{"id":39,"date":"2015-03-16T16:27:31","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T16:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/andrewcaplan.wordpress.com\/?p=39"},"modified":"2015-04-17T03:44:27","modified_gmt":"2015-04-17T03:44:27","slug":"the-big-mack-is-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/2015\/03\/16\/the-big-mack-is-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Mack is back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published in The Crow’s Nest March 2015<\/em><\/p>\n

USF running back Marlon Mack surprised everyone last year when he broke the school\u2019s all-purpose yards record in his first collegiate game. And he didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n

He went on to have one of the best seasons for a running back in the program\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Mack finished his freshman season with 1,041 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, becoming the school\u2019s fourth 1,000-yard rusher. He exploded through defenders with five touchdown runs of 54 yards or longer, including a season-long 75-yard run against Memphis.<\/p>\n

Mack\u2019s emegence was a light in a gloomy 4-8 season. But the light may not have shined if it wasn\u2019t for an injury to fellow RB Darius Tice.<\/p>\n

Before the game against Western Carolina, head coach Willie Taggart told Mack that he would get the start. He went on to amass 275 rushing yards and four touchdowns, tying the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and USF rushing record. Adding a five-yard reception, Mack became the school\u2019s record holder for the most all-purpose yards in a game.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy line just kept blocking for me pretty good; they kept setting me up everytime I scored,\u201d said Mack, reflecting on the 2014 season opener. \u201cIt was just a good feeling. It was a pretty thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the season progressed, defenders took notice of the Bulls rising star, and his average yards per game began to drop. Although other factors, such as quarterback issues and dropped passes, played a role in the slight decline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think I could\u2019ve made better runs,\u201d Mack said.<\/p>\n

Freshmen took the AAC\u2019s top three spots in rushing yards per game and Mack\u2019s 86.8 ypg led them all, earning him conference Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was huge for our football program, just to have someone that we can rally behind.\u201d Taggart said. \u201cI think any program out there, especially when you starting again, at first you gotta get someone that you can get behind and build off of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a sophomore, the four-star recruit has a year under his belt and is gearing up for a second season with the Bulls. He added about 10-15 pounds and now weighs 205, which will help him endure more hits from defenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not going to be a surprise this year,\u201d Taggart said.<\/p>\n

The team is experimenting with an up-tempo offense and will likely have several other key contributors out of the back field, such as Darius Tice and D\u2019Ernest Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a team, I want us to come together as one and make a bowl game, making our fans happy\u2026\u201d Mack said.<\/p>\n

The Bulls will take part in their annual spring game on March 28. It will be the public\u2019s first chance to see the changes in the offense and Mack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect big things from our football team, I really do,\u201d Taggart said. \u201cI love the way they\u2019re working. I love the way that they\u2019re competing. I love the way they are coming together and enjoying each other. I think that\u2019s huge for us, and I think it\u2019s going to pay off for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of USF Athletics)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published in The Crow’s Nest March 2015 USF running back Marlon Mack surprised everyone last year when he broke the school\u2019s all-purpose yards record in his first collegiate game. And he didn\u2019t stop there. He went on to have one of the best seasons for a running back in the program\u2019s history. Mack finished his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154,"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions\/154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digifolio.me\/andrewcaplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}