Strength in Unity.

Post by **Soapy** » 17 Feb 2022, 11:08

USF head coach Francois Sr. opens up on coaching, allegations and his future
Sean Caesar -- The Athletic Writer

In his dimly lit office, the larger than life figure has dissolved into just a football coach, watching film and gushing over an opposing player they had already played.

"I think he's going to be a Heisman winner," he pauses and rewinds a play that on the box score was just a seven-yard completion, "Saw the pressure, tried to step up in the pocket and then he's out....boom, quick throw to the flats. Just a smooth athlete, man, everything looks easy, like he's floating."

Another day had came and went and inside of the Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center was where USF head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. has found his solace in a season of reports, allegations, scandals and investigations.

Francois Sr. says he spends anywhere from one to three hours a day talking to both NCAA investigators and those tasked by the university to also investigate the program of claims that stem from unethical distribution of pain medication to mistreatment of players and an overall lack of institutional control, as was described in the NCAA's latest notice of allegations to the university this past fall after it had already been investigating the program's pain medication protocols.

"I sometimes forget I'm a football coach," Francois Sr. told me that day in his office, "So when I get a chance to get away from all that stuff and just be in here, watching film with the coaches or out on the field, interacting with our players, teaching them, it's fun.

The veteran head coach was candid in our conversation.

"If you speak to ten players, how many of them would say they had a positive experience at USF? That's my question to the people that wrote that stuff," says Francois Sr, "I don't understand how a few people get to define what our program is and isn't about. Do I have regrets on how I handled certain situations, certain people? Absolutely. Is there stuff out there that's just not true? Yeah and if we're going to get to the bottom of the culture of USF, you have to speak to everybody and validate everybody's feelings towards the program. I know for a fact they spoke to a lot of people that had great things to say about our program. Were they in the article? No. Why not? It doesn't fit the narrative."

Francois Sr. was more reserve when speaking about allegations of illegal and secret recordings of sexual acts by at least one former player due to potential legal actions in the future but did address it, particularly VICE Sports' reporting that some in the athletic department viewed how Francois Sr. dealt with the incident as intentionally obstructive due to the accused, former USF running back Donte Massey, being roommates with his son, J.J. and two other key USF players.

"I don't think I handled it when it was presented to me with the level of urgency that I should have," says Francois Sr, "But this narrative that it was done out of malice or trying to hide something, that's not fair. First of all, my son [J.J.] was supposed to be roommates with [Massey] but he never was because his brother [Pierre] had gotten an off-campus apartment and they decided to bunk together. This wouldn't have been hard to clarify but again, it doesn't fit the narrative."

Francois Sr. also claims that he feels the reporting of the sexual recordings incident has been slanted to paint him as a scapegoat for a lack of proper investigation.

"Something like this comes out and I fall back but I'm reading and hearing this stuff and it's clear that people are leaking stuff, leaking wrong stuff to try to paint this picture that I'm the reason why this or why that. If individuals are coming to this person or that person and reporting something to them, why is everyone looking at me to be the one to investigate? I'm the football coach, the player isn't even on the team anymore and you're coming to me? That doesn't make any sense."

Francois Sr. didn't hold back on former athletic director Michael Kelly when asked about how he felt about the AD's sudden resignation.

"When you're a man of integrity, they can't move you off your pivot. If you blow with the wind, then yeah, you'll easily move this way or that or just get out of the way so I was hurt by it because again, I feel like it was part of a larger movement to put me in the spotlight and just dump all of the problems, or perceived problems, on me. You got players from different programs, coaches from different sports, they're coming to you. They told you stuff, they didn't tell me that so when you run the okey-doke and try to pin it on me with the media and leaks and all of that stuff and the heat is still on you and you don't have integrity, you just bow out because you really don't want that spotlight on you."

"My issue with the reporting isn't that the spotlight is on me, is that they're picking and choosing on what to report. I want my character on front street, I want this program to be examined, thoroughly examined and see the good shit and the bad shit and then we can have a conversation. But the picking and choosing and making up shit when you can't find shit, that's my issue."

Despite this whirlwind of off the field issues, USF is undefeated and has clinched the SEC East division and will have a chance to win back to back SEC championships after not winning the conference in the previous three seasons. Those three seasons, which included a national championship in 2031 despite not winning the conference, was the longest conference championship draught in the program's history under Francois Sr, something he's proud of and one of the reasons why Francois Sr. only returned to coach the Bulls after a week long hiatus this season when he was promised that the university wouldn't self-impose a post-season ban.

"If we're going to be a team," says Francois Sr, "Let's be a team. I can't go in that locker room and say 'hey guys, you worked hard this season but we're not going to play in any bowl games or championship game'. I can't do that and I told them that. If we're wrong, we're wrong and let's deal with the consequences of our actions but let's not just appease to public perception and make decisions that affect those young men that had nothing to do with this."

As far as his future beyond this season, Francois Sr. says its not up to him.

"I'm signed through 2040," said Francois Sr, "I don't plan on leaving before 2040 so the decision isn't mine to make. If they want to move in a different direction, fine, that's their call, not mine."

Until that call is made, he'll continue doing what he loves the most: coaching.

Post by **djp73** » 17 Feb 2022, 16:09

Just win and it all goes away?

Post by **Soapy** » 17 Feb 2022, 18:15

-----------------------------------------------
#1 USF (12-0, 9-0) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 || 28
#9 UCF (10-2, 8-1) | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 || 17
-----------------------------------------------

The hostile Orlando crowd could not help the Knights beat rival USF
It had been a while since The War on I-4 had high stakes for both teams as it had been over a decade since the Knights last won ten games in a season. The stakes couldn't have been higher on Friday with both teams trying to stake their claim for a spot in the College Football Playoffs and getting some momentum before their highly anticipated conference championship games, respectively.

Bobby Jackson's 60-yard touchdown run proved to be the difference maker as USF was able to crack the Knights elite defense just enough to beat their bitter rivals 28-17 on Friday night.

A 72-yard touchdown by Felder before the end of the third quarter cut USF's lead to just four points but ultimately, their offense ran out of gas in the fourth quarter despite getting an extra possession when Jeff Jones made his first mistake of the night, throwing across his body and across the field on a pass that would be intercepted.

The Knights and quarterback Jeff Broussard were unable to capitalize and on the next possession following a punt, Jackson would take it sixty yards. USF's defense would take care of the rest, shutting them out to end the regular season undefeated.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Scoring Summary
Quarter 1

Quarter 2
[USF] C. Bradford, 10 Yd pass from J. Jones (2:57)
[UCF] A. Nichols, 18 Yd FG (0:00)

Quarter 3
[USF] M. Iosefo, 55 Yd pass from J. Jones (7:26)
[UCF] D. Sanchez, 5 Yd run (3:33)
[USF] M. Smith, 16 Yd pass from J. Jones (1:54)
[UCF R. Felder, 72 Yd pass from J. Broussard (1:16)

Quarter 4
[USF] B. Jackson, 60 Yd run (6:54)
----------------------------------------------------------------
#1 South Florida Bulls
QB Jeff Jones: 28 of 45, 451 yards, 3 touchdowns, interception, sacked 3 times, 8 carries, 15 yards.
HB Bobby Jackson: 7 carries, 94 yards.
HB Terrance Small: 3 carries, 49 yards.
WR Matthew Smith: 7 receptions, 173 yards, touchdown.
TE Chris Wallace: 7 receptions, 80 yards.
DB Clayton Bradford: 6 receptions, 72 yards, touchdown.
WR Marques Iosefo: 4 receptions, 97 yards, touchdown.
LB Josh Anderson: 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss.
LB Paul Williams: 6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack.
LB Nick Robinson: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss.
DE Aaron Bean: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.

#9 Central Florida Knights
QB Jeff Broussard: 34 of 46, 383 yards, touchdown, sacked 5 times.
HB Adam Hamilton: 14 carries, 25 yards.
WR Antwan Dixon: 9 receptions, 72 yards.
WR Richard Felder: 7 receptions, 148 yards, touchdown.
WR Sean Nelson: 3 receptions, 80 yards.
S Tyrone Wilson: 8 tackles.
CB Andre Jean: 5 tackles, tackle for loss, sack.
DE Rob Johnson: 2 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.
CB Ronnie Hardy: 2 tackles, interception.

Post by **Soapy** » 17 Feb 2022, 18:15

djp73 wrote: ↑
17 Feb 2022, 16:09
Just win and it all goes away?

out of our hands brudda

Post by **Soapy** » 17 Feb 2022, 19:31

Post by **Soapy** » 17 Feb 2022, 20:18

Bulls land a Lone Star prospect ahead of SEC Championship bout with Longhorns
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports USF Insider

With the recruiting dead period approaching, USF was able to land two more commitments to their already loaded class in Texas signal caller Jared Chavis and Louisiana tight end Jason White.

Both three-star prospects, Chavis is the 46th ranked quarterback in the country this cycle and a two-time state championship at Duncanville High School near Dallas. A good player comparison for Chavis would be current USF quarterback Brandon Wilson who is also from Dallas. Both players are good not great athletes with questionable accuracy at times but quick decision makers with a good arm. Wilson was a more polished player coming out but Chavis has the slight edge in terms of raw arm talent.

Chavis joins a class with the nation's top ranked quarterback in Joey Spence but with Wilson set to graduate and current starter Jeff Jones likely to declare following the end of next season, USF adds some much needed depth to their quarterback room.

Speaking of depth, White fills a need at tight end in a similar fashion. A more traditional tight end body, the six-foot-four and 251 pound prospect picked the Bulls over Tennessee while Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Michigan all showed interest. USF currently has just three scholarship tight ends on the roster and White is a bit of a mixture of all three with him not being a liability in the run blocking game and being an adequate pass catcher as well.

The two commitments bring USF's class to eighteen with potentially two more on the way in five-star guard Chris Booker and four-star defensive end Travis Peters. USF is battling Notre Dame and Alabama for Booker who is from Alabama and Miami for Peters, who is from Miami. If the Bulls can knock off the hometown team and seal the deal, it would surely secure their spot as the nation's top recruiting class and give them their 7th five-star recruit in the class, a school record.

USF last signed six five-star recruits in 2029 with E.J. Thomas, Louis Dukes IV, Michael Bowser, Anthony Montgomery and Travis Lewis. While Bowser, Montgomery and Moore all were contributors to a national championship team, the three others transferred and none lived up to the hype while at USF. Will this class be different?

2035 USF Recruiting Class
HB Derek Young [ATH #1]: 6'0", 217lbs | Washington, IA [IMG] | 5-star | 4.32 40-yd dash, 330 Bench Press Max, 315 Squat Max
QB Joey Spence [QB #1]: 6'4", 220lbs | St. Johns, AZ | 5-star | 4.86 40-yd dash, 310 Bench Press Max, 255 Squat Max
WR Jarod Green [WR #2]: 5'11", 183lbs | Missouri City, TX | 5-star | 4.38 40-yd dash, 240 Bench Press Max, 240 Squat Max
WR Jason McDowell [WR #4]: 6'5", 220lbs | Charlotte, MI | 5-star | 4.36 40-yd dash, 270 Bench Press Max, 195 Squat Max
DB Mark Robinson [ATH #13]: 6'3", 185lbs | Union City, NJ | 5-star | 4.36 40-yd dash, 270 Bench Press Max, 260 Squat Max
T Adam Clemons [T #1]: 6'2", 307lbs | West Palm Beach, FL | 5-star | 4.92 40-yd dash, 440 Bench Press Max, 640 Squat Max
S Wesley Adams [S #1]: 6'5", 212lbs | Mt. Gay-Shamrock, WV [IMG] | 4-star | 4.32 40-yd dash, 420 Bench Press Max, 370 Squat Max
CB Kenny Fowler [CB #1]: 6'0", 166lbs | Cherry Hill, NJ | 4-star | 4.32 40-yd dash, 325 Bench Press Max, 285 Squat Max
DT Michael Williams [DT #3]: 6'6", 280lbs | El Paso, TX | 4-star | 5.18 40-yd dash, 460 Bench Press Max, 580 Squat Max
G Ed McKinney [G #5]: 6'2", 321lbs | Baker, LA | 4-star | 4.70 40-yd dash, 440 Bench Press Max, 605 Squat Max
WR Sam Washington [WR #25]: 6'0", 172lbs | Tampa, FL | 4-star | 4.42 40-yd dash, 280 Bench Press Max, 215 Squat Max
WR Donte McCarthy [WR #26]: 6'0", 211lbs | Lakeland, FL | 4-star | 4.32 40-yd dash, 245 Bench Press Max, 325 Squat Max
K Mike Pleasant [K #1]: 5'10", 181lbs | Mena, AR | 4-star | 4.96 40-yd dash, 240 Bench Press Max, 325 Squat Max
OLB Brian Robinson [OLB #17]: 6'2", 223lbs | Tampa, FL | 4-star | 4.54 40-yd dash, 430 Bench Press Max, 640 Squat Max
TE Jason White [TE #35]: 6'4", 251lbs | Prien, LA | 3-star | 4.70 40-yd dash, 285 Bench Press Max, 260 Squat Max
QB Jared Chavis [QB #46]: 6'3", 191lbs | Dallas, TX | 3-star | 4.82 40-yd dash, 250 Bench Press Max, 265 Squat Max
OLB Nicholas Holt [OLB #105]: 6'4", 238lbs | Oviedo, FL | 3-star | 4.76 40-yd dash, 315 Bench Press Max, 545 Squat Max
P Stanley Durbin [P #11]: 6'0", 220lbs | Orlando, FL | 3-star | 5.04 40-yd dash, 225 Bench Press Max, 280 Squat Max

2035 USF Recruiting Board
G Chris Booker [G #1]: 6'1", 320lbs | Muscle Shoals, AL | 5-star | USF, Notre Dame, Alabama
DE Travis Peters [DE #2]: 6'2", 228lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star | Miami, USF, Alabama, Kansas State
-------------------
LB Willie Farris [OLB #6]: 6'4", 221lbs | Center Point, AL | 4-star | Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State

Post by **Soapy** » 18 Feb 2022, 08:12

Bulls football program will participate in post-season, self-imposed sanctions not expected
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles

As first reported by Sean Caesar of The Athletic, the USF Bulls football program will not be forfeiting their claim to the SEC East division title and will be playing against the Texas Longhorns for the SEC Championship and plan to participate in the bowl season as well, which might include a trip to the College Football Playoffs.

There were some internal discussions within the university's top brass, dating back to as far as November, on the school potentially self-imposing a postseason ban as they await the results of both the NCAA's investigations into the program as well as the university's own investigation into the athletic department as a whole. The expectations internally are that the NCAA will, at some point, impose sanctions on the football program. In the past, the NCAA has been more lenient on programs with self-imposed sanctions.

USF head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. quickly shot those rumors down during a recently released interview with Caesar and The Athletic where Francois Sr. made it clear that one of the stipulations of his return as the program's head coach was that the school wouldn't self impose any postseason bans, at least not this season.

The fallout from Francois Sr's interview is still playing out as many within the university felt blindsided with his decision to speak on the matter with the media after not doing so for the past few months and it wasn't lost on them that the interview was released just days before the school's highly anticipated matchup with bitter rival UCF, the first of its kind after the Knights had fallen on some lean years recently.

"You can't claim to be about the players and do an interview like that right before the biggest game of the season," said a source close to the situation.

Despite having the nation's number one class in recruiting and the number one team in college football, Francois Sr's future at USF remains dicey and "50/50" according to both those close to the university's decision makers and Francois Sr's circle.

Post by **Soapy** » 18 Feb 2022, 11:01

SEC Championship Game Preview: vs. #3 Texas Longhorns
Record: 11-1, 8-1 SEC
Head Coach: Kliff Kingbsury (143-66 at Texas, 16th year, 191-96)
Offensive Coordinator: Earvin Singletary (Air Raid)
Defensive Coordinator: Wayne Smith (4-3 D)

Team Leaders
Passing: Brandon Rogers (3118 yards, 38 TD, 9 INT, 157.8 rating)
Rushing: Leo Fields (979 yards, 6.7 ypc, 7 TD)
Receiving: T.J. Utley (65 receptions, 875 yards, 15 TD)
Defense: Ben Barrett (82 tackles, 18 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 5 PBU, FF)

Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 6th
Total Offense: 10th
Rushing Offense: 69th
Passing Offense: 6th
Total Defense: 33rd
Rushing Defense: 77th
Passing Defense: 21st
Turnover Differential: 34th

Team Schedule
at #14 Kentucky: W 35-32
vs. #11 Tennessee: L 38-35
at Ole Miss: W 30-14
vs. Mississippi State: W 38-3
vs. Arkansas: W 34-31
vs. Florida: W 30-14
vs. Texas State: W 31-7
at Georgia: W 48-38
vs. TCU: W 39-7
vs. Texas Tech: W 45-24
at Texas A&M: W 49-16
vs. Oklahoma: W 34-21

Team Injuries
USF WR Robert Givens, Junior » 89 ovr, 92 spd, 97 acc, 87 cth » 40 receptions, 564 yards, 9 touchdowns

Texas Longhorns Projected Starters
QB #17 Brandon Rogers, Junior | 6'3", 223lbs | 88 ovr, 59 spd, 70 acc, 72 awr, 93 thp, 93 tha
HB #25 Leo Fields, Senior | 6'1", 211lbs | 95 ovr, 92 spd, 90 acc, 97 btk, 88 car, 94 elu
WR #85 Jermaine Rogers, Rs Senior | 6'4", 198lbs | 95 ovr, 88 spd, 99 acc, 94 cth
WR #11 T.J. Utley, Rs Junior | 6'5", 243lbs | 92 ovr, 90 spd, 98 acc, 90 cth
WR #10 Casey Kennedy, Rs Junior | 6'1", 185lbs | 92 ovr, 90 spd, 94 acc, 95 cth
TE #80 Michael Cary, Senior | 6'3", 277lbs | 85 ovr, 75 spd, 78 acc, 68 cth, 86 rbk
LT #62 Carl Swan, Rs Senior | 6'7", 297lbs | 83 ovr, 91 pbk, 79 rbk, 84 str
LG #75 Stephen Calhoun, Rs Sophomore | 6'4", 329lbs | 87 ovr, 92 pbk, 83 rbk, 93 str
C #66 Erik Hill, Senior | 5'11", 275lbs | 99 ovr, 97 pbk, 95 rbk, 90 str
RG #69 Josh House, Sophomore | 6'5", 313lbs | 84 ovr, 85 pbk, 87 rbk, 92 str
RT #63 Justin Dennis, Rs Senior | 6'4", 295lbs | 87 ovr, 87 pbk, 88 rbk, 91 str
---------------------
DE #98 Brett Pope, Rs Sophomore | 6'1", 249lbs | 89 ovr, 74 spd, 72 acc, 83 str, 92 pmv, 94 fmv, 92 bsh
DE #99 Josh Cox, Sophomore | 6'8", 255lbs | 85 ovr, 80 spd, 86 acc, 84 str, 86 pmv, 74 fmv, 82 bsh
DT #94 Walter Ford, Rs Senior | 6'5", 289lbs | 89 ovr, 85 acc, 86 str, 99 pmv, 91 fmv, 84 bsh
DT #91 Adam Ford, Rs Senior | 6'0", 261lbs | 80 ovr, 80 acc, 83 str, 80 pmv, 82 fmv, 81 bsh
LB #52 Ben Barrett, Rs Senior | 6'0", 223lbs | 93 ovr, 89 spd, 99 acc, 63 awr, 84 tkl, 91 bsh, 75 zcv
LB #1 Chris Newton, Rs Senior | 6'2", 246lbs | 99 ovr, 84 spd, 95 acc, 60 awr, 89 tkl, 95 bsh, 79 zcv
LB #59 Michael Dawson, Rs Senior | 6'0", 245lbs | 84 ovr, 93 spd, 93 acc, 65 awr, 80 tkl, 87 bsh, 70 zcv
CB #45 John Ward, Junior | 5'10", 177lbs | 89 ovr, 98 spd, 97 acc, 73 awr, 89 mcv, 97 zcv, 84 press
CB #43 Preston Swain, Rs Junior | 5'10", 170lbs | 82 ovr, 93 spd 92 acc, 74 awr, 85 mcv, 91 zcv, 87 press
NB #27 Lamar Fenner, Rs Sophomore | 6'1", 173lbs | 78 ovr, 92 spd, 88 acc, 64 awr, 88 mcv, 88 zcv, 80 press
S #32 Jason Mitchell, Rs Senior | 6'3", 191lbs | 94 ovr, 97 spd, 96 acc, 82 awr, 77 tkl, 84 mcv, 90 zcv
S #42 Jonathan Green, Rs Sophomore | 6'3", 206lbs | 71 ovr, 85 spd, 92 acc, 59 awr, 71 tkl, 61 mcv, 74 zcv
K #8 Derrick Davidson, Freshman | 5'10", 174lbs | 84 ovr, 80 kpw, 90 kac
P #13 David Green, Senior | 5'11", 243lbs | 95 ovr, 99 kpw, 93 kac

Post by **Captain Canada** » 18 Feb 2022, 13:41

All that noise and watch this game end up Horns Up :drose:

Post by **Soapy** » 18 Feb 2022, 14:51

Captain Canada wrote: ↑
18 Feb 2022, 13:41
All that noise and watch this game end up Horns Up

mind your tongue

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