Ravens Coach Speaks On Son's College Commitment

JT Taggart, son of Baltimore Ravens running backs coach Willie Taggart, will play his college ball nearby at Maryland.

Nov 2, 2019; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Willie Taggart walks off the field after the loss to the Miami Hurricanes at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports / Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Football is a family business for Baltimore Ravens runing backs coach Willie Taggart, and part of that business is staying close to home.

Last week, JT Taggart, the younger of Willie's two sons, committed to play college football nearby at Maryland. An imposing presence at 6-8, 229 pounds and an 81-inch wingspan, JT, who caught 21 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns as a high school junior last season, should be a valuable asset at tight end for coach Mike Locksley and the Terrapins.

With Willie speaking to the media during mandatory minicamp this week, the topic of his son's commitment was naturally going to come up. Needless to say, he's very happy his son is going to a good program.

"I want someone to finish what we started. And again, like I told Coach Locksley, 'I'm handing him off to you. I need you to take him to the finish line, now, and help him continue to develop, like my wife and I have done [thus] far," Taggart told reporters Wednesday. "We want that to continue, and the football part will take care of itself; he'll do his part from that standpoint.' But I want Coach Locksley to help him become a man."

Willie, former head coach at Oregon and Florida State among other schools, has some experience with Locksley from his time in the college ranks. While some of that experience comes from battling over recruits, he clearly has a great deal of respect for the Terrapins leader.

it's exciting. It's probably more exciting for [his] mom – than anything – which makes it easy and happy for me," Taggart said. "[When] mom is happy, everybody is happy. But also, Maryland is a great program. coach Locksley has done an awesome job down there."

Willie had been coaching at the collegiate level since 1999, but after being let go at Florida Atlantic following the 2022 season, he decided to go to Baltimore and finally make the jump up to the NFL. He was already a key part of the league's best rushing offense last season, and now he has arguably the league's best running back over the past few years in Derrick Henry at his disposal.

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