USF Packed With Talent From the Tampa Bay Area
August 22, 2014 | Football
Follow @USFFootball On Twitter
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 21, 2014 – Head coach Willie Taggart says it's important for the Bulls to keep talent from their own backyard at home and the program has made local talent its backbone.
USF has 36 players from the Greater Tampa Bay area on its current roster, including 22 from the city of Tampa itself, and Bulls that have stayed close to home say they love the experience.
“It's a great feeling to represent the hometown,” sophomore safety Nate Godwin said. “I'm from here, I definitely grew up here, so to be able to play in front of everybody and to have the support system I have it definitely pushes me want to work harder.”
Godwin certainly gave hometown fans a lot to cheer about as a true freshman last season, finishing fourth on the team with 49 tackles while playing in all 12 games (nine starts) after becoming an all-state selection out of Tampa's Freedom High School.
Tampa native Nigel Harris grew up a Bulls fan while watching 2010 Big East Special Teams Player of the Year Lindsey Lamar play for the Green and Gold before following in his cousin's footsteps. The sophomore linebacker sure made Lamar and many others around town proud by totaling 35 tackles in 12 games with seven starts as a true freshman.
“It's awesome. After the games or even before the games people call you up and they say, 'Put on for the hometown,' or whatnot. I just do it for the love of the city,” Harris said.
Do well enough and you might even end up on a billboard like senior Andre Davis, who is on pace to break every major receiving record in the program's record books after earning all-state honors three times at Tampa's Jefferson High School. Davis already owns USF records for consecutive games with a reception (30) and consecutive 100-yard games (3). Last season's offensive MVP ranks third on USF's career list in receiving yards (1,542) and receptions (117), and he's fourth on the career touchdown catch list with 10 heading into his final season with the Bulls.
“I feel like I'm more interested in going to a bowl game and sending these seniors out with a bang,” said Davis of breaking program records.
Davis is definitely a team-first type of guy but he still got a kick out of seeing himself on a giant billboard on I-275 near downtown this preseason.
“This summer I worked where I grew up at in a recreation center, so going there every day people were telling me, 'Oh, every time I go on 275 I see your face on a billboard, it's a nice billboard,'” Davis said. “I basically heard it every day this summer and it's definitely a nice experience. I definitely thanked Coach T for giving me that experience and letting me be on that billboard.”
Davis smiled when he admitted his mom actually pulled over, put her hazard lights on and snapped a photo when the billboard made its debut. Davis said being one of the faces of the program serves as motivation to step up on and off the field.
“It fuels me a lot because being on a billboard, that's a big task at hand,” he said. “I want to go out there and make it happen for the city.”
Davis has been earning praise from Taggart all preseason with his high energy level and dazzling catches in practice. Taggart said it's important for Davis and the rest of the team's Bay area players to work hard and represent their region the right way.
“They're a big part of helping to build not only our football program but bringing the community together,” Taggart said. “It's going out and playing football at a high level and staying out of trouble and graduating. The more we can have guys do that around here the better it is for the community.”
Taggart is a prime an example of a Bay area talent that made the most of an opportunity to make others proud. The Bradenton native became an all-state quarterback and a state champion at Manatee High School before setting 11 school records at Western Kentucky, where he served as head coach from 2010-12.
Taggart is happy to be back close to home and said he and the Bulls are determined to give everyone in the Bay area a lot to cheer about again.
“It's a hard working community and we love football around here. More importantly we love winners in the Bay and I think we all understand that,” Taggart said. “I think that's the exciting part of the challenge is to create a winner around here and give our entire community something to get behind and be proud of. I think we're all here up for the challenge and excited about get everybody back onboard again and making them all true believers once again.”
|
USF Players from the Tampa Bay Area on the Current Roster |
||||
|
Name |
Position |
Year |
Hometown |
High School |
|
CB |
Freshman |
Tarpon Springs |
East Lake |
|
|
WR |
Sophomore |
St. Petersburg |
Lakewood |
|
|
TE |
Redshirt freshman |
Seminole |
Indian Rocks Christian |
|
|
WR |
Sophomore |
Tampa |
Plant |
|
|
WR |
Redshirt freshman |
Tampa |
Tampa Catholic |
|
|
LB |
Freshman |
Tampa |
Sickles |
|
|
LB |
Freshman |
Tampa |
Jefferson |
|
|
DB |
Junior |
Dade City |
Pasco |
|
|
DT |
Sophomore |
Bradenton |
Manatee |
|
|
Lucas Cancio |
OL |
Sophomore |
Tampa |
Chamberlain |
|
TE |
Senior |
Bradenton |
Lakewood Ranch |
|
|
P |
Junior |
Tampa |
Hillsborough |
|
|
WR |
Senior |
Tampa |
Jefferson |
|
|
OL |
Junior |
Tampa |
Carrollwood Day |
|
|
WR |
Junior |
Tampa |
Plant |
|
|
WR |
Senior |
Tampa |
Hillsborough |
|
|
CB |
Freshman |
Tampa |
Tampa Bay Tech |
|
|
OL |
Freshman |
Bradenton |
Manatee |
|
|
LB |
Senior |
Plant City |
Durant |
|
|
S |
Sophomore |
Tampa |
Freedom |
|
|
LB |
Sophomore |
Tampa |
Hillsborough |
|
|
DT |
Redshirt freshman |
Tampa |
Robinson |
|
|
OT |
Freshman |
Tampa |
Sickles |
|
|
DE/LB |
Freshman |
Tampa |
Jesuit |
|
|
DE |
Redshirt freshman |
Clearwater |
Countryside |
|
|
RB |
Freshman |
Sarasota |
Booker |
|
|
TE |
Senior |
Tampa |
Blake |
|
|
Rodney Mills |
DB |
Sophomore |
Tampa |
Jefferson |
|
C |
Senior |
Bradenton |
Lakewood Ranch |
|
|
DB |
Junior |
Tampa |
Tampa Catholic |
|
|
OL |
Redshirt freshman |
Tampa |
Jesuit |
|
|
LB |
Redshirt freshman |
St. Petersburg |
Northeast |
|
|
Zach Stewart |
LS |
Freshman |
Tampa |
King |
|
FB |
Redshirt freshman |
Lakeland |
Lake Gibson |
|
|
CB |
Freshman |
Tampa |
Plant |
|
|
QB |
Redshirt freshman |
Sarasota |
Out-of-Door Academy |
|
The Bulls return 16 starters (10 offense, 4 defense, 2 specialists) for Taggart's second season at the helm, which kicks off on Aug. 30 vs. Western Carolina at 7 p.m in Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls 2014 non-conference schedule features home clashes vs. Big Ten foe Maryland (Sept. 6 @ 3:30) and ACC opponent N.C. State (Sept. 13 @ 3:30) as well as a road game at perennial Big Ten power Wisconsin (Sept. 27). USF will welcome UConn (Fri., Sept. 19 @ 7:00), East Carolina (Sat., Oct. 11), Houston (Sat., Nov. 1) and UCF (Fri., Nov. 28) to Raymond James in American Athletic Conference action.
USF football single-game tickets, mini-plans and season tickets are now available on-line at GoUSFBulls.com, by calling 1-800-GoBulls, or in person at the Sun Dome Gate A Ticket Office. Season Ticket Members may renew their tickets on-line today.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
