AAC Spring Practice: Biggest Questions for Each Team

Oct 24, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Willie Taggart looks on from the sidelines in the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

South Florida Bulls

Biggest Question: How will Willie Taggart’s switch to a spread offense affect his personnel decisions?

For the better part of the disastrous 2014 season, the South Florida Bulls football team had a freshman quarterback, a freshman running back, and a freshman fullback in the backfield en route to a 4-8 season.

The offseason, as a result, saw a coaching staff overhaul and the implementation of more of a spread offense, set to be installed this spring. That opens up the quarterback battle and the battle for all of the skill spots on the offense.

Taggart taking over the offense could change the dynamic of the team the way Derek Mason taking over the defense at Vanderbilt might, and while Marlon Mack appears poised to break out as a star, especially in this offense, which player behind center among Mike White, Quinton Flowers, and Steven Bench steps up the best and the soonest this spring could have a huge impact on how well the offense is implemented.

Overhauling the staff is often a sign of desperation when coaches do it, and the same could potentially be said about Taggart. It is up to him to prove that theory wrong.

And to do that, a quarterback is going to have to pick up this new spread offense quickly, and that’s where the spring comes in.