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When Sugar Skulls head coach Billy Back scrolled through Facebook earlier this month, former Arizona Wildcats defensive end Taylor Upshaw appeared on the social media app’s “People You May Know� feature.

Back thoroughly vetted Upshaw, who played one season at Arizona as a graduate transfer in 2023 after four seasons at Michigan, and was sold immediately.

“We found some guys that used to play for Arizona, and he came across my Facebook page as someone I may know; didn’t know him,� Back said. “I reached out to him, got his contact information and talked to him and pitched the Sugar Skulls at him.

“He was excited to get back to Tucson and made it happen. ... We’re excited to get Taylor. So far in practice, he has been explosive, he’s big, strong, intelligent and a big athlete.�

Upshaw will play his first game with the Sugar Skulls on Saturday, when Tucson (3-4) hosts the San Antonio Gunslingers (2-6) following its bye week.

“It’s amazing being back in Tucson,� Upshaw said. “It’s just as hot as I remember. These last few weeks have been preparing for the move from where I was at in Florida and just preparing to get out here. Once I got out here, I hit the ground running and got back into all things football.�

The 6-5, 275-pound Upshaw is the third former Wildcat to sign with the Sugar Skulls since the franchise started in 2019, joining defensive back Rashie Hodge, who’s now with the Arizona Rattlers, and Tucson native and wide receiver Drew Dixon, who’s in his first season with the hometown Sugar Skulls.

The Sugar Skulls are making a concerted effort “to get as much local connection as we can, because that hometown pride, it’s kind of what fuels these teams,� Back said. Plus, “you’ll get butts in seats,� Back added.

Before Upshaw’s first stint in Tucson, the edge rusher grew up in Tampa, Florida, and is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Regan Upshaw, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins and New York Giants. Preceding his NFL career, the older Upshaw was an All-Pac-10 defensive tackle at Cal in 1995.

“It was awesome to see how hard he worked and everything he did for our family,� Taylor Upshaw said of his father. “I looked up to him like a superhero. It was awesome.�

Papa Upshaw instilled Taylor Upshaw’s work ethic as a football player.

“Work ethic will determine how far you’ll go in this game,� Upshaw said. “If there’s anything I took from him, it was work ethic, because he’s one of the hardest-working people I know.�

Upshaw signed with the Michigan Wolverines out of Braden River High School in 2018. Upshaw was recruited by former Arizona defensive coordinator Don Brown, who was the defensive play-caller for the Wolverines at the time. Upshaw recorded 38 tackles, 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception in four seasons at Michigan. He transferred to Colorado in spring 2023, but re-entered the transfer portal after the CU spring game and signed with the UA.

Even though Upshaw spent one season in Tucson, he bolstered Arizona’s defensive line as an edge rusher, finishing the 2023 season with 8.5 sacks, the most by a Wildcat since Kylan Wilborn in 2017.

Upshaw had the fourth-most sacks (8.5) in the Pac-12 in his lone season at the UA, along with 31 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass deflection in Arizona’s ’23 season that was capped by a victory over Oklahoma at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

“I love being a part of competitive teams,� Upshaw said. “I love the competitiveness that we brought and I love the grit we brought. A lot of teams weren’t expecting us to be as good as we were, so I enjoyed being the underdog. I enjoyed my coaches and my teammates getting us to that position. That’s one thing I loved about the University of Arizona.�

Upshaw signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent, but was waived before the season. Upshaw’s brief NFL career showed him “just how quick things go and how you have to continue to work regardless if things are going your way or not,� he said.

“You have to stay focused and do everything in your power to get back to that level,� Upshaw said. “Just gotta stay ready.�

After more than 500 days since Upshaw’s last competitive football game, which was Arizona’s win at the Alamo Bowl, returning to the game “has been awesome,� Upshaw said. Upshaw is “still figuring out� eight-man indoor football that uses three offensive and defensive linemen.

“It has its own flow, but football is football,� Upshaw said. “All the guys, the coaches, they’re bringing me up to speed,� he said. “I’ve been playing football for quite a while now, so it’s like muscle memory at this point. They’re helping me with my technique and my playbook. I’m excited to play in that first game. I think it’s been around a year since I put on the pads, but I’ve been staying active and working out. I’m definitely excited to compete again.�

Upshaw joins a Tucson defensive front that ranks third in the IFL in sacks. With former IFL Defensive Player of the Week recipient and linebacker JaQuez Jackson — who is second in the league in sacks (3.5) — leaving the Sugar Skulls following the death of a family member, Upshaw “is a much-needed addition� as a pass-rusher.

“We evaluated our pros and cons, stacked some chips and now we’re ready for the second half of the season,� Back said.

If Upshaw’s second go-around in Tucson is similar to the first one, his production on the field could garner him attention from the NFL.

“That’s always the goal,� Upshaw said. “But my goal right now is to become the best football player possible, do everything in my power to get the Sugar Skulls into a championship, be the best player I can be. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

“That’s always the goal, but my goal right now is to be the best IFL player I can be. When that time comes, we’ll see what happens then.�