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Taggart: Bulls QB starter Flowers won't be asked to be a leader

 
Published Aug. 29, 2015

TAMPA — He'll be summoned to sprint out and set his feet, to zone read or zip one downfield in play-action. He'll have to improvise, even audible at times.

But one thing new Bulls starting quarterback Quinton Flowers won't be asked to do is lead. Coach Willie Taggart said that responsibility won't be heaped upon the sophomore. At least not yet.

"We're not asking Quinton to be a leader," Taggart said after Friday morning's practice, the last before the Bulls convene Sunday to begin game-week preparations for their Sept. 5 opener against Florida A&M.. "What we're asking Quinton to do is be the best football player he can be, be the best student he can be and have fun. We have a lot of other guys around here that can lead this football team."

Flowers, named the starter Monday, is expected to be one of three true sophomore starters for the Bulls, joining running back Marlon Mack and wide receiver Ryeshene Bronson.

Odds and ends: Left guard Thor Jozwiak (left ankle) was out of the walking boot he wore the day before and appeared to engage in a full practice. … Taggart said his staff likely will decide on the starting kicker — sophomore Emilio Nadelman or Tarpon Springs alumnus Michael Hill — this weekend.

UF: On the clock

GAINESVILLE — The Gators broke camp Friday, and after taking today off, they'll start game planning on Monday. Florida practiced at night this week to prepare for its first three games, all at night. "We're trying to make sure we're on that time clock,'' coach Jim McElwain said. He said Thursday that the plan in the Sept. 5 opener against New Mexico State is to play four tailbacks: Kelvin Taylor, freshmen Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite, and former walk-on Case Harrison, who was awarded a scholarship Saturday. "We've got to keep those guys fresh," McElwain said. "We obviously can't beat Kelvin up the whole time, and obviously we've got to figure out who's going to have the hot hand."

FSU: Cornering the spot

TALLAHASSEE — FSU knows what it is getting in Jalen Ramsey, an All-American cornerback who has successfully played just about every position in the secondary. On the opposite side, questions linger. Cue Marquez White, the favorite to replace Ronald Darby as the Seminoles' field corner. White has played sparingly until now but has drawn strong marks from teammates and coaches alike this preseason. "Jalen is the reason I'm going to catch eight or nine picks this year, hopefully," White said. Coach Jimbo Fisher recently said White would be FSU's starting punt returner, lauding the junior's quickness and natural ability to locate the football.

UCF: Digging digs

ORLANDO — After spending past four weeks displaced from their practice locker rooms, UCF players got their first glimpse of the team's newly renovated gathering space. This marks the first major locker room renovation since the building opened in 2003. "I felt blessed because I knew what the old locker rooms looked like," senior linebacker Mark Rucker said. "They weren't bad, but these new locker rooms look like we're in the NFL, the major league."

Illinois fires coach week before season opens

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A difficult summer for Illinois athletics became chaotic as football coach Tim Beckman was fired a week before the season opens after an investigation found he tried to influence medical decisions and pressure players to play with injuries.

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Beckman's firing follows the unexpected resignations this month of the top two officials on campus, revelations that they had used private emails accounts to avoid public scrutiny of school business, and two lawsuits in which former women's basketball and women's soccer players claim they were mistreated by coaches.

And the investigation that led athletic director Mike Thomas — a defendant named in those lawsuits — to fire Beckman continues.

Thomas said Friday that he received some preliminary results of the investigation this week, and despite timing he called "unfortunate," saw enough to fire Beckman just before his fourth season.

"I was shocked and angry when I became aware of the preliminary firings," Thomas said. "Certainly that's what led to me making this decision swiftly, before the final report became due."

In a statement later in the evening, Beckman denied any wrongdoing and hinted he might take legal action, calling the firing decision "a rush to judgment that confirms the university's bad faith.

"I firmly deny the implications in Mike's statements that I took any action that was not in the best interests of the health, safety and well-being of my players," Beckman said, noting many of his players indicated their support.

"I will vigorously defend both my reputation and my legal rights."

Beckman will not receive $3.1 million remaining on the final two years of his original five-year contract or the $743,000 buyout it includes.

Offensive coordinator Bill Cubit, who was coach at Western Michigan from 2005-12, was named interim coach. The Illini open at home Sept. 4 against Kent State.

Beckman replaced former Florida coach Ron Zook, who Thomas fired after the 2011 season.

The allegations against Beckman surfaced May 10 when former starting lineman Simon Cvijanovic claimed in a long series of messages on Twitter that the coach and his staff had tried to shame him into playing hurt, and they had misled him about medical procedures after a knee injury.

LSU: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said he has been treated for prostate cancer but has been given "a clean bill of health" and plans to maintain his regular duties this season. Cameron, 54, is the former head coach for the Miami Dolphins and at Indiana.

Louisville: A planned $55 million expansion will make Cardinal Stadium the largest in Kentucky, at 65,000 seats. The stadium would include 10,000 added seats in an enclosed north end zone and upgrades to a training center. The University of Kentucky's Commonwealth Stadium seats about 61,000 after a $120 million renovation.

The Orlando Sentinel and information from Times wires contributed to this report.