Oregon hires USF’s Taggart

Oregon announced Wednesday that it had hired Willie Taggart to take over after a disappointing 4-8 season and the dismissal of coach Mark Helfrich.

Taggart was coach at South Florida for the past four seasons, guiding the team from a 2-10 record his first year to a 10-2 mark this year and a spot in the Birmingham Bowl. Bulls cooffensive coordinator T.J. Weist will be the interim coach for that game.

Before he arrived in Tampa, Taggart spent three seasons at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, inheriting a winless program that he turned around with backto-back winning seasons.

“Willie places an emphasis on ensuring a positive student-athlete experience and on winning, and his previous stops have proven his success at both,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said in a statement. “We have a very bright future under his leadership.”

Stanford

Star running back Christian McCaffrey will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. McCaffrey said he has done everything he could in college and now wants to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL. “Since I was 6 years old, I’ve wanted to play in the NFL,” he wrote in an announcement on Stanford’s website. “It’s been on every list of goals that I’ve ever written. Now, it’s time to take that step. There’s nothing more I can put on film.”

Alabama

Redshirt sophomore quarterback David Cornwell announced in a Twitter post that he is transferring. It’s not immediately clear if Cornwell will stay with the team through the playoffs.

San Jose State

San Jose State hired Oregon State assistant Brent Brennan as its new coach. Athletic director Gene Bleymaier announced Brennan will replace the fired Ron Caragher as coach for the Spartans.