Now contenders for a conference title, USF’s remarkable turnaround can be traced to the explosiveness of its starting quarterback.
by Dick Weiss for The American
The University of South Florida is experiencing a Bull market once again.
After a prosperous run in the second half of the last decade, including a climb to the No. 2 spot in the nation in the 2007 season, the Bulls’ stock fell between the 2011 and 2014 seasons. But USF is back in a big way after the Bulls won seven of its last eight regular-season games, beat every team in the East Division of The American and played in their first bowl game in five years.
The Bulls appear more than ready to take the next step. Fourth-year coach Willie Taggart has three franchise skill position players -- quarterback Quinton Flowers, running back Marlon Mack and wide receiver Rodney Adams -- among 14 starters returning from an 8-5 team that set 34 school records. USF and its Gulf Coast offense -- a combination of Spread and West Coast formations -- has been picked to win The American’s East Division in the conference's preseason media poll.
The Bulls will challenge themselves early with a nonleague road game against Syracuse and a home game against nationally ranked Florida State. Their schedule does not include national contender and West Division favorite Houston but it is not a stretch to see those teams meet in The American Championship Dec. 3.
USF has 88 players on its roster from the Sunshine State, which is a hotbed for high school football.
“The competition among the Florida kids is always at a high level,” Flowers said. “We love to compete with everybody. Everybody in Florida loves the game of football. It's always in our hearts.”
After a 1-3 start to the 2015 season, USF gained traction the fifth game of the year when the Bulls blitzed Syracuse 45-24 behind 540 yards in total offense. Then, its offense began to hit on all cylinders in the final four games of the season, when USF averaged 542 yards and 47 points per game, including impressive wins against Temple (44-23), Cincinnati (65-27) and UCF (44-3).
Along the way, Flowers became a star. The versatile 6-0, 208-pound junior from Miami set a school record with 22 touchdown passes and 991 yards rushing as a quarterback. He accounted for 3,287 total yards and 34 touchdowns.
Mack, a 6-0, 210-pound junior, led The American in rushing for a second straight season with a school record 1,381 yards and 6.6 yards per carry. Adams, a 6-1, 190-pound senior, set a school record with 822 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
It's all pretty exciting stuff and it has been reflected in the Bulls' progress.
USF is one of just five programs nationally that has improved its scoring offense and scoring defense in each of the last two seasons. The Bulls' scoring offense went from 13.5 to 17.2 to 33.6 from 2013 to 2015. USF's scoring defense dropped from 28.6 to 27 to 22.9 during the same period.
“I'm really excited about the expectations,” Taggart admitted. “When the kids in the junior class came, we were 2-10. This is something they wanted to change, how people looked at USF. All those kids, they dared to be different.”
The journey has been particularly rewarding for Flowers, who lived with his uncle's family after both of his parents passed. Flowers was just seven years old when his father was shot and killed near the house where the family lived in Liberty Heights. His mother Nancy died of cancer in Jan. 2012 during his junior year in high school.
“He's gone though a lot and I'm so proud of him,” Taggart said. “The things he went through, most adults couldn't get through. There's nothing on the football field that can rattle him. He's been through a war. Football is like a safe haven for him. That's the easy part for him.”
Flowers was a three-time MVP at Miami Jackson who was considered one of the best athletes in the state of Florida. He was a versatile dual-threat quarterback who totaled 6,042 yards passing and 2,002 yards rushing with 32 touchdowns during his career. “I was the second best quarterback to come out of Jackson,” he said. “The first was Lee Corso (of ESPN). I made All-Dade County four years in a row and I didn't even start as a ninth grader. Our class was the first class in school history to make it to the state semifinals.”
Flowers, who has been clocked at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, received offers from Alabama, Nebraska, Florida, Miami, Texas, Tennessee, Pitt, UCF and Cincinnati before signing to play for Taggart.
He grew up a fan of the Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes; he is a cousin of Andre Johnson, the former University of Miami and current NFL receiver. But Flowers had to leave Miami to make his football goals a reality. Most schools that were recruiting him had him penciled in as an athlete who could play any position.
“I could have gone to any school in the country and played a different position, but I chose to come to USF because I wanted to play quarterback,” Flower said. “It was the last thing my mom saw me do.”
Taggart had no reservations about using Flowers as a quarterback after watching him work out. “We actually changed our offense to suit him,” Taggart said. “It's made a world of difference for our football team.”
Taggart had an inkling that Flowers could be special as a freshman. He started him against SMU Oct.5, 2014, the day after his stepbrother Bradley Holt, was gunned down trying to protect a group of kids who were being threatened outside an apartment in Miami. With a heavy heart, Flowers threw for 105 yards and rushed for an additional 33. “He came out and got things going,” Taggart said. “We didn't finish, but he moved the ball pretty well. We decided then this is something we really should be doing. That next spring, we changed our offense to fit him and the rest of the team.”
Flowers could always run. His career took off when he became a full-time starter last season and rushed for a school record 201 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-14 victory over SMU in October. His abilities as a passer kicked in as the season progressed. “Earlier in the year he missed some throws,” Taggart admitted. “A lot of that wasn't just him, it was young guys he was throwing to. It just took a while for all those guys to come together.”
Flowers completed 59 percent of his passes for an average of 14 yards per completion. He threw four touchdowns against Cincinnati and three more in the season-ending win against UCF. In the Bulls' final three games, Flowers led the Bulls to 153 points while throwing for nine touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Flowers has developed a better understanding of reading defenses from watching film and gaining experience. His running ability also helped him as a passer. “Like Coach T said, once I use my legs, everything opens up.”
Flowers is unquestionably the leader of this resurgent team.
“I was a leader in high school,” he said. “My head coach Antonio Brown said a lot of the guys on the team looked up to me. And ever since I got to college, I've tried to do the same thing. I believe in everything Coach T told me to do.”
The results speak for themselves. But Flowers has some unfinished business to attend to before he leaves. He wants to win a championship. With his multiple talents, anything is possible.