Football It's just Spring but still nice to read

[Leviathan]

That's some fine reporting from Joey "the Golden" Knight

[Bulls On Parade]

The offense was putrid last year just mediocre offensive play would be an improvement.

We need to go bowling this year.

[Triple B]

Quarterbacks Leading An Offensive Resurgence

 

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, MARCH 26, 2014 â€“ There is a big difference in the USF offense this spring compared to the first year under head coach Willie Taggart and his staff.

Huddles take less time, there are fewer pre-snap mistakes, plays are being executed more precisely and more passes are where they need to be with two confident quarterbacks leading the charge to the goal line.

“I think our guys are developing really well and I feel like we have two quarterbacks that can lead this football team and help us win some ball games,†Taggart said after Wednesday’s practice.

USF’s offense went through a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs in 2013 as players learned the new system on the fly, especially the quarterbacks. Mike White was promising, but still a young freshman signal-caller and Steven Bench was a sophomore that was still getting used to the USF way of doing things after transferring from Penn State.

“Both of those guys were new last year and young and didn’t have the luxury of having spring practice to go through, so they had to learn on the run,†Taggart said. “Now having this spring practice and going through it again you can tell that these guys are a lot more comfortable with what we’re doing now and execution of the offense is a lot more efficient than it’s been in the past.â€

Both quarterbacks are once again competing for a starting spot in the fall and each candidate has embraced the competition while enjoying a more free flowing process of leading the Bulls down the field.

White (Fort Lauderdale) looks much better from a decision-making standpoint with the ball in his hands after completing 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,083 yards and three touchdowns with nine interceptions last season. White said a big difference in his play from last year to this spring is he isn’t “pushing too much†and he’s taking what the defense is giving him when a big play isn’t available.

“I’m not a freshman anymore, I don’t have that excuse. People can’t say, ‘Oh, he’s a freshman, he’ll get better,’†White said. “My learning year is done and I’m ready to take what I learned last year, the six games of experience, going into spring and roll into fall and just get things rolling and run things smoothly.â€

Bench, who is more of a dual threat, got seven games of experience last season while completing 40.6 percent of his passes for 392 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Bainbridge, Ga., native also said he’s gotten a lot better this spring with help from the big guys up front.

“I feel like my pocket presence has gotten a lot better. I feel that’s a contribution of the offensive line getting better. You can stand there and you can make plays,†he said. “My understanding of the offense is a lot better and for everybody, that’s just the familiarity with the offense. We’ve seen all the looks before, we run all the plays, so it’s just another whole year of experience. You can’t coach experience and that just helps tremendously.â€

The Bulls as a whole are more prepared to make plays on offense and it’s been very apparent in 2-minute drills and red zone work this spring. Fans will get to see USF in action at 4 p.m. Saturday during the Spring Game at Corbett Stadium and both quarterbacks are eager to show how far they’ve come since last season.

“I want to show everyone all the hard work we’ve accomplished,†White said. “Everyone is not at every practice, they’re not in meetings and they haven’t seen how much we’ve developed. That’s one thing I really want to show the fan base and show the community what we’ve been doing.â€

 

http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=209445573

[raptorcj]

Do we have a prediction thread for the spring game yet?    jk

 

Seriously, I hope the score is something like 42-38. I expect to hear positive spins from the players & coaches, that's fine, just want to see some scoring progress even if it is just the spring game.

[charsibb]

I think the O-line was far worse than the QB's.

 

I hope the linemen have learned their assignments in CWT's scheme.