USF Quarterback Preview: The Quinton Flowers Show Rolls into 2016
USF finally saw stability and production from the quarterback position in 2015. Can that same success be topped when the Bulls take the field this September?
We're roughly two weeks away from the beginning of spring practice for South Florida and have reached the appropriate point of the off-season to start breaking down each unit as Willie Taggart and company squad up to start building towards the 2016 season.
In recent years dating back to the Skip Holtz era, USF's offensive inefficiency began right under center with instability and injuries at the quarterback position. In Taggart's first two seasons at the helm, the Bulls offense went through two offensive coordinators and five starting quarterbacks as the team struggled to find an offensive identity. That all changed in 2015.
With a switch to a more up-tempo pace and the emergence of Quinton Flowers as the definitive starter, the Bulls offense surged at the right possible time this past season, winning seven of their final eight games and earning a trip to their first bowl game since 2010. Flowers' leadership and mastery of the "Gulf Coast" offense put USF in the conversation for the AAC Championship game towards the end of the year, curb stomping eventual east champions Temple and pre-season conference favorites Cincinnati in the process.
With the Bulls looking to be potential AAC East favorites, anticipation amounts as it remains to be seen if 2015's success at the quarterback position can carry into new heights in 2016.
As mentioned before and illustrated in the sweet highlight reel set to the musical stylings of Fetty Wap above, the dynamic play of Quinton Flowers elevated South Florida's offense to new heights unimaginable to Bulls fans just one year ago. Within the context of the Taggart's Gulf Coast Offense, a run-heavy, up-tempo system predicated on a mix of West Coast and spread principles, Flowers' snap decision making, elusiveness, and ability to create plays out of virtually nothing helped guide the 2015 squad to a program record 5,741 yards of total offense throughout the season.
Individually, the Miami native carved his name in the USF record books by producing arguably the most productive season by any quarterback in program history. Here's some of the feats he accomplished both through the air and on the ground:
School record for total touchdowns in a season (34).
School record for passing touchdowns in a season (22).
Most rushing yards by a USF QB in a single season (991).
3,287 yards of total offense third best in school history.
Voted Team MVP by teammates.
While the play of fellow AAC quarterbacks Paxton Lynch, Greg Ward Jr., Keenan Reynolds, and even Matt Davis caught the attention of many, Flowers stealthily entered the conversation of the conference's elite towards the end of the regular season.
A knock on his game has been his at times spotty accuracy, illustrated by his mere 59.1 completion percentage in 2015. It helps that Taggart has brought in former Tampa Bay Buccaneer starter Shaun King as quarterback coach to help further improve the passing ability of the junior. King himself led Tulane to a 12-0 campaign in 1998, passing for over 3,000 yards, rushing for over 600 more, and completing 67% of his passes in the process.
Barring injury, the success and identity of the USF offense in 2016 will hinge on Flowers' ability to one-up his 2015 campaign and elevate the team to even greater heights. While the more casual fanbase will have the September 24th showdown vs. Florida State circled on their calendars, the matchup against perennial MAC contender Northern Illinois two weeks prior will serve as a more accurate indicator for how far the junior QB has come along.
Woulard Lurking in the Shadows
Before the rise of Quinton Flowers, several people including myself speculated that transfer QB Asiantii Woulard was a lock to take the reigns as starter once he officially became eligible to play in 2016. The Winter Haven native has been a highly regarded QB prospect for Bulls fans since 2012 when he won the Elite 11 MVP and became the highest anticipated USF commit during the Skip Holtz era.
After Holtz was subsequently fired that December, Woulard decided to take his talents to UCLA where he sat behind Brett Hundley for two seasons. Once it became apparent that true freshman phenom Josh Rosen would jump him for the starting spot, everything came full circle with Woulard deciding to transfer to USF this past June.
Woulard's versatility with both his arm and legs is a blessing for USF depth wise, as he indeed be a viable back-up option who could wow and amaze on the field if Quinton Flowers were to get injured. It would take either that scenario or an absolute Herculean effort during spring practice for Woulard to pry away the starting job.
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