College football | Clock running for USF, Taggart

TAMPA -- For Willie Taggart and his USF football team, time is of the utmost importance.

The Bulls will unveil an uptempo offense this season designed to add about 30 more offensive plays a game. The hope is that it will also add years to Taggart's tenure as USF's head football coach.

The former Manatee HIgh quarterback is entering his third year as the Bulls head coach amid talk he needs to win at least six games to keep his job.

The chance to get the first one starts Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium when the Bulls play host to FAMU. For Taggart, it could be labeled a must win. USF plays at Florida State and Maryland the following two weeks and will be a decided underdog in both games.

Taggart has a lot of new coaches on his staff, including former Manatee Hall of Fame coach Joe Kinnan and Danny Hope, who will both be involved in the offense.

"It feels like Christmas in August. The guys are ready to go out and compete and hit somebody besides each other, and I am ready to watch them," Taggart said. "We had a great offseason. I feel the team has gotten better. Now it's time to put all that work on the field."

Taggart inherited a program in disarray in 2013 and went 2-10. Last year, USF was 4-8, but its offense was stagnant. Now it's been changed up and will be run by sophomore Quinton Flowers, a quarterback with little experience, but a ton of athleticism.

"The one thing I love about Quinton is that he loves to compete," Taggart said. "He wants to be the best at what he is doing and doesn't get rattled. Sometimes guys put a lot of pressure on themselves or are worried about what other people say, but that doesn't bother Quinton."

The Bulls return Marlon Mack, the American Athletic Conference's leading rusher last year and have good depth at running back with Darius Tice and D'Ernest Johnson. There is also quality depth at receiver with Rodney Adams, Chris Barr, Ryeshene Bronson and A.J. Legree.

Taggart says a change of attitude in the program will be crucial.

"A big part of it was just coming together. Guys started to like each other," Taggart said. "We did a lot of things during the off season

to promote that and it is paying off. We had a lot of time where guys could sit down and get to know each other, and I think that is so important, especially when things get tough."

The defense will have a different look going to a 4-2-5 under new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who was linebackers coach last year for Mississippi, which led the nation in scoring defense in 2014.

Taggart is looking for something special out of his special teams, which will be coached by Ray Woodie, former head coach at Bayshore and Palmetto and his long time assistant.

FAMU has a new head coach in Alex Wood, who led a prolific offense the past four years as offensive coordinator at Buffalo. He also employs an uptempo offense.

Taggart says the big thing is USF not hurting itself as it has the last two years.

"We have to avoid the things that get in the way of winning like turnovers and penalties," Taggart said. "We talk everyday about doing the things that win games. That involves being disciplined, taking care of the ball and taking the ball away from the (opposing) offense. We are trying to find ways to get out of our own way."

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "College football | Clock running for USF, Taggart ."