Willie Taggart spoke to the media for about 30 minutes on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the team’s start to spring practices.
Taggart discussed topics ranging from GPA to senior leadership to whether Justin Herbert will be the starting quarterback again next season. The former South Florida head coach appeared thrilled to start spring season, which will consist of three open practices for the general public.
“I’m really excited about the spring ball,” Taggart said. “I’m really impressed with the way they’re working in the classroom. I’m really excited to see how that translates onto the football field.”
The Oregon head coach dished on injuries heading into spring season, saying that some players will be completely out for the spring; however, Taggart would not specify who was injured.
“We have some guys that had surgery after last season that won’t compete this spring,” Taggart said. “We have some guys coming back from injury that we’re bringing them back along slowly. So we have more than I would like to be out but we’re getting better and some guys are coming back.”
Since his hiring, Taggart has worked to grow player-coach relationships and attempted to translate his relationships with them to success on the field. Taggart has dinners with the team, plays EA Sports Madden and hosts ping pong tournaments.
“What’s helped has been that I’ve been in this situation two other times and each experience you have you try to learn better,” Taggart said. “[I’m] spending more time with the guys, not just football but life and having fun and trying to get to know them.”
Taggart also said that senior leadership will be important.
“I met with our seniors on Sunday and just talking with those guys, I think that’s something I didn’t do enough at my last two stops was spend more time with those seniors and guys who have been here a while,” Taggart said.
On Monday, Taggart tweeted the team’s GPA of 2.80, the highest it’s been since 2000. He stressed the importance of getting work done in the classroom, specifically calling out Herbert who had a 4.1 GPA in winter term, Taggart said.
Concerning Herbert, Taggart did not guarantee the starting spot but said he is impressed with what he has seen in the freshman.
“I want to win so I just want to find a winning quarterback,” Taggart said when asked about Herbert’s starting role. “The things I like about Justin is he’s smart. … And he’s very athletic. You look at Justin and see his height and his built and think ‘Okay this guy can’t run, he can’t do this and that.’ That’s not the case.
“I think at the end of the day I wanna see who can lead this football team — who can get this team to rally behind them and play for their quarterback. I think, each winning team out there, that’s what the quarterback does. It’s not just getting the offensive guys to rally behind him but the defensive guys as well. … I think that’s what this football team is missing.”
Taggart visited Clemson last week. The Tigers are coming off a win over Alabama in the national title game.
“I think a lot of things they’re doing we’re doing them here now,” Taggart said. “I think we share similar philosophy behind things, whether it’s football or player development. I was really impressed how we’re doing a lot of the same things.”
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow