Before Willie Taggart bought a home and welcomed his family to Eugene, he made connections with Oregon’s 23 seniors.
Taggart, who’s working to take the Ducks back to glory after last year’s 4-8 season, said the experienced Ducks will allow him to reset the tone. Plus, Taggart realizes he failed to connect with seniors at his previous stop — USF.
“You hear people talk about it all the time,” Taggart, Oregon’s first-year coach, said. “That just doesn’t happen just because we literally want to have some senior leadership.”
For Oregon’s seniors, change has just been part of the collegiate equation. Seniors have played under two head coaches in Mark Helfrich and Taggart. Some were recruited by Chip Kelly — not Helfrich. Oregon’s defensive players have seen three different coordinators — Don Pellum, Brady Hoke and now Jim Leavitt.
“It feels different but in a good way,” senior offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby. “We’re all excited about it.”
Coach Taggart walks towards the sidelines/ The Oregon Ducks hold a scrimmage during their spring season at Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore. on Saturday, April 15, 2017. (Ramsey Sullivan/Emerald)
Taggart has ushered in a new era of football with his unique flare. He routinely engages with players and fans on Twitter — a departure from the previous coaching staff.
“The energy that they bring to practice and the confidence that they instill in us — they’re just letting us play,” senior wide receiver Darren Carrington said. “Right now we’re just learning a bunch of new stuff, but it’s good to see their excitement in us and their faith in us and hopefully we can just come out this year and put on a show.”
Taggart realizes a connection with the roster’s elder statesmen is part of building leadership.
“I didn’t do [that] enough at my last two stops — spending time with those seniors and guys who have been here a while and been recruited by other coaches,” Taggart said. “… I think that’s important for me to make sure I know every kid but especially the seniors because they only got one time with me.”
For defensive lineman Jalen Jelks, the arrival of a new coaching staff brought a renewed sense of passion.
“People are coming out here and ready to play,” Jelks said. “One improvement I’ve noticed is coming out and being able to listen to your coach. And have somebody that wants to teach you something that you’ve never learned before and has enthusiasm about coaching you.”
Taggart has spent time with the seniors to get to know them better, saying he wants to help develop important leadership qualities in the seniors that will benefit the entire team.
“It’s kind of new to all of us,” Crosby said about Taggart’s team-bonding efforts. “It’s different from what we’ve been doing in the past but it really helped us all grow as a team.”
Oregon’s most experienced players have helped the Ducks to a College Football Playoff appearance. The Ducks missed out on a bowl game for the first time since XX in 2016. But Taggart still sees the building blocks for improvement.
“I think we have some awesome kids here — I shouldn’t call them kids — young men here that, like I say, really want to win and really want to do it the right way,” Taggart said.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
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