Commentary | Taggart names Ray Woodie assistant head coach

For Willie Taggart, naming Ray Woodie assistant head coach of the USF football team was the obvious choice.

"He has earned it. He has coached with me for five years and understands what we want to do as a program," Taggart said. "He is someone I trust and is well-respected by the staff."

Woodie was head coach at Palmetto High when Taggart hired him for his staff at Western Kentucky and brought him along two years ago when he took over the USF football program.

Woodie has proven to be a valuable addition. He earned recruiter-of-the-year honors in two different conferences and has done a good job as USF linebackers coach.

"I am just thankful Coach Taggart saw enough in me to initially hire me and now has given me this new opportunity," Woodie said. "You are always excited when anybody praises you, but this is not about me. All I want to do is help Coach T turn this program around and be successful."

Both guys initially earned their stripes on the football fields of Manatee County, Taggart leading Manatee to a state title and then going on to be an All-American quarterback at WKU, Woodie as a standout linebacker at Palmetto. But Woodie earned most of his praise when he was head football coach at Bayshore and then Palmetto.

Now they are involved in the difficult task of trying to make USF football relevant again after some rough years under Skip Holtz.

Former USF linebacker DeDe Lattimore, now with the Chicago Bears, said Woodie was instrumental in his success.

"Coach Woodie really stresses fundamentals and is extremely detail-oriented in practices," Lattimore said. "I didn't have him as coach my first two years, but he made me into the best player I can be. He also is a great person and a father figure to many players. I think they will play very hard for him because they want him to be successful."

Linebacker Nigel Harris, who led the nation in forced fumbles as a sophomore last season, refined his talent under Woodie.

The 41-year-old Woodie has done such a good job recruiting that his coaching skills are often overlooked.

"Our linebackers last year did a very good job, and I credit a lot of that to coach Woodie. Nigel Harris performance speaks for itself." Taggart said. "He is a good recruiter because he is a good people person. He has done a great job of not only evaluating the talent, but getting to know the talent and is a tireless worker when it comes to recruiting. He is all over it."

Woodie will continue to coach linebackers and be in charge of things what Taggart is away.

Woodie has been with Taggart since those dog days at WKU when they took over a winless program that went 0-26 before things turned around.

"Coach Taggart uses a term that you are getting better or you are getting worse, that you never stay the same," Woodie said. "He has shown me different situations and evaluated my responses. I am grateful that he told me he saw that I had the traits to move ahead in this business."

When he took over the Bayshore football program in 1997, Woodie was the youngest head coach in the state at 23 and turned around a struggling program. He coached defensive back Fabian Washington, who would go on to be an NFL first-round pick.

Alan Dell, Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports.

This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Commentary | Taggart names Ray Woodie assistant head coach."