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Willie Taggart held his pre-spring Press conference

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TAMPA--USF first-year head football coach Willie Taggart held a Pre-Spring Practice press conference earlier today in the Big East Room at the USF Athletic Department. Here are some quick hits from the presser, including tidbits and quotes from Taggart:
Biggest Goal
"I think for our players and some of our coaches to understand how we practice. They've never been apart of one of our practices before. Knowing where to go, practices with a sense of urgency and enthusiasm we look for every day. Everyone has to understand that nobody has a job right now. Everybody is competing for a job. Players have to prove they can play football and do it the way we want. They understand that and they have to go out there and get it done."
Impressed with two Running Backs
"I've been really impressed with Marcus Shaw and how he has worked this offseason. He's been training really hard and he's been accountable. That's one thing I challenged him on when I got here. Big part of me for Marcus was off the field. I'm forward to seeing if what he's been doing will translate on the field. Another guy that's impressed me is Mike Pierre. He's been working really hard this offseason as well. Those two have really, really impressed me."
Injury Update
Sterling Griffin and Chris Bivins will both not participate in Spring Practice. Both are recovering from knee injuries suffered last season.
Thor Jozwiak and Demi Thompson will not start spring, but will both be back by the end of the slate of practices. Jozwiak is recovering from a nagging back injury.
-Bobby Eveld is fully recovered from his shoulder injury suffered in the game against Miami.
Depth Chart is a Blank Slate
"We aren't going to give you anything. You have to earn it. You want playing time. You have to earn it. You can't take a day off. We're going to make it highly competitive for those guys to understand each day that their job can be taken if they have a bad day…I think at the end of spring ball we as coaches will have a better understand of who we can count on headed into fall camp."
Practices Open to Public
Taggart announced that the first Saturday practice will be open to the public. It will be the only practice, other than the Spring Game, that is open to fans to come and watch. This will also be the first day in pads for USF.
Quarterback Position
Taggart said that all positions, not just quarterback is there for the taking. But he did say that they would have a better idea of who the starter would be after the summer. Bobby Eveld, Matt Floyd, Mike White, Trenton Miller, Tommy Eveld, and Aaron Munoz will all compete for the spot that BJ Daniels has had for the past four seasons.
Suspensions
Terrence Mitchell, Bradley Battles, and Chris Dunkley are all suspended for Spring Practice.
The suspensions are not permanent, however. All have the chance to rejoin the team before the spring season concludes. Dunkley, a wide receiver that transferred to USF from Florida, was arrested early last season and has been suspended since. No word was given on the reason for the other two being suspended.
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