USF 2010 Preview
(August 30, 2010)
USF 2010 Preview
(August 30, 2010)
The new head football coach at the University of South Florida Bulls, Skip Holtz, said “We’re into game week, this is kind of exciting right now.”
The season opener is this Saturday and a new coach is not the only change for the 2010 Bulls. The team was hit hard by graduation and much is unknown about this squad. The Big East media poll has USF sixth in the eight team conference. Position-by-position, there will new faces.
B.J. Daniels will return as starting quarterback and much rides on how the sophomore performs. Skip Holtz does not want Daniels to carry the ball 175 times, like last season, but we always hear coaches talk about containing running quarterbacks. If the Bulls run more plays under center, Daniels may get fewer carries, we’ll see. Holtz has said, “I think B.J. Daniels is a special player. He can do it all.”
Hopefully depth at quarterback does not become an issue. The player with the most experience, and that means he has throw five passes, is senior Evan Landi. Landi has moved over to receiver, so that leaves true freshmen Jamius Gunsby, Bobby Eveld and sophomore walk-on Ryan Epps, At 6-4, 220 pounds, Gunsby is likely the QB of the future, but Eveld will start the season as the number two. Holtz said of Landi, "Evan's doing great things at receiver. He looks good ... I'd hate to take him away from that position, but if we need to in a part-time role, we will.”
| Date | Opponent | Site |
| Sat Sep 4 | Stony Brook | Tampa |
| Sat Sep 11 | Florida | Gainesville |
| Sat Sep 25 | Western Kentucky | Tampa |
| Sat Oct 2 | Florida Atlantic | Tampa |
| Sat Oct 9 | Syracuse | Tampa |
| Thr Oct 14 | West Virginia | Morgantown |
| Fri Oct 22 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
| Wed Nov 3 | Rutgers | Tampa |
| Sat Nov 13 | Louisville | Louisville |
| Sat Nov 20 | Pittsburgh | Tampa |
| Sat Nov 27 | Miami (FL) | Miami |
| Sat Dec 4 | Connecticut | Tampa |
At running back, this was the year that Mike Ford was expected to finally show his potential, however, personal issue continued to dog him and Ford is no longer with the team. Sixth year senior Moise Plancher appears to be the guy who will carry the load. Senior fullback Richard Kelly could see more action in a new offensive scheme. Sophomre Demetris Murray and redshirt freshman Bradley Battles should get some carries as well. True freshman Marcus Shaw has also impressed the head coach. Another name to watch is Kevin Gidrey, who came from East Carolina with Holtz.
It was bad enough when the school’s all-time leading receiver, Carton Mitchell, left after his junior season. Then, injuries to senior A.J. Love and sophomore Sterling Griffin further depleted the receiving ranks. Love and Griffin will likely miss the first half of the season. Senior Dontavia Bogan is the most experienced receiver remaining and will get every opportunity to be the go to guy. Speedster Lindsay Lamar is a converted running back and could be used in various situations. Senior Andrew Ketchel and sophomore Jeff Hawkins will battle for the staring tight end spot. T.J. Knowles, a junior college transfer, has impressed in training camp. At 6-8, 235 pounds, he is a quarterbacks’ dream. Holtz said of Knowles, “That's a position of need for us right now. T.J. is a very serious individual. He is in that meeting room and he is in that playbook. I get excited when I look out there at that big 6-8 frame. He’s done some really good things. Every day, you can see his confidence really starting to grow.’’
With the lack of depth at receiver, Evan Landi is the not only converted QB expected to play a role, as redshirt freshman Isaac Virgin will be in the mix. Others that could catch some balls for the Bulls this fall include sophomore Andreas Shields, senior Faron Hornes and true freshman Deonte Welch and Stephen Bravo-Brown. On Virgin Holtz said, “Isaac Virgin (has) got a lot of talent. We just need him to continue to come. I keep hating to use the term young and inexperienced, but that’s what he is. I would expect him to continue to come around and end up being a pretty good force in what we’re doing from an offensive standpoint.’‘
The o-line is one place where the Bulls have plenty of experience and senior center Sampson Genus is NFL material. Juniors Jeremiah Warren, Chaz Hine, Jamar Bass and senior Jacob Simms are solid. Capable backups include junior Kevin McCaskill and sophomore Mark Popek, however, Popek tweaked a knee in training camp will miss the first couple games of the season. The future of this position looks good and freshman Quinterrius Eatmon (6-6, 340) may play. Other newcomers are Jake Kaufman (6-9, 363) and Tony Kibler (6-4, 355). Holtz said of the freshen group, “They are all athletic and they all have a chance to be really good players down the road.’’
| 1) Pittsburgh 190 (22) |
| 2) West Virginia 142 (1) |
| 3) Cincinnati 142 |
| 4) Connecticut 131 (1) |
| 5) Rutgers 99 |
| 6) USF 79 |
| 7) Syracuse 41 |
| 8) Louisville 40 |
| Poll of media members covering the Big East, three from each school. First place votes in parentheses. |
The linebackers are solid with senior Sabbath Joseph, junior Jacquian Williams and the emerging sophomore Sam Barrington. Senior Donte Spires and sophomore Mike Lanaris are the likely backups. Lanaris’ stock may have risen due to some legal issues for Barrington.
Jerome Murphy and Nate Allen were drafted this spring, but the defensive secondary still has some good cover guys. There will be some shakeups, but junior Quenton Washington, sophomore Kayvon Webster, senior Mistral Raymond and junior Jerrell Young are the possible starters. Other returnees include sophomores Jon Lejiste and George Baker, redshirt freshman JaQuez Jenkins, while Tyson Bulter has been slowed by injuries. True freshman Terrence Mitchell and Mark Joyce have been impressive this spring. Holtz said of Mitchell, “He’s got some skills. He does a lot of things instinctively. When you put him in some team situations, he’s picked the defense up extremely fast. He’s got a lot of football knowledge. He has definitely got a chance to get in this mix and compete for a spot in the two-deep.’’
The place kicking battle will be interesting and may not be decided until the opening night kickoff. Sophomore Maikon Bonani missed all of last season after a serious injuring while working at Busch Gardens. Senior Eric Schwartz came on and played pretty well. Sophomore Justin Brockhaus-Kann seems have the punting duties locked up.
It will not be easy for the Bulls to make a sixth consecutive bowl appearance. After this Saturday’s game against Stony Brook, the Bulls head to Gainesville for a much anticipated battle with the Gators. There is also a November game at Miami, so the out of conference record could be 3-2. That means the team would have to go 3-4 in the Big East, and four of the seven games are at home, to reach a bowl and it might be St. Petersburg or Birmingham. If things break right, USF could go 7-5 or maybe 8-4, but its hard to imagine anything better.
With a new coach and all the players that have moved on, this could be a rebuilding year for Skip Holtz to get his system in place. Not many people gave the Bulls a shot at Florida State last season, so we can dream of victories over the Gators and ‘Canes and a Big East title. Can’t we?
