Atlanta Bull

Flowers on the money with that one

Adams is the man!

Stay in bounds Flowers!!

and put up the maryland game time?

http://www.bradenton.com/2015/09/04/5975548_prep-football-manatee-high-hurricanes.html?rh=1 PALMETTO -- With both sides of Harllee Stadium generating deafening cheers during Friday night's decisive drive, Manatee High School kicker Nick Null was tucked away in his own world. He pounded kick after kick into the mesh netting, awaiting his number to be called. Then, with the Hurricanes staring at their first defeat to a county program in nine years, Null was summoned. Even a Palmetto timeout to ice the 5-foot-11 senior didn't faze his right leg. Null trotted to his spot, boomed the 37-yard field goal straight through the uprights with 20.4 seconds remaining to lift Manatee to a 36-35 victory over the Tigers. "I just calmed it down," Null said. "I just took a breather and realized football's great and you just gotta do what you gotta do. When you're relaxed and smooth, you just gotta play relaxed and smooth." Palmetto (1-1) had one final series with 11.2 seconds remaining from its own 35-yard line, but managed only two Jack Allison incompletions. Manatee (1-1) improved a few winning streaks: the Hurricanes now have 56 straight regular-season victories against in-state opponents, 27 straight wins against county programs and six consecutive wins against Palmetto. Getting there Friday wasn't smooth sailing as it has been in recent years, with the Canes turning the ball over five times on two muffed punts, two fumbles from scrimmage and an interception. Palmetto cashed in with 28 points off those turnovers. "We didn't protect the ball particularly well," Manatee head coach John Booth said. The back-and-forth contest started off as a defensive struggle in the first half with Manatee and a Palmetto producing 65 and 107 total yards of offense, respectively. That quickly changed in the second half as big plays kept momentum shifting. Manatee's Lorenz Allen galloped for two touchdowns on runs of 49 and 24 yards. Palmetto's Jack Allison's third touchdown pass covered 80 yards when Azavion Smith took a short toss to the house with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter. Allison, a Miami commit, also rushed for a touchdown. "It was a great game," Palmetto head coach Dave Marino said. "Two heavyweight, powerhouse programs battling it out." The final Manatee drive started at the Canes 39 with 1:11 on the clock. Quarterback A.J. Colagiovanni completed 4 of 8 passes, and a pass interference penalty against Palmetto set the stage for Null's game-winning kick. "It's extremely tense," Booth said. "But what I'm just really proud of is how they fought together and they didn't allow some adversity to pull them apart." Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2015/09/04/5975548_prep-football-manatee-high-hurricanes.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1563922-a-step-by-step-guide-to-stopping-college-footballs-spread-offense Theoretically, the best way to stop the spread offense—whether it is employed primarily via the run or the pass—is to just be better prepared than the opposition. Having linebackers that are beasts from a size perspective and can also run like deer and cover slot receivers, tight ends and running backs is absolutely vital. You want guys who you never have to substitute, and linemen that can go from holding the point to blowing up a jailbreak screen at the drop of the hat. Unfortunately, most ballclubs do not live in theory land, and it is very hard to stock your roster full of such talented players. That means you have to find another way to stop the different variations of the spread offenses that are taking the game by storm. This can be done by focusing more on implementing successful defensive schemes that are tailored specifically toward this type of offense. Because "spread offense" is a term that has been bastardized beyond all recognition, we have to start by getting specific about what we mean with respect to the term. We're going to do this in three sections, but don't confuse that with assuming there are only three type of offenses that fall under the spread—that is not the case. However, for our purposes, we'll look at the running-based, passing-based and then hybrid variation of the offenses that generally all get lumped together as the "spread." Let's start with the ground-based attack. This style has been made popular due to guys like Gus Malzahn, Chip Kelly and, of course, the Godfather of the movement, Rich Rodriguez. Stopping these guys is not easy, and it takes a blend of power and speed on the edge to counteract these schemes based upon parrying off of the opposition's thrust. The power has to come from up front—big bodies on the defensive line that can hold their own ground, refuse to get washed down by the blocking schemes and can force penetration when the chance presents itself are essential. In other words, let your defensive front control the action and then rely on great gap control from your linebackers. Run fits are paramount here, and guys playing a gap over or who are unable to hold their ground in their own respective gaps create seams that run-based spread offenses take advantage of. That is where the big plays come from. You see, the beauty of these offenses—much like Paul Johnson's option attack at Georgia Tech—is in their patience. They plan their work and they work their plan. These teams probe and prod until they find where you lack discipline in the front seven. They feel you out, and whether it takes them a drive, a quarter or an entire half of a game, they stick to their plan and wait for their opportunity. That means that even if you can physically match up with the players in a spread offense, a lack of defensive discipline will still sink you in a hurry. But if you play your responsibilities and keep things bottled up, you can make more tackles in a phone booth, and that's a blessing for your defensive players. The same cannot be said for teams that operate out of a more pass-based spread attack, with a quarterback operating out of the shotgun and slinging it around the yard to the tune of big numbers. In this type of offense, the ball comes out quick, helping to negate your pass rush. There are a couple different ways to combat this approach by playing either man or zone. Playing man sounds great because you can press, put your safeties over the top, give your defensive line a chance to get to the quarterback and force more difficult throws. Unfortunately, the fact is that most teams cannot press very well. Elite corners are tough to find and having three or four guys capable of manning up for large period of a game is an extreme rarity in the current college football landscape. That means that most teams will have to play zone coverage. While there are a lot of theories about what does and does not work, one principle is universal: You have to know how to tackle. If you do not tackle, it does not matter if you are playing Cover 2, Cover 4, Cover 5 or anything else because you're going to give up big plays regardless. And much like doing your job and maintaining gap control is the way to beat run-heavy attacks, tackling is how you start to beat pass-happy teams. So while some teams will look to employ quarters coverage to protect against vertical threats, others like to play two over the top in order to build the picket fence that allows for quick reaction to the out routes, slants and the like. You can mix and match them with respect to down and distance, and also allow your individual players to adjust to their possible threats. However, regardless of what you play, you have to protect the deep pass and then come up to tackle the short ones. That means that linebackers, corners, safeties and defensive linemen all have to join the party. You must first take away the slants and seams that can get loose in a hurry. Sacrifice the screen, or the flare in favor of protecting the dig, the corner and the fade routes. Then, when the short route is thrown, swarm to the ball-carrier for a minimum gain. Yes, you are going to give up small chunks of yardage and there will be open players in open coverage zones near the line of scrimmage. This allows opposing players to catch the ball, but if you miss a tackle, that three-yard gain becomes an eight-yard gain for a first-down conversion. That is fine because if a team is patient enough to throw nothing but check-downs and dink-and-dunk you down the field for an entire game, then so be it. Most teams are not patient enough to do this. They are used to big plays, used to things happening quickly and used to players breaking short throws for big gainers. Teams will often get impatient. They start trying to manufacture new success, and they will start attempting low-percentage throws and forcing the ball into windows that it doesn't belong in as they try to make something happen. This is especially true if said team is down by a couple of scores. This brings us to the defense killer that is the hybrid spread attack, where you get a quarterback who can move enough to be a real threat on the ground, in addition to being a skilled passer. It is a blending of skills that, to be quite frank, we have never truly experienced before. In the last few years we have seen a rise of guys with the ability to sling it as well as anyone, but also with the ability to run the ball and make defenses pay with their legs. If you are a defensive coordinator, this is a nightmare. How do you stop it? Well, you've got to pray. On a more constructive note, it is not easy. We've discussed how you have to work hard to stop the run-based attack and also about the discipline required to stop the pass-based attack. We have also talked about all of the things that a mobile quarterback can do to a defense. It is not just the zone-read run fakes, or the packaged plays that tax defenses in multiple directions on a given snap, or even the run-action fakes that quarterbacks can perform on their own to suck safeties up. No, these sort of systems, and players, are more dangerous because they dictate what your defense can use to defend them, right out of the gate. When facing a mobile quarterback, you cannot play nearly as much man coverage. If you do, you run the risk of defenders' backs being turned to a quarterback who is scampering downfield, gobbling up green. Your defense also cannot do as much blitzing or running stunts to pressure the quarterback. When you lose gap control, the quarterback can hand the ball off in the zone-read or pull it to hit the hole himself for a big gain. Oh, and of course he can still throw the ball, too. Even in a solid effort LSU still left openings for Boyd to take advantage of The only true way to beat this offense is to be better than it. You have to have disciplined players up front. You need guys who are not going to lose control or get too far upfield and allow the quarterback to slide up in the pocket and squirt out the side for a big gain. That means you need linebackers who flow side-to-side and instead of getting wrapped up in just chasing down the quarterback, they play rules and let the play come to them. In the back end, it is all about the safeties. They have to be equally adept against the run and pass. They must be guys who can alley fill and take great angles against the run, but also are comfortable in coverage and have great range. They also cannot get sucked into the backfield. Truth be told, most teams are not built to stop this sort of an attack. There's a reason that Clemson, Baylor and Texas A&M were such big problems for people. They take principles from two extremely potent offensive styles, blend them together and take advantage of their opposition. If you scheme to stop the run, then these offenses still possess the ability to beat you with the pass. You play contain to stop their roll out game and moving the pocket, but they can still throw the quick hitters all day. You get tired of them dinking-and-dunking you down the field so you dial up a pressure, and the quarterback will slip contain. Now, you have a new set of problems. Stopping these systems is not easy. While it is easier to gameplan for a run-based or a pass-based spread attack, those are no walk in the park to shut down either. You might have the players, but they don't have the patience. You might have the discipline but not the players. College football, in its current state, is seeing defenses fight an uphill battle. Throw in quarterbacks who can throw as well as they run, and defensive coordinators have some real nightmare fuel.

http://culturecrossfire.com/sports/football/the-spread-offenses-forced-takeover-of-college-football/#.VenwwRFVhBc At the start of the 2000’s and by 2005, there were a handful of successful programs running variations of the spread offense including West Virginia, Utah, and the passing extremes under the Air Raid and Run & Shoot umbrellas. At its core, the spread offense is exactly what it says. A quarterback is usually in the shotgun with a running back offset to his left or right and four wide receivers (or three receivers and a tight end) are spread out spaced to force the defense to cover not only deep vertically but also horizontally sideline to sideline. Nearly 10 years later and the offense has not only completely taken over the college landscape (even Kansas under Charlie Weis is changing over to a spread offense for the 2014 season) but the concept has been married to the no huddle, up tempo pace started way back when under Sam Wyche with the Cincinnati Bengals and later Ted Marchibroda and the Buffalo Bills in the NFL. Not only are there many colleges running a spread offense system but there are a lot of nuanced variations within the overarching label as well. Teams such as Oregon, Auburn, Arizona, and Ohio State have emphasized the ground attack with zone runs and more importantly, mobile quarterbacks who can key defensive players and get yards on their feet. On the flipside are the pass happy spread Air Raids (also incorporating zone runs as of late) at California, Washington State, SMU (Run and Shoot), Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. Baylor managed to have their quarterback, Bryce Petty, finish 6th in passing yards per game while their running back finished 20th in rushing yards per game. Pick Your Poison Defensively As the spread has become more common, more packaged plays that combine options (example: QB reads DE for give/keep on Zone Read but also reads CB for possible bubble screen throw outside too) have started turning up, even including some routes downfield over the middle in addition to the first 3 common options. The best offenses have defenses spinning their wheels trying to figure out whom to contain and whom to let beat them because they simply can’t cover every avenue. Arizona’s RB Ka’Deem Carey had 349 carries and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. WR Nate Phillips had 7 touchdown catches. Oregon had three different running backs combine for 379 carries but the thread of mobile quarterback Marcus Mariota allowed them to average 6.18 yards per carry (over 2,300 rushing yards total). Tumblr Devote yourself to stopping the run game at all costs and you can get burned through the air downfield instead. Notre Dame’s WR T.J. Jones had 70 catches and averaged 15.83 yards per catch. Missouri had two receivers combine for over 1,700 yards and 22 touchdowns. UNLV WR Devante Davis had 87 catches and averaged 14.83 yards per catch. Marrying the Up Tempo No Huddle Running focused teams such as Oregon and Auburn have set a dizzying pace for other teams to try and match as well. Auburn ran 1,014 plays (72 per game) while Oregon ran 973 plays (nearly 75 per game). Decades ago, a team being able to get off 65 plays a game was considered pretty impressive. Now you have teams getting off nearly ten more plays while averaging anywhere from 7 to 9 more yards (almost an additional 100 yards a game offensively). As a result of the up tempo pace, teams have been slaughtering the offensive record books as well. Just take a look at Oregon and their ability to amass passing and rushing yards but also more importantly, look at those touchdown totals. Oregon 2010: 3,160 yards and 31 TD with 3,739 yards and 42 TD. Oregon 2011: 3,130 yards and 39 TD with 4,189 yards and 42 TD. Oregon 2012: 2,888 yards and 35 TD with 4,098 yards and 48 TD. Oregon 2013: 3,789 yards and 32 TD with 3,556 yards and 42 TD. For comparison, one of the most dominant college football teams ever in the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers ran for 4,306 yards with 50 TD in 12 games but only threw for 1,721 yards and 18 TD thanks to their pro style option offense. Along with the up tempo comes more plays and more potential to score touchdowns and score points as shown by the following programs in 2013. Arizona: Averaged 79 plays per game and 33.5 points per game. Clemson: Averaged 80 plays per game and 40.2 points per game. Oklahoma State: Averaged 76 plays per game and 39.1 points per game. Troy: Averaged 77 plays per game and 34.1 points per game. Leveling the Playing Field The spread offense has also helped smaller programs such as Marshall be able to compete with big name schools in both recruiting and offensively on the field as well. Marshall went 10-4 last season including an 8 point loss to Virginia Tech and an 11 point win over Maryland in their bowl game. Marshall averaged 42 points per game and a blistering 78 plays per game. Again the spread showed its versatility as they ran for almost 2,900 yards and threw for over 4,000 yards. Another team, East Carolina, went 10-3 with wins over North Carolina and North Carolina State. They averaged 79 plays per game while running over 1,800 yards and throwing for almost 4,300. Even a decade ago, such programs would have been left in the dust trying to play catchup to the big schools by blending a pro style offense with unproductive results or struggling to lure talented athletes to compete on the field at the necessary skill positions. Prototype Sized Quarterbacks Not Needed With the capability of having a natural quarterback that can not only throw the ball and make decisions on the fly but also run with the ball for big yards, the sizes of the quarterbacks no longer need to be NFL ready prototypical size at 6’4″ or 6’5″. With that said, even the taller quarterbacks have proven they can be mobile as well. B.J. Denker (Arizona): 6’3 threw for 2,516 yards and ran for 949 yards. Nick Marshall (Auburn): 6’1 threw for 1,976 yards and ran for 1,068 yards. Bryce Petty (Baylor): 6’3 threw for 4,200 yards and ran for 209 yards but scored 14 TD. Tajh Boyd (Clemson): 6’1 threw for 3,851 yards and ran for 411 yards. Jaquez Johnson (Florida Atlantic): 6’1 threw for 1,866 yards and ran for 767 yards. James Franklin (Missouri): 6’2 threw for 2,429 yards and ran for 510 yards. Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M): 6’1 threw for 4,114 yards and ran for 759 yards. credit to FoxSports The Pass Happy Success Grows Outward Largely uniting under the Air Raid umbrella, the spread offense has allowed those programs to not only function downfield through the air but several head coaches have allowed the Air Raid to diversify and turn into more of a natural pass-centric ball control offense by using heavier doses of running the ball against their opponents when the openings have allowed it. California (HC Sonny Dykes): 1 QB threw for 3,488 yards and 18 TD. Their RBs ran for 1,505 yards and 9 TD. SMU (HC June Jones R&S): 1 QB threw for 3,528 yards and 21 TD. Their RBs ran for 856 yards and 7 TD. June, along with Mike Leach, remains one of the more extreme pass heavy coaches in college football today. Texas Tech (HC Kliff Kingsbury): 2 QBs threw for 5,033 yards and 32 TD. As mentioned earlier, their RBs ran for 1,300 yards. Washington State (HC Mike Leach): 1 QB threw for 4,597 yards and 34 TD. Their RBs ran for 875 yards and 10 TD. Leach continues to run one of the purest pass heavy spread offenses in college football. West Virginia (HC Dana Holgorsen): 2 QBs threw for 2,724 yards and 11 TD. Their RBs ran for 1,829 yards and 17 TD. credit to sportsworldreport.com Spread and the Tight Ends Due to the marriage of the no huddle up tempo approach, the spread offenses also have an advantage in being able to utilize positions such as the tight end by moving them closer to the tackles to block for the run but thanks to their athleticism, also being able to split them out into the slot and treat them as a big bodied wide receiver. TE Jace Amaro of Texas Tech’s Air Raid had 106 catches for 1352 yards and 7 TD but was effective enough as a blocker to allow Texas Tech running backs to combine for 1,300 yards and 15 TD on the ground. Oregon had 2 tight ends combine 26 catches and 404 yards, the catches would have put them at 3rd most on the entire team. Notre Dame had Troy Niklas whom hauled in 32 catches for 498 yards. Kentucky, another Air Raid school, had their 2 tight ends combine for 21 catches and 265 yards. Auburn’s tight end had 11 catches for 154 yards. There are no signs that the spread offense is slowing down (despite rule discussions during this offseason) and even more colleges seem to not only be transitioning to a spread offense but also combining the up tempo pace as if it were a mandatory concession needed to adopt and install the offense. We’ll see how Nick Saban feels by the start of the 2016 College Season.

Spurrier can't be happy

Hopefully Flowers can be our Nick Marshall: http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/nick_marshall_854707.html 2014 | Maxwell Award semifinalist … 4,508 passing yards (8th at Auburn), 1,866 rushing yards (21st) in his career … only third player in Auburn history to throw for 2,000 and rush for 1,000 … eight career 100-yard rushing games … six career 100 rush/100 pass games … sixth place with 6,374 career yards of total offense … sixth on AU career list with 34 career TD passes … 57 career TD responsible for, third in school history … voted team MVP ... 9-yd TD run vs. Arkansas in second-half action … 10-19 passing for 101 yards and a TD, and 103 yards rushing scoring on a 27-yard run against San José State … 231 yards passing (17-31) with 2 TD at Kansas State … 105 rushing yards, 10-17 passing for 166 yards with TD tosses to Bray (2) and D’haquille Williams vs. Louisiana Tech, his first 3 TD pass game … rushed for 119 yards and 2 TD, passed for 207 yards and 2 TD in LSU win … 100 yards rushing, 209 passing with 2 TD passes at Mississippi State … rushed for 3 TD, 89 yards vs. South Carolina; 12-14 passing for 139 yards, 1 TD … 254 yards passing, 2 TD at Ole Miss; also rushed for 2 TD … 219 passing, 31-yd TD pass to Bray, 2 rushing TD vs. Texas A&M … 112 yards passing, 41 rushing at Georgia … AU record 456 yards passing (27-43, 3 TD) at Alabama; his 505 yards total offense also set a school record … Manning Award Star of Week (LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss) ... A-Day spring game MVP ... preseason all-SEC first team (SEC media, Birmingham News, Athlon, Phil Steele, Lindy’s, Sporting News, CFB Matrix) ... invited to Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he played CB ... NFL Combine 2013 | Junior college transfer who earned the starting quarterback job and did a masterful job with the Malzahn offense ... averaged 234.2 yards total offense per game ... 1,976 yards passing, 1,068 rushing for season with 26 touchdowns accounted for ... just the fourth QB in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season ... AP All-SEC honorable mention ... 10-17 passing for 147 yards against Arkansas State, with TD passes of 18 (Marcus Davis) and 68 (Sammie Coates) yards ... 339 yards passing vs. Mississippi State most ever by an Auburn QB in his SEC debut; 151 yards passing in first quarter ... game-winning TD pass to C.J. Uzomah for 11 yards with 0:10 remaining capped 88-yard, 12-play drive in 1:46 vs. Bulldogs; Marshall accounted for 85 of those yards himself (66 pass, 19 rush) ... 76-yard TD pass to Quan Bray vs. MSU was a career long ... 17-33 passing for 224 yards at LSU, with 46 yards rushing ... posted first 100-yard rushing game vs. Ole Miss with 140 yards on 14 carries, 2 TD ... did not play against Western Carolina ... 236 yards passing with 2 TD and rushed for 100 yards and 2 TDs at Texas A&M ... rushed for 73 yards and attempted only one pass (10-yd completion) vs. Florida Atlantic in only one quarter of action ... rushed for 59 yards and his 88-yard TD completion to Coates at Arkansas was third-longest pass play in AU history ... rushed for 214 yards, 2 TD in win at Tennessee, the third best rushing day ever by an AU QB ... most rushing yards posted by an SEC player in a game this season ... 15-26 passing for 229 yards with game-winning 73-yard TD pass to Ricardo Louis vs. Georgia ... rushed for 89 yards and 2 TD against the Bulldogs ... 99 yards rushing with a 45-yard TD run, and 11-16 passing with 2 TD against Alabama, leading another fourth-quarter comeback drive ... SEC offensive player of the week (Texas A&M, Tennessee, Alabama) ... 101 yards rushing with a 9-yd TD, 132 passing with a 38-yd TD in SEC Championship Game vs. Missouri ... passed for 217 yards in BCS title game, with TD tosses to Tre Mason (12 yds) and Melvin Ray (50 yds) ... also rushed for 45 yards and a score against Florida State ... Manning Award player of week (Tennessee) ... Lindy's all-newcomer team ... Pat Sullivan Award as Auburn's offensive MVP ... his 2013 game-winning TD pass to Ricardo Louis vs. Georgia received a 2014 ESPY nomination for Best Play Junior College/High School | Talented dual-threat quarterback from the junior college ranks ... passed for 3,142 yards, 18 TD and rushed for 1,095 yards, 19 TD for Coach Jeff Tatum at Garden City in 2012 ... No. 4 junior college QB by 247Sports ... played in 13 games at corner for Georgia in 2011 ... 2010 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class A Offensive Player of the Year for Coach Mark Ledford at Wilcox County ... Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Super 11" selection, Class A Offensive Player of the Year ... two-time Macon Telegraph Middle Georgia Offensive Player of the Year... led Wilcox County to the Class A title as a junior ... set GHSA career record with 103 TD passes.

The Manatee coaches come, including Willie T., come from the coaching tree of Joe Kinnan. Kinnan is a legend in HS Football in Florida. Willie T. won two state championships as the Manatee QB in the 90's. Willie brought Kinnan in as a 'consultant' as he changed the offensive philosophy from power pro set to power spread offense. Gus Malzahn, now HC of Auburn, installed Kinnan's offensive system as a HS coach in Arkansas and won several state titles. Malzahn tweaked Kinnan's system and took Auburn to the National Championship game with a converted cornerback as QB running roughshot over the vaunted defenses of the SEC including Alabama. I posted the article to provoke conversation but clearly this system has worked on the collegiate level and is a great fit with our personnel. I'm expecting Mack to lead AAC in rushing and possibly be a top 10 rusher in college football. This is a hurry up offense and puts tremendous pressure on a defense. Flowers ran a similar offense in HS and is the odds on favorite to win the job. I think we have a shot at EXPLODING on the national scene with this offense and an improved defense just as Auburn did. This is our best shot at winning even though it was Willie's last hope after his power running approach failed miserably with the players he can recruit at USF. Frankly this is the most hope I've had since BJ left. BTW Kinnan wanted to be the first head coach of USF but Leavitt got the job. I've always wondered what Kinnan would have done if he had been chosen.

Agreed. I don't think is a fair comparison but I like the explosive plays of Price. He dominated the game with his speed. Mack and Flowers have that kind of speed, others?. Also the big plays on special teams, hoping to see more of those. Tice should be strong in short yardage, goal line situations.

http://www.bradenton.com/2015/08/21/5953096/prep-football-kavious-price-leads.html BRADENTON -- The Manatee High defense dominated the action, but Kavious Price stole the show in the Hurricanes' 44-6 drubbing over Largo on Friday night in a preseason classic at Hawkins Stadium. Price scored three touchdowns in three different ways, putting points on the board in each of the first three quarters. The senior caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Colagiovanni in the first period to give Manatee a 21-0 lead. Running off the wildcat, he took a snap from center and ran 15 yards for paydirt in the second period to help the Canes take a 31-6 lead at halftime. Price saved his most exhilarating moment to begin the third quarter, when he took the second half kickoff and went 90 yards for a touchdown to push Manatee's lead to 37-6. "It was good night. The first one (touchdown), I had a post route, and A.J. put it on me and I took it from there," Price said. "On the wildcat, our receivers had great blocking on the perimeter and I saw a lane and took it. On the kick return. The coaches did an excellent job making it work. Our guys did a great job of setting up the blocking, and I took advantage of that." The Manatee defense dominated Largo, which finished 6-5 last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Matt Kissell intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for touchdown to give the Canes a 7-0 lead. Tarique Milton returned a punt 46 yards to give Manatee a first and goal at the four, and Lorenz Allen took it over from the one two plays later. Nick Null boomed a 45-yard field goal to push the lead to 31-0 with 2:34 remaining in the first half. Largo answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass before the half. The Hurricanes scored the final touchdown of the game when Scott Voltaire broke free on a 17-yard run with 6:35 remaining in the third. The Canes helped themselves with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries while limiting Largo to 18 yards rushing. The Packers completed 8-of-20 passes for 117 yards. "Special teams is a big point of emphasis for us and you saw it tonight," Manatee head coach John Booth said. "We had great returns on the punt return and the Kavious kickoff return. KP is going to be the guy we realy on heavily on offense and the return game. We are expecting him to make those types of plays." Colagiovanni completed 11-of-15 pass attempts for 113 yards and ran for 24 yards on four carries. Allen led the ground game with 75 yards on 15 carries. Price was all over the stat sheet. He caught eight passes for 79 yards, rushed for 33 yards on two carries, and had the big kickoff return. Aryn Wrona had an interception for Manatee. "(in the) Offseason we emphasized creating pressure and confusion on defense, and we were able to do that tonight," Booth said. "We got a lot of pressure with our backers and our front line and created turnovers." Manatee 44, Largo 6 Largo 0 6 0 0--6 Manatee 21 10 13 0--44 First quarter M--Matt Kissell 20 interception (Nick Null kick) 11:11 M--Lorenz Allen 1 run (Null kick) 8:05 M- Kavious Price 36 pass from A.J. Colagiovanni (Null kick) 1:11 Second quarter M--Null 45 field goal 8:09 M--Price 15 run (Null kick) 2:34 L--Dakari Allen 24 pass from Isaiah Thomas (run failed) 1:01 Third quarter M--Price 90 yard kickoff return (kick failed) 11:47 M--Scott Voltaire 17 run (Daniel Reyna kick) 6:35 Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2015/08/21/5953096/prep-football-kavious-price-leads.html#storylink=cpy

I haven't seen an update lately on what is going on with the money. Isn't there are enough money to do something bold? I hope it didn't go into some endowment fund. I'd like to see a bold plan to use the money to right the ship. How many hookers is it going to take to get us into the B12? J/K

Brent Muffburger and Jesse Palmher has to be the worst announcing combo in CFB

DESTIN, Fla. -- Bill Battle has tried everything. He's called dozens of teams. He's deployed help from ESPN and SEC. He's inquired about teams switching dates to come to Tuscaloosa. After all that, he still has one vacancy on Alabama's 2015 schedule. “Right now we'd take anybody,†Battle said. This is the reality of the SEC staying with an eight-game schedule -- the merits of which I've argued strengthen the league's positioning until the College Football Playoff calls its bluff. But some years teams will have trouble getting good games. In this case, Alabama was hurt by the SEC's recent months-long scheduling moratorium as it figured out its future conference format. Can somebody help Battle out and play Alabama? Sounds like the Tide would even take a home-and-home at this point, but Battle said he's not sure that's feasible because “everybody's scheduled for '15.†Alabama has Wisconsin and Louisiana-Monroe on the non-conference schedule, and though Battle doesn't remember the third game offhand, Alabama is expected to play an FCS opponent in mid-November, according to a source. That means Battle probably can't schedule another FCS for strength-of-schedule purposes, though he sounds desperate enough to do just that. Or what about BYU, whose independence creates scheduling issues in the College Football Playoff era? “We've called everybody we know,†Battle responded. Battle wants to get this done quickly because the longer Alabama waits, “the more expensive it gets,†he said. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jeremy-fowler/24575829/alabama-desperate-for-12th-game-in-2015-will-take-anybody

Midway through last year’s disappointing 2-10 season, University of South Florida‘s head coach Willie Taggart admitted that he was so desperate to find offensive and defensive playmakers that he was willing to move players from offense to defense and vice versa in hopes of making the team better. While there were no position changes during the season, that mindset prompted the staff to make a change during the offseason, and it appears to have worked. With the graduation of defensive leader DeDe Lattimore, there was a hole at the middle linebacker position. However, after a seven tackle performance in the USF spring game two weeks ago, it looks as if defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan may have found Lattimore’s replacement in red shirt freshman Auggie Sanchez. Sanchez, a native of nearby Saint Petersburg, FL, came to USF as decorated linebacker, but was offered a scholarship by the USF staff to play fullback. While starring at Northeast High School, Sanchez was no stranger to playing both sides of the ball; offensively he lined up at tight end, wide receiver and even “wildcat†quarterback, but he garnered the most attention while playing defense. After being moved from defensive end to linebacker in order to get more attention from college scouts, Sanchez responded by compiling 160 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss during his senior season. While he has adapted to the physical growth needed to perform on the collegiate level, he currently is 20 pounds heavier than his high school playing weight of 220 pound. The biggest question going into spring practice was if he had the instincts needed to be the “quarterback of the defense.†“He really does a great job of just dissecting what the offense is trying to do,†said coach Chuck Bresnahan in a recent post-practice interview about the mental ability of his new linebacker. “I think he understands formation tendencies, he picks it up very very quick mentally. So the first time our offense runs something, the very next time he’s one step ahead of them.†There still is plenty of practice time before the 2014 season opener against Western Carolina on Aug. 30, but the vote of confidence from the defensive coordinator has to please the USF fanbase. Now, if the Bulls can ever find stability from the offensive quarterback, maybe coach Willie Taggart can begin to move the entire team towards winning more football games. Read more at http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2014/04/08/usf-football-finds-middle-lb-replacement-on-offensive-side-of-ball/?Tig91XiGI3FWPh37.99

BRADENTON -- For Willie Taggart it's back to the future. The USF head football coach wants to give his team a taste of success and decided there is no better place than his old high school. So team practice will be held at Manatee High on Saturday. It's the field Taggart used to spawn a career that saw him gain All-American honors at Western Kentucky after quarterbacking Manatee to back to back state championship games and a state title. "I had been thinking it about for awhile and said why not. We want our guys to be winners and I felt like it would be good to get them into a winning environment," Taggart said. "Manatee is one of the best football programs in the state, plus it's getting the Manatee County community behind our football team and involved in what we are doing." The two hour practice is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and is open to the public at no cost. It will be USF's seventh practice of the spring. The program is allowed 14 practices and the spring game, slated for March 29, at Raymond James Stadium. What fans will see is Taggart's blueprint for success. Things will be moving quicker and gingerly. "We need to be able to change it up. We need to be able to move people," Taggart said. "There will be times when we want to slow it down and other times when we want to speed it up a little." The Bulls struggled to a 2-10 record in his first year at the helm last season and a good part of that was because he did not have the personnel to run his offense. All five starters on the offensive line return and they all are a lot bigger, which has injected optimism. The average weight of the returning starters on the offensive line is 310 compared to 297 last season. Taggart credits that to the hard work they put in and a program set up by strength and conditioning coach Hans Straub. "They look like they are supposed to look for Division I offensive linemen. They are bigger, stronger and faster," Taggart said. "But it's not just those guys. Our entire team has added weight and gotten stronger in so many areas. We had 52 guys get a personal record (for at least one of their strength tests)." One of those linemen who added muscle and weight is center Austin Reiter from Lakewood Ranch. Heading into his senior season and third as a starter, Reiter added 13 pounds and is up to 286 pounds. "We're putting in a lot more time after our workouts," Reiter said. "The mentality this spring is that everybody wants to get better. We are trying to go above and beyond what we normally do." Taggart wants to run an offense similar to the kind Jim Harbaugh established at Stanford and currently uses as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Another guy who made a significant increase in strength this spring is linebacker Nigel Harris, who has put 15 pounds on his 6-1 frame and is now at 215. Harris started seven games last season as a true freshman. Taggart is trying to develop a line of what he calls "people movers." The group will be under the tutelage of new hire Paul Wulff, the Bulls offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He spent the last two years with the 49ers where he was senior offensive assistant under Harbaugh. The Bulls had a lot of pre-snap problems last year that Wulff said was partly due to different lineups and going through three or four quarterbacks before settling on true freshman Mike White. The 6-4 signal caller also added 10 pounds and is up to 200. It will also be a homecoming of sorts for USF linebackers coach Ray Woodie, former head coach at Palmetto and Bayshore. "It speaks a lot about Taggart that he cares about the city and the area that he is from," Woodie said. "He's real excited about going there and working in a different environment. Overall, our strength and size is really up at all the positions. Our strength coach did a great job." Local players who will be participating include Reiter, Derrick Calloway (Manatee), Jake Carlton (Lakewood Ranch) and Evan Wilson (ODA). The roster also includes Eric Mayes and Alex Mut (Charlotte). Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/03/04/5025756/willie-taggart-taking-his-usf.html#storylink=cpy

If Woodie leaves, we need to bring in the Weiner from Plant

Asante Samuel, DB (UCF) cut as well. Frees up 6M in Cap Room. Both had been beaten out by rookies last year for starting spots.

He regressed his sophomore year but he said he didn't like Coach Johnson's offense, wasn't his style. Johnson doesn't focus much on the passing game. I'm sure Willie knows he's out there, he's recruiting pretty hard in Georgia based on what I've read. That said we don't have a position coach for QB for him to talk to. Vad is pretty similar to BJ Daniels, I think that style would fit well in Willie's offense.

Has two years of eligibility, would be a good one for Willie T's offense

BJ needs to go to Canada, he could be a stud up there. Then come back to the NFL and start, its been done several times before.

Taggart is a great recruiter. He will end up being the top recruiter at some SEC school. We need the OC from Auburn. He's 30 years old and would take the USF job for his first HC gig. That offense cannot be stopped and we have all the recruits in FL to run it. The Stanford offense will not work in Tampa, period. How can Baylor, Texas Tech, Vandy, Duke, etc. win? Its because they have a great coach. I like Wilie a lot, he's just not an HC. I hope DW has the balls to pull the trigger or we are screwed for the next 5 to 7 years. Dungy my ass, he's NOT Dungy!

Maybe Muffhemp will be the defensive coordinator in UTexas and Shewano will be the USF Defensive coordinator?

I thought the same thing about Nienas until I read all the quotes from him as interim B12 commissioner saying there were no other teams in the BE that added value to the B12. Uhh that would be USF. He's a recruiter, he does anything for money, he's a tool. Maybe if Jurich became the B12 Commish we would have a chance since he helped us get in the BE with his recommendation. Chances are slim we move to another conference until the stars align and Willie builds a winner AND there is a spot open in a better conference.