They say if you have two quarterbacks, sometimes, you really have none.
This appears to be the case at South Florida.
In what has become a game of musical chairs, coach Willie Taggart has kept the QB hot seat quite hot. In a rather unimpressive victory over SMU this past Saturday, he benched Quinton Flowers in favor of Mike White, and though the team did rally to win 14-13, more questions than answers have been formulated.
The game plan did Flowers no favors on Saturday. He only threw 15 passes, and the offense seemed watered down. When asked why he changed quarterbacks, he said he felt like Flowers didn’t do a bad job, but making the move was “the best move for the football team.”
Against a team that allows almost 50 points a game, White, who was inexplicably benched the week after reeling off 31 points in one half against Tulsa, led the Bulls down the field on a game winning drive for an ugly 14-13 victory, and kept their bowl chances alive.
Taggart has earned high remarks for his recruiting abilities, but he’s deep into his tenure now, and things still look shaky on the offensive side of the ball.
So just who is the guy going forward?
Personally, I’d go with Flowers. I want to see how he develops, and to keep jerking him and White around sends a message to potential South Florida recruits that they, too, will be jerked around.
I’d like to see the game plan opened up a bit, and more trust put in his hands, as he is the future.
Let’s see more of the playbook. Anyone who watches this team on a regular basis can recognize that the offensive game plan is watered down, and not always tailored to the strengths of the signal caller.
The argument for starting White is that he’s been the most consistent QB in recent years, but the hopes and dreams of the team going forward isn’t resting on his shoulders.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yR85jnhtoE?list=UU2hUZIkGfPjlJy8-P0MJjYA]To a bigger point, until Taggart is able to make tough decisions, stick with them, and entrust his guy at the most important position on the field, does it matter? Can anyone succeed in this environment?
This position is already difficult enough to play, but even moreso when the coaching staff is breathing down your neck, and you can’t go out there worrying about a few incomplete passes, or mistakes, getting you yanked from the field immediately.
Furthermore, Flowers, coming off a tragedy in which his brother was killed, has to have many of the same concerns.
When Taggart talks about the QB subject, we get a lot of “coach speak.” One of those deals where the answers don’t quench our thirst, but instead, leave us wanting more.
I feel like in a perfect world, Flowers would have been redshirted, and White would have been the guy all season, but that didn’t transpire, a year of Flowers’ eligibility has been wasted, and this is what we are left with for the remainder of the season.
Time to find your one quarterback. Kill the “musical chairs” music for good.
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