Mike Galati was out fishing last weekend when he got the
word that USF head football coach Willie Taggart offered him a scholarship.
It was the one the Manatee High offensive lineman had
been waiting for, but when he returned from his fishing trip he couldn’t get a
hold of Taggart.
To the relief of the 6-3, 280 pounder, the two finally
hooked up Thursday and he was able to give Taggart a verbal non-binding offer
he doesn’t see changing.
“I’ve been wanting to commit all week. When we finally
talked I was so happy and so was coach Taggart,” Galati said. “He welcomed me
into the family. They have always been my number one choice for a lot reasons.
They are only an hour away so my family can go to all the games and I like coaching
staff.
“I first met coach Taggart on junior day at USF and he is
such an exciting person. I like the
offense he runs and his style of running a program and the way he talks about
his program.”
Galati is the third offensive linemen in the class of
2014 that has committed to USF. He will be going into his third year as a
starter at Manatee and said he expects to play tackle. He played guard last
year and tight-end as a sophomore.
When he arrives at
USF for the 2014 season he will join another Manatee County offensive lineman
in Bulls center Austin Reiter, who is a graduate of Lakewood Ranch.
Galati’s main recruiter is Ray Woodie, the former head
coach at his alma mater Palmetto and previously at Bayshore. Taggart is a
Manatee High legend who went on to set a slew of records at Western Kentucky where
he started for four years.
