USF football team looking bigger and tougher

USF spring football is underway and the first thing you notice about the 2014 Bulls is size.


The offensive line is bigger and stronger looking more suited to carry out Willie Taggart's style of
offense.


The average weight of he returning starters on the offensive line is 310 compared to 297 last season. Much of that is due to their hard work and a conditioning program set up by strength coach Hans Straub.


“We’re putting in a lot more time after our workouts.  I know me and about five guys are doing an hour after every workout every day,” said senior center Austin Reiter of Lakewood Ranch who gained 13 pounds in offseason conditioning to get up to 286.


The new size comes with a new attitude says USF head coach Willie Taggart, the former Manatee High quarterback great and All-American at Western Kentucky.


“It’s been a different attitude with our guys and watching them,” Taggart said. “Out of 79 guys we had go through workouts and our winter conditioning we had 66 make every last one of them. It’s huge, big-time, and it says a lot about our football team.”


“We need people movers out there, big strong guys to move people out of the way so we can run the football and we can protect."

Taggart/USF gets verbal commitment from Miami Jackson standout Quinton Flowers

Willie Taggart's knack for being a top notch recruiter was validated again Friday when it was reported that Miami Jackson standout quarterback Quinton Flowers has committed to the USF football team.

Listed as an athlete who will play quarterback or receiver at the next level, Flowers is a four star recruit on several publications and reportedly has offers from Alabama, Texas, Nebraska,Tennessee, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse, Mississippi and Mississippi State among others.

The 6-0, 210 pounder reportedly committed to the Bulls after attending one of USF's satellite camps Friday in Miami. Scout.com rates Flowers the nation's 10th best receiver while 247 has him as the 9th best dual threat quarterback in the country.

It has been reported that USF assistant coach BTelly Lockett, former head coach of Miami Central, played a key role in corralling Flowers, but you can't discount the influence of Bulls head coach Taggart. .

Flowers has said he wanted to go to a school that would give him a chance to play quarterback. Taggart has made that promise and Flowers just might fit the mold of the dual threat quarterback that Taggart was at Manatee High and Western Kentucky.

Marquel Blackwell back at USF to work under Taggart

Marquel Blackwell, who many believe to be the best quarterback in USF history, is returning to the Bulls to work under head coach Willie Taggart.

Blackwell was a four-year standout quarterback for USF from 1999-2002 when the program made the leap to I-AA under then head coach Jim Leavitt

Marquel Blackwell

The St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins product holds most of the USF career passing records, including touchdowns (67), completions (795), attempts (1,417) and passing yards (9,108) and ranks ninth in career rushing yards (1,235) and fifth in rushing touchdowns (20).

Blackwell served on the Bulls’ coaching staff as a program assistant from 2009-11 and spent last season as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky under coach Taggart. Prior to his first stint on the USF coaching staff, Blackwell served as the head football coach at Freedom High School in Tampa from 2007-08. He will serve as Director of Player Development.

Taggart has also hired Paul Gonnella

, who will serve as the staff’s Director of Player Personnel. Gonnella spent the 2012 season as director of player personnel at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide sign the nation’s top class. He had the same role at Purdue in 2011 and at Memphis in 2010.

Gonnella has also spent time at Miami, Tennessee and North Carolina in similar roles and capacities .A native of Wakefield, Mass., Gonnella began his career as a coach and has worked with high schools in his home state as well as in Georgia.

 Taggart has also moved coach Stu Holt to special teams coordinator. Taggart also announced he was moving Stu Holt into the special-teams coordinator.

Holt has worked with special teams on numerous occasions throughout his coaching career, including stints as the special-teams coordinator at Western Kentucky in 2005 and ’09. In 2005, he helped the Hilltoppers rank fourth in the nation in punt returns.

He helped place-kicker Chris James earn first-team I-AA.org All-Star and all-Gateway honors, after pacing the league with 1.36 field goals and 7.91 points per contest. In addition, Dennis Mitchell was a second-team all-conference choice as a return specialist after finishing sixth nationally in yards per punt return.

In 2009, Holt coached four players that ranked in the top five of Sun Belt Conference statistical categories, including Jeremy Moore and Bobby Rainey, who led the league in punting and all-purpose yardage, respectively. The Hilltoppers kickoff return unit also ranked second in the league.

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Ray Woodie might have bigger recruiting role with USF

Ray Woodie has been Willie Taggart’s right hand man ever since Taggart hired him as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky.

The Manatee County products have formed quite a tandem with Woodie named the top recruiter in his first year at Western Kentucky and just recently cited to be among the best recruiters in the Big East Conference despite only a few months on the job at USF.

Ray Woodie top recruiter

But Taggart might need more out of Woodie following the recent resignation of Larry Scott, who left USF to become an assistant with Miami this week.

Scott had been with USF since the Jim Leavitt days and had a solid beat on the Miami area. He agreed to take the Miami position after Hurricanes assistant Mario Cristobal (the fired FIU coach) left for Alabama.

 The only holdover from the Skip Holtz era, Scott was noted for recruiting some of the top players out of the Miami area, including this year’s four star signee, defensive back Lamar Robbins.

Now Scott is gone and it might mean more work for Woodie. The Palmetto native is solid on recruiting the Manatee-Sarasota-Charlotte County corridor and Tampa Bay area and is not adverse to increasing his territory.

 

 

 

Taggart reels in another highly touted prospect for USF

Willie Taggart and the USF football program had a bonanza of weekend.

The Bulls head coach picked up his second four-star verbal commitment in a week Sunday when Miami Southridge cornerback Lamar Robbins announced he would sign with USF.

Robbins is a highly sought after commodity, particularly at conerback where he can use his 6-3, 188 pound frame to cover tall receivers and has the size to more than hold his own in the tackling department. He had visited and received offers from Oklahoma, West Virginia, Lousville and Purdue.

It was the Bulls second four star recruit to commit. Taggart, the Manatee High legend, last week convinced Hurricanes four star defensive tackle Derrick Colloway to committ to USF after he had  pledged to Louisville.

Taggart, who took over the program in December, has now garnered both of USF's four star recruits.

Rivals currently has USF's 2013 recruiting class ranked third in the Big East, but the Bulls are only a few points behind second place Rutgers and could surpass the Knights when signing day concludes on February 6th. They could also pass number one Pittsburgh.

Robbins is a welcome addition for a Bulls secondary that allowed 252 yards passing per game last season and had only two inteceptions.

This past weekend, the Bulls also received a verbal commttment from running back Stafon McCray, a 5-11, 196 pound three star recruit from Kissimmee Osecola.

The running back rushed for more than 1,700 yards and scored 25 touchdowns in leading his team to a 13-1 record last season and has amasssed more then 3,200 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns the past two seasons.

Tampa Bucs DB coach Ron Cooper joins Taggart at USF

Ron Cooper has left the Tampa Bay Bucs to become Willie Taggart's assistant head coach at the University of South Florida.

Cooper will also coach the USF defensive backs. He was the defensive backs coach for Tampa this past season and served in the same capacity at LSU three years prior. In 2011 he coached Morris Claiborne, the first cornerback selected in last year's NFL draft.

Cooper brings 30 years of coaching experience including two different stints as a defensive coordinator and three as a head coach on the collegiate level.

“Ron Cooper is a valuable addition to our staff,” Taggart said. “His experience will be a huge asset in his role as assistant head coach. In addition, he has recently worked with some of the top secondaries and defensive backs in college football, which will serve us greatly both on the field and in recruiting.”

Cooper spent three seasons (2009-11) as LSU’s secondary coach. Under his tutelage Claiborne and fellow cornerback Patrick Peterson won the Thorpe Award, which goes to best defensive back in college football. Those two along with Tyrann Mathieu were consensus All-Americans 

 

In 2011, Claiborne (Coaches) and Mathieu (AP) each earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.  Peterson earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 before being selected fifth overall in the '10 NFL Draft.

 

 Cooper was head coach of Louisville ('95-'97). His '95 team led the nation in takeaways and finished No. 9 in the nation in scoring defense. The following season, the Cardinals ranked No. 4 in the country in both total defense and rushing defense.

 

The Tampa Bay Bucs ranked  last in pass defense in 2012. It was beset with injuries and its two top cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Eric Wright were suspended for four games each because they violated the league's substance abuse policies. Talib was subsequently traded and Wright is not expected to return next season. Their fill-ins were mostly undrafted free agents and late round draft choices that were considered well below NFL standards for cornerbacks.

 

Cooper earned his bachelor's degree from Jacksonville State in 1983 and later received his master's degree from Appalachian State in 1986. He and his wife, Djuna, have a daughter, Tyler, and two sons, Tristan and Ronald, Jr.

Coaching Experience

1983: Appalachian State (Graduate Assistant)

1984: Minnesota (Graduate Assistant)

1985-86: Austin Peay (Assistant Coach)

1987-88: Murray State (Defensive Coordinator)

1989: East Carolina (Assistant Coach)

1990: UNLV (Defensive Coordinator)

1991-92: Notre Dame (Assistant Head Coach)

1993-94: Eastern Michigan (Head Coach)

1995-97: Louisville (Head Coach)

1998-2001: Alabama A&M (Head Coach)

2002: Wisconsin (Assistant Coach)

2003: Mississippi State (Defensive Coordinator)

2004: South Carolina (Defensive Backs)

2005: South Carolina (Outside Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator)

2006-07: South Carolina (Assistant Head Coach/Secondary)

2008: South Carolina (Safeties)

2009-11: LSU (Secondary)

2012: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Defensive Backs)

Taggart hires successful NFL coach as his defensive coordinator at USF

The Willie Taggart-Jim Harbaugh connection helped the new USF head football coach secure a defensive coordinator who has known much success in the NFL.

Chuck Bresnahan is the Bulls new defesnsive coordinator, Taggart announced on Wednesday. The 52 year-old was defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders from 2000-03 holding that position when the team reached Super Bowl XXXVII.

Bresnahan also served as defensive coordinator for Cincinnati for three years helping the Bengals capture their first division title in 17 years in 2006. He went to Cincinnati after six successful seasons with Oakland. The Raiders won three straight AFC Western Division titles and played in a Super Bowl with Bresnahan as defensive coordinator.

Taggart has stressed he is always looking for good leadership skills in his coaches and with his experience as a player at the Naval Academy Bresnaham seems to fill that requirement. He was a three year letterman for the Midshpimen where he helped Navy win three Commander-in-Chief Trophies, played in two bowl games and then became a commissioned officer.

Bresnahan has some good football lineage. His father Tom, served in the NFL for 17 years as an offensive line coach and was a member of Marv Levy's Buffalo Bills staff that went to four consecutive Super Bowls.

"I couldn't be more excited about the talent and experience we've added to our defensive staff," Taggart said. "Chuck has coached at  the highest levels and will bring a wealth of knowledge on the defensive side of the ball. His ability to teach the game and mentor our players will be an asset to this football team and I know he'll be a terffic recruiter."

It was through San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh that Taggart was able to connect with Bresnahan.

Harbaugh,who has been a mentor to Taggart, was Oakland's quarterback coach two of the years that Bresnahan served as the Raiders defensive coordinator. They were also together in 1996-97 when Harbaugh was the Indianapolis Colts quarterback and Bresnaham coached the linebackers there.


 



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Willie Taggart no time to relax; USF moves Miami game

New USF head football coach Willie Taggart won't have much time to get accustomed to his new job, which is fine with him. He has already hit the ground running.

Willie Taggart; photo by J Meric

The school announced Wednesday that it has moved its game with Miami from November 30th to September 28th.

The Bulls are already scheduled to play at Michigan State on September 7th, which means they will be taking on some of the better teams from the ACC and the Big 10 early on.

USF will also play FAU on September. Now they didn't have a great season, but games between Florida schools usually come down to nail biters where a turnover here or there can decide it.

The Big East Conference asked USF to move its non-confernece games up towards the beginning of the season so it can get attention at the end with teams contending for the league title facing each other.

Another big challenge for Taggart and USF will be the return of UCF, which will join the Big East next season. The Bulls were 4-0 against UCF under former coach Jim Leavitt, but the two games at UCF were down to the wire and this one is in the road.

The Bulls other Big East road games are at Rutgers, Connecticutt and Houston. Their four conference home games are against Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis and SMU. USF will not play league newcomers Boise State and San Diego State.

The new Big East will have two six team divisions with the winners playing each other for the conference championship at the site of one of the teams.

Derrick Calloway to visit USF shortly after Taggart gets the job

The Willie Taggart effect is already in motion.

Less than four days after being named the University of South Florida's new head coach, Taggart is starting to attract some of the best high school recruits.

The latest is Manatee High defensive tackle Derrick Calloway, who announced several days after
Taggart's hire that he is going to take an official visit to USF.

Originally from Los Angeles, Calloway is one of the most sought after defensive linemen in the country. He is a Rivals.com four star rated player who has received offers from just about every major college program in the country, including Florida, USC, Arkansas, Arizona, Missouri and Texas Tech.

Calloway is among other touted recruits that have showed interest in USF since Taggart took the job. Less than 24 hours after he took the USF job, Fort Lauderdale University School quarterback  Mike White (6-5, 195 lbs) verbally commited to the Bulls after leading his team to the 3A state championship.

Taggart defends Dowling, questions rule. Williams says hit unavoidable

Western Kentucky head football coach Willie Taggart said safety Jon Dowling did not intend to hurt anyone on the helmet to helmet hit he made in last week's game against Southern Mississippi receiver Tyre Bracken.

Taggart questions rule

Dowling was ejected after the play and according to Sun Belt Conference rules, an injected player must sit out the next game. The league rejected an appeal WKU made on behalf of the former Southeast High standout.

“It is a new rule the league is implementing and Jon fell victim to it. He did not try to do anything maliciously,” said Taggart, the former Manatee High quarterback great. “Jon did not try to go helmet to helmet and there is no way to stop guys who are trying to do their best and playing hard. The league needs to look at this rule because there are a lot of kids who play hard and are not trying to hurt anyone. You can’t expect them to change overnight.

“Unfortunately the ruling is in. I didn’t expect it to be overturned on the appeal. We’ve just got to learn from it and move on.”

It means the Hilltoppers will face Sun Belt Conference defending champion Arkansas State without their best defensive back.  Dowling is tied for the national lead in FBS with two others for the most interceptions.

It also means he will be back with the scout team this week after playing all of last season with the scout when he was forced to sit out after transferring from Florida.

Tyrone Williams, a former Green Bay Packer defensive back who played for Manatee, said the head to head collision was basically unavoidable because Bracken is 5-8 and Dowling is 6-3.

“Dowling is tall and the receiver is short and the defender goes down to make a hit and this is going to happen. You could tell he did not mean to do it,” Williams said

****

Taggart said he was not surprised that former Manatee High standout Leon Allen turned his best game last week. The true freshman running back ran for a career high 132 yards in the Hilltoppers 42-17 victory over Southern Mississippi.

“Leon showed in training camp what he could do and last week against Kentucky we didn’t play him enough,” Taggart said. “He is a very strong, powerful runner and keeps his feet moving. He has been everything we thought he would be and is very fundamentally sound.”

Ben Axon, another former Manatee High standout, had his best collegiate game at the Division I level with 31 yards on six carries.

Axon did not play football last year and joined the WKU football team late this summer. Taggart said he is still working out the kinks and trying to get back into football shape.

“Ben has been helping us quite a bit on special teams and was able to get some carries. The more he plays, the better he will become,” Taggart said. “He understands we are not giving anybody anything. We have guys who have been here long before Ben was here. He is working work and has been on the kickoff and punt return teams.”

 

 

Taggart deserves a pass: What would Joe have said??

Our beloved Willie Taggart has found himself in a little hot water, but does he really deserve it?
His Western Kentucky football team is playing Kentucky Saturday and Taggart got upset because he saw so many students on his campus wearing Kentucky apparel.

Taggart tweeted, “They probably couldn’t get into UK.”

The former Manatee High great later apologized and said he was just miffed because WKU students who wear UK apparel are not showing allegiance to his school.

Feeling here is Taggart deserves a pass. He runs a clean program and has given a lot of kids who were headed for trouble a chance.

But here is a better question:

What would Joe Kinnan say if he saw a bunch of students wearing Southeast apparel during game week against the Seminoles?

Could we safely assume whatever he said would make Taggart’s comments seem rather mundane?

 

Taggart says Ben Axon ready to go against top ranked 'Bama

Coach Taggart says Axon ready to go

Nothing has ever come easy for Ben Axon
The talented running back from Manatee High missed Western Kentucky's season opener because of a concussion, said Hilltoppers head coach Willie Taggart.

Taggart, another Manatee great, said Axon has been cleared to play this Saturday. That would normally be good news, but WKU is at Alabama, the defending national champions and current number one rated team in the country.

It's not that Axon is afraid of any competition. But it would've been nice if he had a tune-up game. Last week the Hilltoppers steamed rolled Austin Peay in their 2012 opener.

By the way, Albama has been listed as a 40-point favorite by most entities that delve in the business of college football prognosticating.

Axon will likely share he running load with another Manatee graduate, freshman Leon Allen, who made his college debut against Austin Peay with a team leading 93 yards rushing on 13 carries. It was a great game for a true freshman, but everyone knows running against Austin Peay is not the same as toting the ball against 'Bama.

WKU is Axon's fourth college since he walked through the gradution line at Manatee in 2009. He has overcome a lot of obstacles and says he is ready to go.

Dowling pulls a "Babe Ruth Moment" in predicting his game winning pick

Remember when Babe Ruth called his famous home run before launching into the stands in one of baseball's most memorable moments.

Well our own Jon Dowling apparently has gone into the prediction business and proved to be a success though somewhat on a smaller scale.

Our witness to this is Minnesota Vikings defensive back Mistral Raymond, the Palmetto High product who was standing on the sidelines at Western Kentucky's spring game last Saturday.

Dowling, a safety for the Hilltoppers, was voted game MVP in part because he intercepted a pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to account for the final score and give his Red Team a victory.

Dowling, the former Southeast star, predicted what would happen just before he went on the field and made the play, according to Raymond.

"He came up to me and said if it was a perfectly thrown pass he knew where it was going and he was going to intercept and return it for a touchdown. That is exactly what happened," Raymond said via phone on his way to Minnesota.

Jon Dowling earns MVP honors in WKU spring game

It didn’t take Jon Dowling long to show Western Kentucky it got prize package when he decided to transfer from Florida.

The former Southeast High star earned MVP honors in WKU’s spring game Saturday doing what he does best___ Intercepting passes.

The defensive back made the play of the game on his second interception, which he returned for a 34 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter giving his Red Team a 16-10 victory.

It was Dowling’s first live action for WKU after sitting out last season because of NCAA transfer rules and his diversified set of special skills was evident.

The 6-3, 195 pound sophomore picked off WKU starting quarterback Kawaun Jakes in the first quarter and returned it 15 yards. His second interception also came off Jakes with 10 minutes left in the game and accounted for the final score.

Dowling wasn’t the only Manatee County product to shine for the Hilltoppers.

Southeast High grad Boe Brand caught three passes for 22 yards and returned three kickoffs for 63 yards, including a long of 25 yards. His former Southeast teammate, linebacker Terran Williams, was credited with a quarterback hit and had a solo tackle. Palmetto High grad Ty Scott also had one solo tackle.

Former Braden River standout Willie McNeal, who missed all of last season for WKU with a torn ACL, caught one pass for six yards.

Sarasota Riverview High product John Evans, who is fighting for the running back job, had 107 all purpose yards. He ran for 10 yards on three carries, caught five passes for 30 yards and returned two kickoffs for 67 yards.

WKU head coach Willie Taggart, the Manatee High legendary quarterback, was pleased with the effort and job turned in by Dowling.

“All three of the backs did a good job of running. Jonathan Dowling had two picks-one for a touchdown. You always love that,” Taggart said. “Overall both teams did some good things. We still have some work to do, but I am pleased with the progress we made this spring.”

Dowling and Blakely named to 2012 pre-season All Transfer Team

It's never too early to talk about college football, which might be good news for local standouts Jon Dowling from Southeast and former Manatee High running back Mike Blakely.

Both were selected to the 2012 All-Transfer team released by CollegeFootballNews.Com. Ironically both began their careers at the University of Florida where you might say they stayed long enough to get a quick lunch.

Okay that might be a stretch. But neither was there long enough to finish their freshmen year and both are ready to go in 2012: Dowling at Western Kentucky and Blakely at Auburn.

Dowling, who was rated among the top two or three cornerbacks in the country by some scouting services, figures to be a jack of trades and master of many for the Hilltoppers. WKU head coach Willie Taggart says Dowling will start at DB (either safety or CB) and see time at receiver.

Blakely was rated the 10th best running back by Scout.Com when he signed with Florida, but was unhappy with the new coaching regime and left. He will be battling returnees Onterio McCalebb and Tre Mason to replace Michael Dyer who transferred to Arkansas State.

All three will be vying to fill some big shoes. Dyer was the Tigers leading rusher and first team All SEC pick before he was suspended from the team prior to its bowl game and eventually left transferring to Arkansas State where he will play for new head coach Gus Malzhan, who was his offensive coordinator at Auburn.

Don't ever say college football gets dull! Both of these guys will get a second chance and lets hope everything works out for them this time.

Woodie piling up awards as one of nation's top recruiters

When you are hot you are hot.

That's the best way to describe Ray Woodie, the former Palmetto High and Bayshore head football coach who is piling up honors as an elite recruiter at Western Kentucky.

After getting named the top recruiter in the Sun Belt Conference by ESPN and Scout.com/Fox Sports the Palmetto native was cited by Rivals.Com as one of the top 10 recruiters from the non BCS schools.

Woodie has no fear and is "stealing" kids that coaches from the BCS schools probably thought belonged to them. But no more, Woodie and WKU Willie Taggart are reeling in some of the top talent in the country and it doesn't appear things will slow down.

These two guys are revolutionizing the way recruiting is done. They pitch honesty and success and refuse to take a back seat to anyone.

Taggart makes home visit to try and persuade Poole to swtich allegiance

Could this be the night Brian Poole switches allegence?

The Southeast High standout, who has verbally committed to Florida, is getting a home visit tonight from former Manatee High quarterback and Western Kentucky head coach Willie Taggart.

Poole, rated the number one cornerback in the country in some publications, visited WKU last weekend. Before he left he said he was still a Florida commit but added you never know. He also said he planned on taking all five of his alloted visits. Earlier this season he took an official visit to Notre Dame and has three left.

Taggart is receiving rave reviews for how he turned around the WKU program this year taking the Hilltoppers to a 7-5 record that included a 7-1 Sun Belt Conference mark. He inherited a 2-22 program prior to last season that was the domat of FBS (I-A) football.

Taggart is considered a top notch recruiter who is particularly effective in his home state of Florida. With Poole, he has the added incentive that six former Manatee County players are on the roster at WKU.

USF offers three Manatee defensive linemen

The University of South Florida offered scholarships to three Manatee High defensive linemen soon after the Hurricanes Class 7A state semifinal victory over Palm Beach Dwyer Gardens last weekend.

Manatee assistant coaches said the offers went to juniors Blake Keller (6-2, 211) and Derrick Calloway (6-1, 302) and sophomore DeMarcas Christmas (6-3. 285). They said there is a chance the fourth member of the 'Canes front four, junior Marquis Dawsey (5-11, 219), could eventually secure an offer.

The players obviously have time to wait, which is good. USF head coach Skip Holtz is on the hot seat after a 5-7 season which saw him win only one Big East Conference game. Quite a few fans are upset that he is third highest paid football coach in the Big East Conference earning $1.7 million with little to show for it.

Ironically, if Holtz does get fired next season there are those at Manatee High who are hoping Willie Taggart might get the job. The former Manatee star quarterback did one of the best turn-around jobs in the country this year at Western Kentucky and is considered a fierce recruiter who gets excellent results.

WKU's Willie Taggart deserves "Miracle Worker" tag

Willie Taggart is fast becoming one of the hottest coaching commodities in college football.

He is as close to a miracle worker as you can get in college football and is just getting started.

Troubles in Gainesville? Hey about this guy. He helped turn Stanford into powerhouse and has Western Kentucky on a ride no one expected.

What the Manatee High legend has done in less than two full seasons at Western Kentucky borders on miracle worker status.

When Taggart took over the program at WKU in 2010 it had lost 20 straight and was the laughing stock of college football. The Hilltoppers started this season with four straight losses and were 4-36 before he took them on their current four game win streak.

Taggart isn’t new to Believe It Or Not feats. He was part of Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford that performed the miracle on turf in 2007 when the 40-point underdog Cardinal recorded the biggest upset in NCAA history by beating Southern California.

“The only people who have to believe are the guys in the locker-room,” said Taggart who was the running backs coach and part of a reconstruction project at Stanford that now has that program fourth in the BCS standings.

This we know about Taggart.

He knows offense (the West Coast is his specialty), he knows people and he knows players and how to motivate. We also know if he keeps this up there is going to be some major program in this country that wants him.

It could happen right here in Florida.

Those rumblings in Gainesville are getting louder and the Swamp is getting more treacherous.

Taggart could recruit the heck out of the Sunshine State. He already has done that at WKU for a non-BCS program that is in the Sun Belt Conference.

He has also become a college football poet-laureate.

“All it takes is for one olive to come out of the jar and the rest come out pretty easy,” is one of many Taggartisms floating around the Bowling Green campus.

The best part about Taggart is his stubbornness. He doesn’t believe he can’t win. He didn’t believe it at Stanford, which was 1-11 when he arrived.

The first thing he did at WKU was change the culture of the football program, which went 2-10 last year and had never won a game as an FBS program until Taggart’s arrival..

“Find the bull and find the snake and chop their heads off,” Taggart said. “The most important thing is to stay positive and have everyone hold themselves accountable. Coming here they had nothing but negative stuff to say about our kids. We tried to stay positive and stay the course. What helped me a lot was my experience at Stanford.”

Taggart says he adopted the blueprint used to turn Stanford around. What he adds is the ability to make believers out of naysayers.

“We are just a blue collar, hard-nosed, tough program that is doing things in a first class manner,” Taggart said. “We tell our guys to support our cause, which is being the best in the Sun Belt Conference.”

Taggart keeps in regular touch with Jim Harbaugh (now the 49ers head coach) and his dad Jack Harbaugh, who coached Willie at WKU. They bounce ideas off each other every week.

Believing at WKU is not easy just like believing Stanford could beat USC in ’07. Taggart says it has to start with the head coach. He has gotten his kids to believe they can win their conference where they now stand 4-1.

“I am not surprised to be in the conference race. From day one that has been our goal,” Taggart said. “We were in all these ball games last year and a lot of them were up for grabs until the fourth quarter when we let them get away. With that and knowing what our guys did during the off season, I felt there was no reason for us not to be in the race.”

Taggart implemented the West Coast Offense upon his arrival ditching the spread it had used. He had to teach the system and find players who would fit that style, which is still an ongoing process.

Taggart found a few gems. One is true freshman Boe Brand from Southeast High who caught a crucial two-point conversion that enabled the Hilltoppers to eventually win their game last week in overtime against Louisiana-Monroe.

“Boe is coming along nice. Athletically he can get it done, but he came here at 138-140 pounds soaking wet and had to get bigger,” Taggart said.

Taggart is one of the lowest paid coaches in the country. Now you can make the argument he is the most under-paid.

If WKU wants to see this miracle come to fruition, it’s going to have to open up its purse strings or find some wealthy boosters. They are getting a bargain now with Taggart and that is not going to last.

Boe Brand helps Willie Taggart make some history at WKU

What Willie Taggart has done in his second year running the Western Kentucky football program might be classified as something close to a miracle.

Inheriting a program that had lost 20 straight before his arrival, the former Manatee High great has the Hilltoppers on a four game win streak, 4-4 overall and 4-1 in the Sun Belt Conference

Last Saturday's 31-28 overtime victory over Louisiana-Monroe was a game for the ages with 22 points being scored in the final 59 seconds of regulation play.

Taggart got some help from some local guys he recruited. Freshman Boe Brand (see left) from Southeast caught a two-point conversion with 38 seconds left in regulation that enabled WKU to withstand a ULM touchdown with six seconds left that sent the game into overtime.

WKU's final touchdown was set up by a 79 yard kickoff return by another freshman andSarasota Riverview High product John Evans.