TBT article with Coach T (recruiting, transfers, QB, etc)

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Joey Knight, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, December 18, 2013 9:46pm

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With recruiting mired in its NCAA-mandated "dead period," Bulls coach Willie Taggart spent an informal hour in his office with four reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Newsy nuggets were few, and Taggart spent much of the hour reiterating his philosophy, the deficiencies of 2013 and his aspirations for the future. He believes a Bulls appearance in the four-team national title playoff someday is conceivable, "but I can't be the only one to believe that."

Other significant sound bites:

* Taggart can sign up to 31 players this recruiting season, including six that can count retroactively to the prior year's total. He'll announce his junior college signings with all the others on national signing day in early February.

* He wouldn't be shocked if a handful of kids transferred, but expects no member of this past season's two-deep chart to move on. For now, he expects all his assistants back, but added, "You never know, especially in this profession."

* When he talked about quarterback competition for next spring, Taggart mentioned Matt Floyd along with Steven Bench and Mike White (he can't discuss unsigned QBs). The key word was competition. "We were 2-10, ain't nobody safe," he said. "Not even Mike White."

* He'll continue calling the offensive plays.

* His greatest disappointment, he suggested, was the Bulls' inability to establish a consistent run game (3.0 yards per carry, four rushing TDs). "We've got to get bigger, we've got to get stronger, we've got to get faster," Taggart said. "There ain't no going around that." The average weight of his five starting interior linemen was 296 pounds. That number must eclipse 300, he said.

* He said the season took a bit of a toll on him personally, and might have taken more had he not been in this position before. "Just being back home and wanting to make everybody happy and please everyone," he said. "You wanted that perfect book that you read, everything was great about it and it was all interesting. ... You wanted things to go perfect. ... But it didn't go that way. I'd say from that standpoint it probably took a toll."

* Despite losing his top four defensive ends to graduation or NFL aspirations (i.e. Aaron Lynch), Taggart said he feels good about the position going forward.

* He said he's not sure if this year's team had enough players who truly hated losing. "We've got to get it to where everybody hates losing," he said. "That's when we'll learn to win."

* Every player on the roster will be held accountable. "As long as I'm the head football coach, I'm not going to allow anyone to eat off this university for free," he said. "We're going to get what we need out of these guys, and I want them to get what they can out of this university. But it's going to go both ways. No bus riders and steak eaters."

[hm101]

We all need to do our part to make sure coach knows he is not the only one who believes, period. We are a part of this story.

I keep saying it and I stand by it: coach T will resurrect this program.

[charsibb]

"The average weight of his five starting interior linemen was 296 pounds. That number must eclipse 300, he said"

 

Say what?!?!?!

 

5 extra pounds don't mean squat on our big uglies. They're big enough already, they just ain't ugly enough yet.

 

It's not the pounds, it's the quickness, power, and technique. But most of all, it's the want-to

 

Get 'em ugly Willie, make 'em mean!

[USF_BULLS_R_WE]

"The average weight of his five starting interior linemen was 296 pounds. That number must eclipse 300, he said"

 

Say what?!?!?!

 

5 extra pounds don't mean squat on our big uglies. They're big enough already, they just ain't ugly enough yet.

 

It's not the pounds, it's the quickness, power, and technique. But most of all, it's the want-to

 

Get 'em ugly Willie, make 'em mean!

Pretty sure he is saying bigger as in stronger, if they were to get to the 300lb mark because of hitting the weights. They would lose fat on their bodies and have that power you are talking about. Some extra muscle on lineman running the Stanford offense never hurts! 

[DELdaBull]

We definitely need to get stronger and faster

[Bulls On Parade]

Holtz left a mess Willie will get things turned around.

[Apis Bull]

"The average weight of his five starting interior linemen was 296 pounds. That number must eclipse 300, he said"

 

Say what?!?!?!

 

5 extra pounds don't mean squat on our big uglies. They're big enough already, they just ain't ugly enough yet.

 

It's not the pounds, it's the quickness, power, and technique. But most of all, it's the want-to

 

Get 'em ugly Willie, make 'em mean!

 

The weight does make a difference.  It helps give them leverage and makes it harder for the D-line and LBs to push then around.

[smazza]

what A MISTAKE that he will still be calling the plays

[charsibb]

 

"The average weight of his five starting interior linemen was 296 pounds. That number must eclipse 300, he said"

 

Say what?!?!?!

 

5 extra pounds don't mean squat on our big uglies. They're big enough already, they just ain't ugly enough yet.

 

It's not the pounds, it's the quickness, power, and technique. But most of all, it's the want-to

 

Get 'em ugly Willie, make 'em mean!

 

The weight does make a difference.  It helps give them leverage and makes it harder for the D-line and LBs to push then around.

 

 

5 pounds does not a difference make.

 

Now, if what he actually said was, "we need them SIGNIFICANTLY over 300" perhaps I would not take such umbrage at the quote.

 

I still say we big enough, we ain't ugly enough yet.

[Apis Bull]

 

Now, if what he actually said was, "we need them SIGNIFICANTLY over 300" perhaps I would not take such umbrage at the quote.

 

That's what, "eclipse 300" means