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Taggart vows to bring 'blue collar' mentality back to Oregon

Scott Olmos / USA TODAY Sports

When Willie Taggart agreed to become the next head coach at Oregon, he knew he was stepping into an entirely different situation than he was used to at South Florida.

He isn't afraid to admit that.

During a press conference Monday, Taggart revealed exactly how much awe he was in when he first set foot on Oregon's campus and experienced its athletic facilities, according to Stewart Mandel of FOX Sports.

"I thought I had to take my shoes off when I walked in," Taggart said jokingly. "To this day, when I come in and out, it's still like, wow. I can't believe I'm in charge of this building."

The transition to Eugene for the 40-year-old was seemingly quick and flawless, but his tenure thus far, however brief, has been anything but. Taggart has been forced to deal with numerous cases of adversity, whether it's been players being hospitalized following a team workout, or his newly named offensive coordinator resigning after being struck with DUI charges.

"You're like, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" Taggart said as he recalled the various incidents. "You know you're going to have some adversity, but you don't expect it to happen that quickly."

Taggart issued a public apology after three of his players were taken to the hospital with rhabdomyolysis - a condition that can result in the death of muscle fibers - and a one-month suspension was handed to strength coach Irele Oderinde. Taggart insisted Monday that there was no ill will or intent from the coaching staff during the workout in question.

"We know we didn't do anything to try to hurt our kids. We'd done (the same program) everywhere we've been and never had a problem," Taggart said. "I think our guys just overworked themselves and didn't hydrate. ... They were trying to impress the new coaches."

Regardless of good intentions, the incident wasn't a good look for a new coach at a program that's been to the national championship game as recently as 2014. Instead of folding like a lawn chair, though, Taggart chose to counteract the criticism with a philosophy recently made famous within college football by another prominent Power 5 coach, who also happened to be the best man at Taggart's wedding.

The philosophy is to have "Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind." The head coach is - well, we all may be able to figure that one out.

"That's all I've known is the Harbaugh way, as a player and a coach," Taggart said. "It's a way I believe in, it's a way that's worked, not only for me but for a lot of people that worked for them."

The Harbaughs have impacted Taggart greatly, whether it was Jack Harbaugh as Taggart's coach during his playing days at Western Kentucky, or Jim Harbaugh, who hired him as an assistant while he was the head coach at Stanford. Having seen some complacency early on at Oregon, Taggart is now preaching toughness, and he knows exactly what he wants his team to be.

"I think a lot of the young men that were here, they came here for the uniforms, not to be a great football player. That fell by the wayside," Taggart said. "We've got to get back to being blue collar. We've got to make them earn things that they get here - and they get a lot."

If the Ducks are hoping to overcome last year's dreadful 4-8 finish, they better start packing their lunch pails and lacing up their work boots, because it doesn't seem like Taggart's enthusiasm is going to fade away anytime soon.

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