By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 6, 2016 – Willie Taggart calls his running backs the “bread and butter” of USF's Gulf Coast Offense and the ultra-talented position group is preparing to deliver the goods in 2016.
Marlon Mack, D'Ernest Johnson and Darius Tice are all back and look better than ever after helping the Bulls shatter the program's season rushing record with 3,205 yards in 2015.
“There's nothing that we do that they can't do,” Taggart said. “I'm just excited they have another year under their belts. They're a year older and you should expect more from them now.”
College football experts across the country also have great expectations for USF's three-headed beast in the backfield.
Mack landed on preseason watch lists for the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Doak Walker Awards after racking up a 1,381 rushing yards, a USF season record previously held by Andre Hall (1,374 yards in 2005). Mack was The American's rushing leader with 2,422 rushing yards in his first two seasons at USF and he needs 309 more yards to unseat Hall as USF's career leader.
“He's as humble as they come and as level-headed as they come,” running backs coach Donte Pimpleton said. “He doesn't even speak about it. He comes to work just like he's the last guy on the roster.”
Mack (Sarasota) made sure he was ready for a huge junior season by taking full advantage of Irele Oderinde's offseason strength program. Now squatting up to 505 pounds, Mack has been exploding through tackle attempts in camp while still showing top-end speed in the open field.
“It's a major difference than last year, my first two years here, so that's a good thing,” said Mack of his strength gains.
Regular two-a-day weight room sessions in the offseason sculpted Johnson into even more of an all-around weapon for the Gulf Coast Offense. The junior earned on a spot on the Paul Hornung Award watch list, given annually to the most versatile collegiate football player, after posting 1,251 all-purpose yards last season on the way to USF Offensive Co-MVP honors.
Johnson also threw two TD passes while ranking 16th in the FBS with 26.8 yards per kick return and he's looking to do even more this season. Fans should now be looking for Johnson buzzing around the field in a new number – 2 – which is a throwback to his days at Immokalee High School.
“The deuce is loose,” Johnson said. “Every time I get that ball, I'm trying to get loose, trying to break a long one.”
Tice also switched numbers in the offseason to 13 and he's being called “Friday the 13th” because of his relentless running style in camp. The bruising senior back from Miami averaged 5.2 yards per carry last season and he's pushing the pile forward farther at 215, more than 10 pounds heavier than he was last fall.
USF's top three backs are embracing the responsibility they have in the Gulf Coast offense while setting a great example for freshmen Trevon Sands (Miami) and Elijah Mack (Punta Gorda, Fla.).
“We take that responsibility on, to understand, 'OK, we know we're the heart of the team, so we've got to work that much harder,'” Tice said. “When we're in film and stuff, we stay a little longer and make sure we sharpen our skills.”
Mayes Moves to Offensive Line
Formerly a defensive tackle, sophomore Eric Mayes has been impressing Taggart while working as a right tackle on the offensive line.
“We feel like Eric can really help us on that side of the football. We think he's very talented,” Taggart said. “We think he's very athletic to be 290 pounds, a guy that can run around. He has that defensive mentality on that side of the ball, which is pretty good.”
Taggart was comfortable moving Mayes, a former all-state pick at Sarasota's Booker High School, because of USF's depth at defensive tackle with Deadrin Senat, Bruce Hector, Kevin Bronson and Daniel Awoleke.
“We're really, really solid there,” Taggart said.
At 6-foot-4, Mayes adds more size and depth to an offensive line that will replace three starters from last season because of graduation.
“We're going to continue to work with him this training camp and see how much better he gets,” Taggart said. “He's competing as well. He's excited about it and I think the kid is going to be pretty good there.”
Bulls Bits
- Taggart was pleased with defensive coordinator Raymond Woodie's group after watching the defense swarm to the ball Saturday morning. “They came out with a lot of energy, with a sense of purpose, and really I felt like they got after our offense,” Taggart said. “I think our defense is a little ticked off by the offense. They're a little ticked off our offense is getting all the credit this offseason.”
- Senior cornerback Jalen Spencer hauled in an interception while filling in for Ronnie Hoggins, who rested a bruised knee. “We all feel Jalen is one of our better athletes back there in the secondary,” Taggart said. “Unfortunately, he's been bitten by the injury bug a lot since he's been here, but he's a talented kid. We feel like he's going to help this football team as well.”
- The Bulls enjoyed practicing in front of the large crowd of USF fans that packed the area beyond the end zones at the Morsani Football Complex on a cloudy and cooler Saturday. “I looked over there like, 'Wow.' It's pretty cool and it shows you that they care,” Taggart said. “People care about the Bulls, they're excited about the Bulls and it's football season now. We talked to the football gods and made sure we had a nice breeze out here and we had a good turnout behind it all.”
Coming off the program's first bowl appearance in five years, USF returns school season record holders at quarterback, running back and wide receiver and four all-conference selections. The Bulls return 93 percent of their offensive yards from a record smashing offense that posted school marks of 5,741 yards and 54 offensive touchdowns in 2015. While the Bulls averaged 33.6 points and 441 yards of offense per game, the defense ranked in the top 25 in the nation in interceptions (14th), turnovers gained (24th), and tackles for loss (13th), and in the top 35 of seven statistical categories. The Bulls return seven of their top nine tacklers and players that accounted for 12 of their 17 interceptions and 16 of 25 turnovers gained.
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