USF Bulls | QB Flowers loses half brother before first start

TAMPA -- Tragedy is no stranger to Quinton Flowers. In part it has played a role in him earning his first start at quarterback for USF in the Bulls game Saturday at SMU.

It has made him tough and immune to pressure on the football field, Bulls head coach Willie Taggart said.

Unfortunately, adversity struck again Thursday night when Flowers' half brother, 24-year-old Bradley Holt, was shot and killed Thursday in Miami. Flowers said he would play and dedicate the game to Holt.

Taggart issued a statement: "The thoughts and prayers of everyone in our football program and the USF family are with Quinton and his family as they cope with this senseless tragedy. Quinton is a special young man who has had to endure far more at his young age than anyone should. We will do everything we can to help see him through this difficult loss."

A four-year starter at quarterback during his All-American career at Western Kentucky, Taggart has not been able to find the right person to run his offense.

Flowers will be the fifth starting quarterback during the Taggart regime at USF, which consists of 22 games. It's a change for the program, which had lot of stability at quarterback going back to Marquel Blackwell, who was followed by Matt Grothe and B.J. Daniels. All three were successful.

It seemed the Bulls settled on Mike White, who inherited the job midway through last season as a true freshman. But Taggart said he was looking for a spark that the players would rally around.

It remains to be seen if Flowers is the guy, but the Miami Jackson standout resembles Taggart more than any quarterback on the Bulls roster with his dual-threat capabilities.

The Bulls (3-6, 2-3 AAC) were off last week and opened the competition at quarterback with Flowers coming out the winner and Taggart singing his praises.

"Every decision we make is what's best for our football team," Taggart said. "This past week, we gave him more reps than we had before. Before he wasn't getting a lot of reps so he wasn't really able to show us exactly what he can do."

Taggart, who led Manatee High to two state title games as a quarterback, is impressed with the obstacles the 20-year-old has overcome.

Growing up in crime-ridden Liberty City, Flowers was 7 years old when his father was gunned down and killed in Miami and, as a junior in high school, Quinton Flowers lost his mother to cancer.

"He's a kid that's been through so much at his young age that I don't think too much, especially in football or too much in life, is really going to rattle this kid," Taggart said. "It's been impressive for him to get this far and be as successful as he's been on the football field and in the classroom."

In a way, this could be seen as a gamble for Taggart. SMU is winless, and a loss to the Mustangs could do irreparable damage to the perception of his program. But then Flowers is facing an opponent that ranks last (125th) nationally in total defense.

SMU (0-8, 0-4 AAC) also is 123rd in total offense and 122nd in pass defense. USF is 119th in total offense and 102nd in passing offense.

A lot of major college programs wanted Flowers as a defensive back or receiver. Taggart offered him a chance to play quarterback, and that was enough to sway the 6-foot, 217-pounder to USF.

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "USF Bulls | QB Flowers loses half brother before first start ."