Bulls Meet the Media Before Miami Beach Bowl Trip
December 15, 2015 | Football
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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, DEC. 15, 2015 – USF got a taste of the postseason experience as the program prepares for an exciting trip down south for the Miami Beach Bowl.
Television cameras and reporters filled the Sun Dome Arena Club on Tuesday afternoon for USF's bowl media day luncheon. Members of the coaching staff chatted about the program's historic season and head coach Willie Taggart took the podium two days before the team heads to Miami.
Taggart will see his former team, No. 25 Western Kentucky, on the other sideline on Monday, Dec. 21 and said the matchup is shaping up to a be a great one.
“It's my alma mater and it's different because of that relationship, but for me personally it's just keeping everything in perspective,” Taggart said. “It's two great universities that get a chance to go out and play another game. Both schools had great years and have an opportunity to finish their season off the right away.”
Western Kentucky is looking for its sixth consecutive victory after capturing the Conference USA crown. USF is on the hottest stretch of any team in school history with seven victories in its past eight games, including four in a row.
“I'm happy for Western and their success and where they're at,” Taggart said. “But I'm very happy and proud of the Bulls of where we're at and where we're going. It's one of those games that will take us to where we're trying to go. It's so important that we prepare and be ready for this game and go out and play like we played the last half of the season.”
Players that have been in key roles during USF's incredible turnaround season took turns in front of the TV cameras to conclude media day.
“We played for one another and as we did that, you saw that we had a lot of success on the field,” said quarterback Quinton Flowers, a Miami native. “If we keep doing that and keep playing for each other, good things will happen.”
Shawn Hill has been a force on the field while helping USF rank 15th nationally in tackles for loss (7.5 per game). The senior defensive end said the team is highly motivated to match the program record of nine wins.
“We still feel like it's a game we need to win,” Hill said. “We just want nine and we would like to have next year's team going in as being ranked. That's kind of a big step for us is just getting nine wins.”
Hill looks forward to setting USF up for future success while his younger teammates are proud to help the Bulls' senior class reach the postseason for the first time since signing with the program.
“We worked hard and we listened to those guys,” sophomore running back Marlon Mack said. “They laid the foundation for us and they're our leaders. It's a good thing they get to go out with a bang.”
Bowl Game is a First for Many Bulls, Taggart Included
Like most of his players, Taggart will be taking in his very first bowl experience after coming close twice.
Taggart left for coaching promotions after helping guide two programs to the postseason - Stanford as an assistant in 2009 and WKU as head coach in 2012. Before coaching, Taggart was an All-American quarterback at WKU at the I-AA level and didn't compete in bowl games.
“It's been a long time coming. It's been a time the wife and I, and kids have been waiting for,” Taggart said. “Getting a job here, it's one thing they said, 'We've got to go to a bowl game,' and we're doing that. I'm excited about doing that here at USF.”
One non-coach that players have been getting bowl advice from is senior safety Jamie Byrd, who gained postseason experience at TCU. Byrd played on special teams for the Horned Frogs against Michigan State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl back in 2012.
“It's amazing when you're going to play in a bowl this time as a starter,” Byrd said. “That's a great experience I'm looking forward to. Most of all, it's just like me spending extra time with my brothers.”
Byrd has been making sure the Bulls are making the most of their time together by staying focused on the task at hand.
“Just don't get lulled to sleep with the time that we have off, we still have a bowl game to play,” said Byrd of his message to the team. “When you have that time off, some teams kind of fall off because you had one, two or maybe three weeks off from football. Then when it's time to play, you're playing out of yourself and out of the things you do. When the time comes, just know you have to play like the last game of the regular season.”
Teammates have been asking a ton of questions about the bowl experience, but Byrd is making sure he doesn't divulge all the details.
“It's a great experience, especially when you've never been to one. I just want them to experience it,” he said. “It's just like when you see a good movie, you can't really tell somebody the whole movie before they go see it. I don't want to tell them everything, just a little bit of it.”
Bulls Benefitting From Bowl Practices
Playing in a bowl game benefits a program in a number of ways and it's already paid dividends for the Bulls leading up to kickoff.
USF has gotten a lot out of weeks of practice that have allowed coaches to get a good look at some of the team's future stars.
“We've been able to get our young guys in there and get them some work,” Taggart said. “During the season those guys are on scout team and helping our team prepare for the opponents. They don't get as much of our work that we want them to get.”
Instead of simulating what an opponent would do, younger players operated more in USF's style of offense and defense during bowl practices. Each session has given emerging talent opportunities to showcase their skills during scrimmage situations.
“It's been great. We've learned a lot more about our football team these last couple weeks with these practices,” Taggart said. “We have a great understanding of who is probably really going to help this football team as we move forward.”
Now USF's coaches can pinpoint certain areas as they look to reel in another top-ranked recruiting class after the bowl.
“We get to evaluate our guys even more and have a better understanding of what we need going into spring ball and to next year,” Taggart said.
Bulls Bits
- Taggart gave the USF student body a big boost for the bowl game by covering the cost of 500 Miami Beach Bowl tickets. For Taggart, it was all about giving back to a group of people that provided the team with something that was priceless throughout the season at Raymond James Stadium. “We were 5-1 at home, it's been a while since it's been that way and they played a big part in that,” Taggart said. “They were loud, they made you hear it. You appreciated that and you just wanted to let them know that you really appreciate their support. I really think for us to build this program and take it to that next level, where we all want to take it, it's going to have to start from the inside.”
- The USF-WKU matchup is the lone bowl game on Monday, Dec. 21 and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. “Hopefully some of these bosses will let people turn the TV on at work,” Taggart said with a smile. “It's going to be great being able to play on national TV and everybody gets to watch us play.”
Season ticket deposits for the 2016 season start at $125 and can be placed at USFBullstix.com. The Bulls will play seven home games in Raymond James Stadium in 2016, hosting Florida State on Sept. 24 as well as conference clashes with UCF, Navy, East Carolina and UConn.
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