Camp Mystic is a private Christian all-girl’s summer camp located right on the bank of the Guadalupe River. Due to this, many of the young campers fell victim to the rising waters when the flooding began. According to Taaffe, wearing this tie is in the effort to shed light on the situation, and honor the girls who didn’t make it.

"Coach (Kirby) Smart is one of the most competitive coaches I have ever been against in my life," said Taaffe. "Like, physically hearing him on the sideline when I'm playing defense. I'm like who is this maniac?"

AUSTIN, Texas — Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe put something more important than football front and center at this week’s SEC Media days. The Westlake alum wore a burnt orange tie with 27 sets of initials, honoring kids and employees from Camp Mystic who lost their lives in the devastating flooding on July 4.

Taaffe called the counselors at Camp Mystic “heroes” and wore a tie to honor them and the young girls who died during the Central Texas flood.

Taaffe spoke to reporters wearing a tie with 27 sets of initials on it, each representing someone who died after catastrophic flooding overtook Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country during the July 4 weekend.

The tragic flood in Central Texas was on the minds of the Longhorns that traveled to Atlanta for the SEC Media Days.

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe is confident the Texas secondary is the best in the country. The Longhorn secondary has totaled 14 interceptions this season and 258 tackles.

DeAndre Moore Jr. and Ryan Wingo are back to lead the receiving corps, but even with the addition of a pair of transfers at receiver and tight end, there’s a lot of youth and inexperience