Southeast High’s Darrien Grant remains committed to USF football after Taggart’s departure

Darrien Grant is sticking with the University of South Florida, for now.

The Southeast defensive tackle verbally committed with the Bulls last August, and Wednesday’s announcement that head coach Willie Taggart was leaving to take the head coaching job at Oregon didn’t dissuade Grant from that summer choice.

“It might be a different environment depending on the coach that’s coming in,” Grant said. “Things could change. You never know. Overall, I’m happy for Taggart. It’s a great position. It’s understandable why he took the job.”

South Florida went 10-2 to earn a spot in the Birmingham Bowl against South Carolina, and Grant said he knew Taggart leaving was a possibility when the regular season concluded for the Bulls.

“I just told him, ‘Hold on, let’s see who they hire, see what changes (and) don’t rush to judgment right now,’ ” Southeast High head coach Rashad West said. “... Darrien is a pretty headstrong kid. He seemed like he really understood. He got the business aspect of it in terms of how much of an opportunity it was for (Taggart).”

Grant, who said he wants to major in business, is keen on the Tampa Bay area and the closeness of the university to Manatee County.

Former Palmetto High and Bayshore High head coach Ray Woodie, USF’s defensive coordinator, made an in-home visit with Grant on Tuesday. Woodie’s status with the program, beyond the Birmingham Bowl, is uncertain.

That visit reaffirmed Grant’s commitment, though Grant said he’s planning on taking other official visits in January ahead of February’s National Signing Day, when football players sign national letters of intent binding them with the schools that offer them scholarships. He plans a visit to N.C State and is considering visits to Boston College and Florida.

“It’s nerve-racking, of course,” Grant said. “You never know what could happen. A new coach could come in and he could dump our commitments and kind of shun us away so to speak.”

Taggart’s decision to join the Ducks’ didn’t seem to have an immediate negative impact on USF’s recruiting class. Multiple members of the Bulls’ recruiting class affirmed Wednesday their intentions to sign with the program. That includes Sarasota Booker’s DT Kelvin Pinkney, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Taggart’s move could have a long-term benefit for Oregon on the recruiting front.

Taggart and Woodie crafted recruiting classes with their strong ties across the Sunshine State during their time together at USF and a previous stop at Western Kentucky.

“He’s very calm. He’s laid back, talks directly with the kids in a language they understand,” former Manatee High defensive coordinator and current Saint Stephen’s assistant Jim Phelan said. “There’s no high-pressure deal with him.”

Former WKU standout Willie McNeal, who was Braden River’s first Division I football signing, said Taggart is a player’s coach.

“He’s always going to make you comfortable,” McNeal said. “Knowing the fact that he was from where I was from, and he knew my family, so he knew my upbringing and it kind of made it easy for me as far as going to college and playing for a guy like that.”

McNeal was already at WKU, serving a redshirt year and at home in Manatee County when he first met Taggart following the latter’s hiring as the Hilltoppers head coach in 2010.

Prior to that, Taggart was a running backs coach for Stanford under current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. After molding tailback Toby Gerhart into a Heisman Trophy candidate, Taggart became WKU’s head coach and started recruiting Manatee County — and Florida — hard.

“We didn’t see him much when he was at Stanford,” Phelan said. “I don’t know if we ever saw him come in recruiting when he was with Stanford. He might have come in and talked to Joe, I don’t remember. I’m in the classroom six periods a day, so I don’t see all the guys when they come in, but I don’t remember seeing him when he was at Stanford.”

Funneling players from Manatee County to the Hilltoppers alongside Woodie started with the likes of former Braden River High standout Tevin Bryant, Southeast’s Dyron Speight, Manatee’s Leon Allen and Palmetto’s Da’Qual Randall during Taggart’s three-year stretch as WKU’s head coach.

It continued during his four-year stint at USF that wrapped up Wednesday. And it could provide a boon to Oregon, which only has three players from Florida on its current roster and none from Manatee County.

“I think it’s going to be a big change, especially with coach Taggart,” McNeal said. “He always preached about coming home. Even when I was being recruited talking to him, his big goal was to help out the kids in his hometown. ... I think it’s a great opportunity, especially kids here. A lot of kids won’t ever experience the west coast playing football and now it’s like you’ve got the opportunity to go west coast Division I and not be a JUCO or something like that where a lot of athletes get lost being from our county.”

Manatee WR Tarique Milton has a USF offer, while two underclassmen from Braden River — defensive back Tyrone Collins and defensive end Taylor Upshaw — and Manatee RB Josh Booker also have USF offers.

“I would love the opportunity to play for someone like coach Taggart,” Upshaw said. “It’s a little bit disappointing that he’s leaving, but I’m happy for him. It does not change my interest in USF at all.”

Former Manatee High stars Michael Gulati, Brooks Larkin, Greg Reeves and Jonathan Hernandez are on USF’s current roster alongside Braden River alumnus Ryan Hintze.

Current players either declined comment or did not return messages from the Herald following a team meeting at which Taggart addressed the players.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Southeast High’s Darrien Grant remains committed to USF football after Taggart’s departure."