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Table of contents Changing of the guard..................................................6 Students struggle to afford college...............................8 What I wish I knew then.............................................15 A helping horse...........................................................20 Working as a student provides opportunity.................22 Time is now for USF football.....................................25

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Changing Q&A of the guard

By Jacob Hoag

E D I T O R

I N

C H I E F

In terms of USF, Brian Lamb has lived a bit of a double life. Before being elected as chair of the board of trustees (BOT) last week, Lamb spent four seasons as a point guard for the USF men’s basketball team, leading the team in assists and steals in 1996 and 1997. Lamb also serves as regional president for Fifth Third Bank (North Florida). Oracle Editor-in-Chief Jacob Hoag got in touch will Lamb to gain insight into his past and present careers at USF. What were some of your fondest memories with the USF men’s basketball team?

There is nothing like the experience that I had playing in the Sun Dome in front of thousands of students and fans in and around Tampa Bay. Most of those people are still friends, business colleagues, customers and neighbors. I had a tremendous amount of fun, especially when we beat Florida State (in 1997-98) at the buzzer in the Sun Dome. I continue to remind people of that. But the most important (memory) was playing on that basketball court and in the same Sun Dome receive my (bachelor’s degree in accounting). There are memories in that dome that will last a lifetime.

If you could describe yourself as a player, how would you describe yourself?

I had a reputation of being extremely aggressive and physical. In my senior year, I was the runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year award in Conference USA behind Kenyon Martin — he had a very successful professional career. I was incredibly aggressive on defense and was viewed as a leader on the court, which was something my father taught me. I played basketball my whole life. My father was a basketball coach. And you can imagine playing for your dad is not very easy. I was a leader on the court and was obviously able to take some of those behaviors to hopefully be a good leader off the court. Coincidently we used to have about 13 guys on the men’s basketball team when I played and today we have 13 trustees at USF. There’s something to be said about the leanings and experiences from playing college basketball.

In a Tampa Bay Times article from 2011, you compared the business world to a locker room, is that just how you view it?

I have a philosophy at the company that I call the locker room concept and that is where you’re in a locker room and you build tremendous trust and camaraderie and transparency with your teammates. You’re able to disagree — it’s a safe environment to think and come up with the best ideas and strategies — but when you walk out of the locker room, you’re one unit and you have one voice and one goal. Back in the Sun

Brian Lamb, chair of the USF Board of Trustees

“I would consider myself competitive, my competitors would consider me ultra competitive. I love to win and I love to build strategies around winning and success.”

Brian Lamb

Chair, USF Board of Trustees

Dome, when we came out of the locker room, we wouldn’t allow the competition, the fans or the media to separate each other. In the business world, we have to go into the boardroom and make some difficult decisions and come up with strategies and goals track our performance. There’s a lot of overlap between what happened in the locker room as young athletes and the behaviors and competencies in the boardroom.

Would you consider yourself a competitive person?

I would consider myself competitive, my competitors would consider my ultra competitive. I love to win and I love to build strategies around winning and success. But what gets me as inspired as anything is seeing people around me be successful.

When I wake up in the morning, success for me is helping others achieve their goals. How do I help the people around me be a better version of themselves? In the banking business, there’s no other profession like it that allows you to help people realize their dreams. Like buying their first home or buying their first car or helping that entrepreneur finance his first business or make a new acquisition that allows them to expand into a new market or new industry. So, success for me is not an individual success, it’s seeing other people be a better version of themselves, to realize their dreams. I’m a public servant. That’s what I was raised to be and that’s what I believe I’m good at.

How does the Board of Trustees directly affect student’s day-today lives?

Our students and our student’s success is the primary reason why we exist. If you look at access to the university, affordability of the university and the academic performance once our students are in the university, the roles of the board

Brian Lamb led the Bulls in assists and steals in 1996 and 1998 for the men’s basketball team. Now he sits as the chair of the USF Board of Trustees. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

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of trustees primarily center around those things. You will hear things like performance-based funding, pre-imminence and eligibility for Association of American Universities. Those are sort of the over-arching, macro-level goals, from a strategic standpoint, the BOT has a responsibility to solve for. But it’s all part of student success because the measures of success in those areas all speak towards are students having good curriculum grades, graduating and getting a degree that will allow them to get a job.

As an alumnus, how does that help you better help the student body and know what they need going forward?

“I’m very fortunate that I’m surrounded by a very strong and highly competent board of trustees. The good news is that there’s more than one of me, there’s 13 of us including a student trustee. And that student trustee has a very important voice for us. They are responsible for advocating objectively on behalf of all of our students, bringing forth ideas and issues and successes that we should be aware of at the trustee level so we continue to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students. It’s not just me, it’s a faculty trustee, a student trustee and a fairly diverse body of trustees that are all thinking about the stakeholders. I’m lucky to be an alumni and a student athlete. I think I have a unique perspective that allows me to be thoughtful when working with the university and our president on matters that impact our students.

One hot-button issue directly involving students is the possibility of an on-campus stadium at USF. As a former athlete and current trustee, what are your thoughts about the issue?

I think it is an important consideration of the BOT and our athletic director (Mark Harlan). At the board level it’s customary to look at feasibility of certain big projects such as an on-campus stadium. From my perspective, I’m really glad to see that our athletic director and our president are looking at major transformational things like a stadium. Honestly, we’re a long ways away from Lamb said one of his fondest memories was beating being able to talk intelligently about is it feasible and is it the right time and Florida State at the buzzer in the Sun Dome during the what are the economics around it? But the good news is there is a willingness 1996-97 season. at our university to consider project like this.

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Students struggle to afford college

If a student works full time at the federal minimum wage they would earn $15,080 annually before taxes. However, during 2014 through 2015, the average cost of tuition, fees, and room and board at a four-year public college was $18,943 for in-state students..ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

Breanne Williams COLU M N I ST

As students get ready to start a new school year many are debating whether or not to attempt to juggle school and a job. Though there are risks involved in being a full time student and working, the reality is it is now necessary to have a successful college experience.

If a student works full time at the federal minimum wage they would earn $15,080 annually before taxes. However, during 2014 through 2015, the average cost of tuition,

fees, and room and board at a four-year public college was $18,943 for in-state students.

For private universities, students were paying an average of $42,419. In 1975, students were only paying $7,938 and $16,475 for the same fees, according to the College Board.

It is nearly impossible for a student to work full time and still make ends meet at universities. This had led to an increased dependence on student loans, which leads to stressed-out graduates desperately searching for jobs to pay those loans back.

The alternative is to either forgo college and struggle competing in the limited job market or rely solely on loans and scholarships, which results in a life of counting pennies and never taking risks in order to pay back those you borrowed from.

“Today, almost every college student works, but you can’t work your way through col-

lege anymore,” said Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. “Even if you work, you have to take out loans and take on debt.”

Being shackled to debt is not a future most students are willing to accept. Working while attending classes is their only true option. However, being employed while in school has more benefits than most realize.

A study by Georgetown University found only 14 percent of working students have more than $50,000 in student debt while 22 percent of nonworking students carry comparable burdens. Those who work borrow less than their peers.

Students who juggle work and school also tend to have better time management skills. Having to plan out time to study, do extracurricular

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activities, work and meet up with friends makes students rely on schedules, which ultimately helps them develop skills many future employers look for.

Working also builds experience, which will help launch you above the masses when you search for that job to launch your career.

“Working while one is still in school enhances the ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure and effectively structure time blocks,” said Wendy Patrick, behavioral expert and business ethics lecturer at San Diego State University. “It

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instills a sense of discipline, responsibility, structure — all elements that contribute to a successful life.”

Approximately 70 percent of college students work while attending college according to the Georgetown study. It’s not impossible to juggle the load and ultimately working will ensure you have less debt when starting your career.

Even if you’re one of the few who doesn’t need the financial aid, the skills and habits formed from working while attending classes will only mold you into a better person. The extra cash doesn’t hurt either.

Breanne Williams is a junior majoring in mass communications.

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What I wish I knew then...

With new students beginning to arrive on campus, there are a number of things they don’t know. Oracle Multimedia Editor Jackie Benitez took to campus to see what USF students wish they had known when they first stepped on campus.

“Bring an umbrella everywhere.”

Nevada Norris Sophomore majoring in health science

“How much work and other distractions can get in the way of your studies, and how much time you need to study and get involved to build your resume.”

“How long it would take.”

Alex Sexton Junior majoring in computer engineering

Patrick Lafalce Junior majoring in business

“I got into a good situation, so I was able to learn a lot from the beginning, but I would say to just explore parts of the campus I didn’t know.”

Aneil Singh Sophomore majoring in computer engineering

“As a freshman, I wish I knew that you don’t have to push yourself so hard. Coming right out of high school, there’s all this pressure put on you about just being a college student. College shouldn’t be something you stress about night and day, it’s fun. Also, you don’t have to take six classes each semester, you will get everything done in time. Set yourself up for success, not stress.”

“Peer pressure doesn’t really exist, no one really cares what you do and that people are also just as confused as you are.”

Felix Salazar Junior majoring in mechanical engineering

Noelle Griffin Junior majoring in mass communications

“Go to my professor’s office hours, since they have to be there anyways.”

“Probably not to borrow as much money, because now I know I could’ve done fine without the extra.”

Kris-Ann Anderson

Jeremy Petchonka

Senior majoring in psychology

Senior majoring in business management

“Go to the classes I had to take before I got into the classes for my major.”

Seon Lee Senior majoring in business management

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A helping horse

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USF alumna Edie Dopking uses horses to help veterans and those with special needs.

By Abby Rinaldi C O - N E W S

E D I T O R

“And when may I trot?”

This was the question, asked in French-accented English, that Marie, a Quantum Leap Farm client, asked the farm’s founder, Edie Dopking, 15 minutes into her equine-assisted therapy.

Marie was an international equestrian champion until a brain injury took her off of the saddle. She has been attending Quantum Leap in order to learn how to ride again as she recovers from her injury, a process Dopking said she adored observing.

“It was so fun to see her get back on a horse and how much her body remembered about riding and to see the improvements that she’s made,” Dopking said.

Quantum Leap Farms is a nonprofit equine-assisted therapy provider based in Odessa, FL. Dopking, a USF alumnus, founded the organization in 2000 after acquiring the land for it in 1991.

Dopking received her Ph.D. in aging studies research from USF in 2003 and has seen the farm expand its services from only being therapeutic riding to include hippotherapy and Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) services, all of which involve horses as the primary therapeutic tool.

Dopking is no stranger to the world of education or the world of business. She received her associate degree in Nuclear Medicine

Technology from Hillsborough Community College in 1983 and her bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Eckerd College in 1998.

In 1996, she sold Access Imaging — a small medical imaging company that she had helped start. The Clearwater-based company served a niche market, catering to those too large or too claustrophobic to use traditional medical scanners.

When the medical insurance market shifted to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred-provider organizations (PPOs), the time seemed right to sell the company. Dopking believed the company received a fair offer, and decided to take the opportunity.

It was after selling Access Imaging that Dopking decided to return to school to get her Ph.D. During that time, she worked with Bakas Equestrian Center in Tampa, volunteering and serving as a regional and state Special Olympics coach in horse-related sports.

“Several of the employees (at Bakas) were also coaches and we would divide up the students that were going to Special Olympics and train them, work with them and their horses …” Dopking said. “It was really a lot of fun taking those guys to Special Olympics and competing.”

It was during her time at Bakas when the idea to start her own equine-assisted therapy was planted in her. Starting a grassroots nonprofit from the ground up, however,

Quantum Leap Farm, founded by USF alumna Edie Dopking, provides equine-assisted therapy to people of all ages and backgrounds. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE is one of a kind and just a really, her co-workers. She enjoys workwas no small task. ing at Quantum Leap and views With money left over from really fantastic human being.

“She just handles things with Dopking as a boss like no other. the sale of Access Imaging to use “She’s one of those people who towards supporting Quantum Leap, such grace and handles the presDopking invested what she esti- sure and handles the stresses so leads but leads without really makmates at $250,000 of her own well that she makes everybody else ing you feel like you’re being led,” Miller said. “She gives you the freemoney to keep the farm alive for want to do the same.”

Miller volunteered with the farm dom to do what you need to do … the first three years. The farm started out staffed by a group of friends while in college and became part You can’t not like Edie and her paswho worked part time three morn- of the staff after meeting Dopking sion and what she stands for and ings a week as volunteers with three at an EAGALA conference in Utah. what she started at Quantum.”

Miller has a master’s in Mental Since then, Quantum Leap has horses.

“It was amazing to me, the Health Counseling, which proved expanded to 19 staff members — demand for equine-assisted thera- beneficial in creating the At EASE not including volunteers and interns Program at Quantum Leap.

— and takes in about 1500 clients a pies,” Dopking said.

Miller’s work at the farm was year, about 800 of whom are veterThe farm has been recognized many times for its contributions to designed to create a better-rounded ans and their families.

The animal staff has expanded the community, as has Dopking her- therapy experience. Dopking quickself. She was honored as a Lightning ly realized that the addition was to 14 horses, two donkeys, three goats, three chickens, one cat and Community Hero in 2012, receiving necessary.

After a trip guiding two boys on one black Labrador retriever named $50,000, which she donated to the horseback, one of them said to her, Sheriff Buddy. She attributes a lot of farm.

She was also named United Way as she recalls, “Edie, did I ever tell the farm’s success to volunteers and of Tampa Bay’s Volunteer of the you that my dad shot himself in the support from friends willing to Year in Health and Human Services the mouth and blew his head off in pitch in when needed.

“They joke about ‘It takes a vilin 2002 and was the recipient of front of me and (my little brother)?”

“I remember panicking in that lage,’ (but) it really does,” she said. the Hillsborough County Veterans Quantum Leap is partnered with Council’s American Patriotic Spirit moment and thinking ‘Holy moly, how do I respond to that?’” different veterans organizations Award in 2009.

Not long after that, Dopking across the state and offers programs Others working at Quantum Leap with Dopking see her as an began research on equine-assisted and retreats focused on veterans inspiration, as stated by Jenna psychotherapy and enlisted the and their families.

Retreats are collaborations with Miller, director of programs, co- help of Miller and others to listen to director of the At EASE program those things Dopking didn’t feel like many different veterans’ service organizations, such as Wounded and head therapeutic riding instruc- she was qualified to hear.

Miller said she feels most reward- Warriors, and open up several diftor at Quantum Leap.

“I think she just inspires people ed by watching the transformations ferent types of therapy to veterans without even knowing she does,” people go through between enter- who fly in from all across the U.S. “I don’t how you thank anyone Miller said. “I’ve never worked with ing the gate and leaving the farm, as someone like her before. She really well as the relationship she has with

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who’s willing to lay down their life for someone else,” she said. “I don’t know how you can possibly thank someone like that enough, so it’s really gratifying to get to give back in some way, and it’s just fun to see them have fun, too.”

In her current role at the farm, Dopking participates in everything from horse care to the development of strategic plans. She hopes to pass Quantum Leap Farm on to new leadership one day, but right now she is said she is happy where she is.

“I think the way I would like to grow is more in community impact rather than volume of clients,” she said. “At 1500 a year, we still have that intimate sort of feel and relationship with our clients.

“It’s not a beehive of activity yet and I don’t want it to be that way because part of what I think is so therapeutic here is that it’s so peaceful and quiet and it really makes you exhale when you get out of the car.”

The biggest challenge so far in maintaining a non-profit has been fundraising. Quantum Leap Farm does charge for their services, but not enough to cover costs of upkeep.

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Fundraising has never been her strong suit, she said, pointing out the significant difference between running a for-profit business such as Access Imaging and running a non-profit like Quantum Leap Farm.

“We’ve had ups and downs in our funding,” she said. “There have been some scary times and some sad times. We’ve lost horses, we’ve lost participants and all those tough times do is just draw you closer to the people that you love.”

Dopking said she couldn’t imagine herself doing anything else. She attributes most of her success to perseverance and not knowing when to quit.

Married with three stepchildren, she is a selfdescribed nerd with a passion for education that she largely attributes to her father being an educator and her own natural curiosity. Part of the reason Dopking went for her Ph.D. was in honor of her father.

“In the Ph.D. program ... it

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occurred to me that (getting a Ph.D.) really was not about smarts,” she said. “That was all about stamina.”

She said she uses what she learned during her years of education every day. Aside from her reading research journals, always interested in reading about the next advancement in medicine and science, she has over 40 years of

“I have loved them since I could say the word and there’s something really attractive to me about their strength and their beauty and … they seem to really be able to just live in the moment,” she said.

“There’s nothing better than that sound of horses munching hay at night when I’m checking the barn and it’s late. That is just the sound of contentedness.”

Her work at Quantum Leap is a combination of her two great loves, people and horses. For her, the most rewarding part about it has been seeing the change the farm has made in people’s lives and how the interactions with the horses make a difference.

“That feeling of giving to someone is extremely rewarding,” she said.

“We get thanked every day and seeing people’s accomplishments, seeing them accomplish things they didn’t think they could accomplish, there’s something really, really fun

“She’s one of those people who leads but leads without really making you feel like you’re being led. She gives you the freedom to do what you need to do. You can’t not like Edie and her passion and what she stands for and what she started at Quantum.”

Jenna Miller

Head theraputic riding instructor

experience with horses. She has always loved horses and has always owned one save a break during her first time in college.

To her, a love of horses is in her genes.

about that.

“They surprise us and they surprise themselves and getting to see people do that all the time is just really inspiring. It makes us want to surprise ourselves.”

In addition to Marie, other success stories to come out of the farm include a service member named Mark who came to the farm after being injured in a Blackhawk helicopter crash that left him wheelchair-bound.

Dopking described him as depressed, observing that he had trouble making relationships with people but had a strong connection to Sonic, a horse at the farm.

“I think his connection with Sonic gave some common ground for connection with us and the volunteers here and the other riders here and before you know it, the guy’s got a ton of friends here,” Dopking said.

Last year, Mark married one of the volunteers from Quantum Leap Farm.

“It’s those types of things, watching people move forward in their lives and knowing that we had some part in that ... now that’s just the most fun there is,” she said. “.... My role may change but I’ll be doing (this) as long as I’m up and vertical.”

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Some employers such as Busch Gardens and Starbucks offer tuition aid to certain employees, although the criteria vary based on the employer. ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

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Despite workload, student employment has its perks

By Miki Shine C O - N E W S

E D I T O R

Sophia Escalante started working 20 hours a week at Natural Sciences and Mathematics Advising Center on USF’s campus as a freshman. Now a sophomore majoring in psychology, she continues to enjoy working there.

“Being able to work where you go to school and work where you live makes it easier on me, seeing as I have a no mode of transportation,” she said. “A big advantage is that I get to walk or bike to work without ever leaving campus, and walk or bike to classes very quickly, especially since it’s near my classes.”

A 2015 research study

by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found over 70 percent of college students have

worked while attending school.

This is generally seen as a response to the rising cost of college.

According to College Board, the 2014-15 academic year, the average cost of tuition, fees, and room and board at a four-year public college was $18,943 for in-state students, whereas in 1975 the cost was $7,938.

“Sometimes I really just want to rest or study or do homework without the interference, but I’m unable to because of work,” Escalante said. “Eventually I just learned to do my homework earlier or even during work instead.

Despite the added workload, Escalante feels it is still a benefit for students to hold a job while balancing school.

“I think it’s a great way to learn more about the campus as well as learn about respon-

sibility and money management. It’s a safe way to work since you can balance school and work much better when the job’s on campus than offcampus.”

According to the Georgetown study, 25 percent of students worked full ¬time as well as attending school full ¬time.

USF Alumna Michele Cupps worked full¬ time at Busch Gardens while attending school and has since become a Human Resources Manager there.

“As a student, I loved working here and attending USF,” she said. “Busch Gardens is really flexible with my schedule, which was really helpful so I was able to do both work full time and move up.”

Some employers such as Busch Gardens and Starbucks offer tuition aid to certain employees, although the crite-

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ria vary based on the employer.

With student loan balances soaring at nearly $1.3 trillion, according to the Institute for College Access and Success, it’s a needed benefit for some.

However, according to the Georgetown study, 14 percent of working learners have more than $50,000 in student debt while 22 percent of non-working students owe the same amount. While SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment employs about 3,500 people, Cupps said they see a peak in employment for students around Howl-OScream and right before summer.

With the changing times, the method of employers trying to draw in new student workers has begun to evolve.

“How we find them and we recruit them has definitely changed,” Cupps said. “For example, ten years ago we’d put things in the paper (and) now we put things on social media and electronic forms to

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capture people for jobs.”

On top of using employ-abull and social media, the park sends staff to events such as career fairs organized by USF Career Services on campus to meet with students interested in working at the park.

In addition to recruiters, park leadership often attends such events in order to understand what the students offer but also what they can offer the students.

“I think it all depends on each student’s personality,” Cupps said. “I think USF students bring great diversity to our workforce. A lot of global thinking, problem solving skills and interpersonal skills are really important that college students bring to our workforce, which is very helpful.

“Also, I think that hiring a college student shows a lot of discipline on their part. Not only are they trying to earn their degrees but they’re also working full time or part time.

I think that shows a lot of discipline for a college student.”

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The time is now for USF

Despite producing the first winning season of the Willie Taggart Era, USF is still under the gun to improve and build off the surging momentum of 2015 . ORACLE FILE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

By Vinnie Portell C O M M E N T A R Y

USF football coach Willie Taggart and the Bulls began the 2015 season with much to prove.

Two years into his second head coaching gig after leaving Western Kentucky in December of 2012, Taggart’s Bulls had scrapped together a mere six wins.

With an offense that scored only 22 touchdowns in the entire 2014 season and attendance dipping below an average of 20,000 fans per game for the first time in program history since its inception, the Bulls were certainly not trending in the right direction.

To the surprise of most watching, Taggart and his new staff turned USF into not only respectable competitors in 2015, but an offensive juggernaut at times.

Following a shaky 1-3 start to the season, which had fans and pundits alike calling for Taggart’s job, the Bulls responded by winning seven of their final nine games.

Those included six games where USF put up at least 35 points —a feat accomplished only twice in the two seasons prior.

Led by record-breaking seasons

from quarterback Quinton Flowers and First-Team All AAC running back Marlon Mack, the Bulls were invited to the Miami Beach Bowl, ending a five-year period of losing football.

Taggart was rewarded with an incentive-laden three-year contract extension along with a $500,000 pay bump.

But just as USF and Taggart had everything riding on the success of the 2015 season, even more hope rests on the shoulders of the upcoming season.

Athletic Director Mark Harlan, who presented his five-year strategic plan for USF athletics to the USF Board of Trustees in May, said the biggest problem USF is currently facing is its budget.

While Harlan often stresses the importance of USF’s 19 different sports, there’s no hiding from the fact that football is the cash cow of college athletics.

From talk of Big 12 expansion efforts to building an on-campus stadium, it’s abundantly clear that the future of USF athletics and the potential of how far it can go will be determined by the 12 games played this fall.

n See TIME on PAGE 26

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By Vinnie Portell C O M M E N T A R Y

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Continued from PAGE 25

On the surface it appears as if the Bulls have all the reason in the world to build upon their eight-win campaign.

Aside from pieces on the offensive line and tight ends Sean Price and Marlon Pope, USF retains most of its offense for the 2016 season.

Analysts across the nation are also expecting big things from the Bulls in 2016.

National season preview magazines such as Athlon Sports and Sporting News have pegged USF for another breakout year with the Bulls playing in the AAC championship game.

However, just because USF was able to capture its first winning season in five years, the Bulls aren’t guaranteed any success going forward.

One of the focal points for the Bulls this season is keeping team MVP Quinton Flowers on the field.

The dual-threat quarterback out of Miami Jackson High School set a school record with 34 combined touchdowns last season.

Flowers’ mobility opened up the offense for him enough to score 12 of his touchdowns on the ground, rushing for 991 yards on 191 attempts in 2015.

That mobility, which makes Flowers such a dangerous weapon on offense, must be closely monitored and controlled by Taggart and his staff.

For instance, in USF’s 38-14 win against SMU last October, one of Flowers’ rushing touchdowns ended with him flying wildly through the air after being hit after taking off to cross the goal-line before going out of bounds.

Though Flowers missed no time, he suffered a bruised muscle and

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missed some practice.

While Flowers started each of USF’s 13 games last season, Taggart and staff need to teach their young quarterback when to give up on a play for the sake of the team.

Another key issue to address is who exactly will be protecting Flowers in the fall.

USF’s offensive line suffered the biggest loss of the offseason when three of its starters graduated. Along with the departure of over half the starting line, position coach Danny Hope stepped down in the offseason to move closer to his family.

Co-offensive coordinator Darren Hiller, who is replacing Hope, will likely have trouble replicating the protection the 2015 offensive line provided.

While maintaining the Bulls’ explosive offense from 2015 is certainly on the forefront of coaches’ minds, their performance in Week 4 against Florida State will be critical in building off the hype and expectations established.

USF, which has already set a special price plan for this game, is already banking on filling Raymond James Stadium — as it did when the Seminoles last came to town in 2012.

With a packed house and national television audience watching the Bulls against what projects to be nothing short of a top-10 team, USF will have its chance to show how far its come.

The Bulls are finally in prime position to complete their turnaround under Taggart, but as the 2016 season approaches, expectations mount along with it.

For USF and Taggart there remains much to prove and with so much on the line, there is no room for a misstep this season.

The clock is ticking and the time is now.

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