Taggart adds offensive line depth

Coach Willie Taggart replenished his offensive line depth with three commitments over the past week. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

The USF football team lost three starting offensive linemen to graduation this past year and coach Willie Taggart is wasting no time filling the void for future seasons.

 

In the past week, Taggart and the Bulls coaching staff received three commitments from offensive linemen throughout the state, including three-star lineman Christion Gainer of Panama City.

 

Gainer chose USF over offers from Florida, Miami, Louisville and North Carolina State.

 

The 6-foot-5, 280-pound lineman will still visit other schools, but is committed to USF for the time being, according to rivals.com.

 

Michael Wiggs, a two-star, 6-foot-2, 289-pound lineman from Lakeland’s Lake Gibson High School, said his parents were pleased with his decision and he’s shutting down his recruitment.

 

"My family just wanted to make sure about my choice, but my dad said the small man inside of him was doing flips when I told them I wanted to commit," Wiggs said in an interview with rivals.com.

 

Joining Gainer and Wiggs in the 2016 class is Logan MacDonald of Ridge High School in Davenport.

 

MacDonald is 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and had offers from UConn, Troy and Florida A&M.

 

Holston out for 2015 with torn ACL

 

The USF men’s basketball team is getting used to setbacks.

 

Sophomore Troy Holston Jr., who tore his ACL in a workout Friday morning, is the latest Bull to face a long recovery from injury.

 

In the Bulls’ past two seasons, one of the team’s key contributors was forced to sit out long stretches of the season because of injuries.

 

Former guard Anthony Collins missed nearly the entire 2013-14 season with a swollen knee and forward Chris Perry was sidelined for the second half of last season with an undisclosed chest injury.

 

Holston struggled throughout most of his freshman campaign, but picked up his play in the final nine games after coach Orlando Antigua inserted him into the starting lineup.

 

He averaged 15.9 points per game over that final stretch while making 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts.

 

ACL recoveries average between six and nine months, which means Holston could return in early 2016.

 

Fernandez adds forward

 

USF women’s basketball coach Jose Fernandez gained another talented forward when Jazz Bond of Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee committed to the Bulls this weekend.

 

The 6-foot-3 forward is ranked by ESPN.com as the 16th best forward in the 2016 class and has been a two-year starter in back-to-back state champions.