhorns DB Jahdae Barron And Michael Taaffe Share ‘Winning Mindset’


This football season, The Texas Longhorns have had one of the best secondaries in the country, leading it to the SEC championship game and College Football Playoff. While there are several stars in the defensive backfield, All-Americans Michael Taaffe and Jahdae Barron make sure that everyone is on the same page.

While giving up the most yards of the season in the First Round Playoff game against Clemson, Texas got the win but still isn’t satisfied.

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for 336 yards and the Tigers’ offense put up 412 total yards. Even though the Longhorns won 38-24, Taaffe and Barron wasted no time getting back to work.

“It’s the whole thing that Coach Saban always says,” Taaffe said. When you play a game not up to your standard but you still win, some immature players look at that like it’s a win. We can’t learn from it because we won, so let’s just keep moving on.”

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Texas has been able to turn losses into lessons twice this season, and while they didn’t lose to Clemson, they still have a lot of work to do to be fully prepared for Arizona State. Back to practice after taking a break for Christmas, Barron was itching to get back out onto the field the second the clock hit 0:00 after beating Clemson.

“But this group that we have is so mature that Jahdae’s on the phone with me at 10 pm after the game,” Taaffe said. “He’s like ‘dude. I just watched it. We need to get better. We need to start tomorrow as early as 8 am and start getting better.’”

Taaffe, Barron and fellow Austin native Andrew Mukuba have led the Texas secondary, working tirelessly with defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski in the offseason to improve all aspects of their game.

Many doubted Texas’ ability to stop the run with the departure of T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II. But Kwiatkowski was prepared, ready to make the changes needed to keep the Texas defense elite.

“So schematically we went to more of a post-style defense going into the season. We lost T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy and we had (Alfred Collins) and (Vernon Broughton) coming back. We weren’t sure how we were going to be able to play the run with two high safeties with lighter boxes, so that was the main catalyst to that switch. And then from the secondary standpoint playing with a middle closed we were able to play tighter coverage, play with more outside leverage on a lot of the route combinations that we’re seeing,” Kwiatkowski said.

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“And then credit to those guys. They took their growth and learning to a new level. As much as we like to tell them to stay off social media and not listen to outside noise, they hear it, and so they knew they had to get better. And starting in January all the way to camp to now, they’ve attacked that challenge.”

Now, the Longhorn defense will have at least one more challenge ahead of them as they will head back to Atlanta to face Arizona State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on New Year’s Day at 12:00 PM.

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Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Arizona State’s ‘Stud’ RB Cam Skattebo Has Attention of Texas Longhorns’ Defense

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MORE: Texas Ex’s Could Play Big Role For Arizona State in Peach Bowl vs. Longhorns

MORE: Texas’ Steve Sarkisian Named Finalist for George Munger College Coach of the Year

MORE: Texas Longhorns in Contention for Two Top 2026 Recruits

MORE: Urban Meyer Believes Texas Longhorns Beat Arizona State For One Reason



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Austin, TX

More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in high water, governor says – WTOP News

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More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in high water, governor says – WTOP News


AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in…

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in high water, governor says.

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© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Austin, TX

Live updates: Flash Flood emergency in Kerr County as rain continues to pound Texas

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Live updates: Flash Flood emergency in Kerr County as rain continues to pound Texas


KERRVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Kerrville issued a shelter-in-place Thursday morning, with heavy rain causing reported evacuations early Thursday morning. A Flash Flood Warning is currently in place for Kerr County as the Guadalupe River continues to rise.

Around 5:30 a.m., the National Weather Service said a “large and deadly flood wave is moving down” the Guadalupe River.

KXAN First Warning Weather Meteorologist Kristen Currie said approximately 11 inches of rain have fallen northwest of Kerr County since 10 p.m. on Wednesday. The Guadalupe River is expected to reach major flood stage in multiple areas.

Kerr County PIO Lisa Walter said “there have been multiple swift water rescues and evacuations.” Officials emphasized not to drive through flooded streets and to turn around if water covers the roadway.

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Evacuations were underway in multiple areas, according to the county, including:

  • Goat Creek
  • Arcadia Loop
  • Lowery/Guadalupe area
  • Junction Highway low-water crossings
  • Other low-lying neighborhoods

Emergency shelters are open at Impact Church (Goat Creek evacuation point), Calvary Temple Church and City West Church for people in West Kerr County, the county said.

Here are the latest headlines:

Live updates

7:03 a.m.: KXAN’s Kevin Baskar is in Gillespie County providing updates on the latest flood conditions in the area. Watch his update below.

6:37 a.m.: Kerr County officials emphasized not to drive through flooded streets and to turn around if water covers the roadway.

Evacuations were underway in multiple areas, according to the county, including:

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  • Goat Creek
  • Arcadia Loop
  • Lowery/Guadalupe area
  • Junction Highway low-water crossings
  • Other low-lying neighborhoods

Emergency shelters are open at Impact Church (Goat Creek evacuation point), Calvary Temple Church and City West Church for people in West Kerr County, the county said.

6:27 a.m.: Video shows emergency crews hauling boats and rescue equipment through Kerrville.

6:15 a.m. NewsNation correspondent Xavier Walton and his photographer captured a structure being swept up in river water and crashing into a Kerrville bridge. The structure appears to be some sort of shipping container, pushing against the bridge.

Watch the video below:

6:08 a.m.: Kerr County PIO Lisa Walter confirms “there have been multiple swift water rescues and evacuations.”

6:02 a.m.: The Guadalupe River at Center Point is expected to crest at 35 feet, which is the same crest as July 4, 2025.

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5:57 a.m.: The National Weather Service said “a large deadly flood wave” is moving down the Guadalupe River.

5:49 a.m.: The Comfort Volunteer Fire Department said it has units in Kerrville and Centerpoint alerting people along the Guadalupe River. They’re helping Kerr County with evacuations along Highway 27 between Comfort and Centerpoint. They said all VFD personnel are OK.

5:30 a.m.: The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that it’s received reports of “street flooding in Ingram, and it’s likely many roads and city streets are flooded as well.”





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Austin Pets Alive! activates emergency response to assist shelters affected by flooding

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Austin Pets Alive! activates emergency response to assist shelters affected by flooding


AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.

In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.” 

APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.

Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.

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The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter. 

Here are ways you can help: 

  • Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals. 
  • Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks. 
  • Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.

If you would like to donate, click here.





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