USF receivers Tracy Brooks, Mike Thomas jump into transfer portal ahead of playoffs
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports USF Insider
USF will be without two of its receivers for the College Football Playoffs as junior Tracy Brooks and redshirt sophomore Mike Thomas both entered the transfer portal.
They were seventh and eight on the team, respectively, in receptions with Brooks catching fourteen passes and thirteen for Thomas. Both Alabama natives, Brooks was a three-star prospect while Thomas was a preferred walk-on, eventually earning a scholarship last year.
While the timing is certainly a surprise, the move isn't as the Bulls signed two five-star receivers during the early signing period in Eddie Shaw and Joshua Butler, who both figure to play as freshmen.
Replacing Brooks and Thomas on USF's two-deep will likely be freshman Andre Morgan and Nick Weiss. Morgan played in two games, catching three passes for 27 yards. Weis has also played in two games, catching both of his passes in his debut, including a 52-yard touchdown on his first career reception.
College Football Playoffs Quarterfinals Preview: vs. #3 Stanford Cardinal
Record: 11-1, 9-0 Champions Division
Head Coach: David Shaw (272-133 at Stanford, 31st year)
Offensive Coordinator: Terrell Potts (Multiple)
Defensive Coordinator: Jay Bateman (3-4 D)
Team Leaders
Passing: Jeremy Watts (2293 yards, 27 TD, INT, 184.6 rating)
Rushing: Bryce Nash (1359 yards, 6.7 ypc, 10 TD)
Receiving: Kaleb Freund (72 receptions, 980 yards, 14 TD)
Defense: Anthony Washington (43 tackles, 16 TFL, 8.0 sacks)
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 3rd
Total Offense: 5th
Rushing Offense: 27th
Passing Offense: 10th
Total Defense: 67th
Rushing Defense: 43rd
Passing Defense: 87th
Turnover Differential: 3rd
Team Schedule
at #8 Oklahoma: W 45-42
at Ohio State: W 49-32
at #6 USF: W 48-27
vs. Michigan State: W 37-35
vs. Miami: W 45-38
vs. #13 Alabama: W 29-16
vs. #7 Michigan: W 42-32
vs. Oregon: W 45-17
at USC: W 45-21
vs. California: W 41-14
vs. Notre Dame: L 26-21
at Purdue: W 28-24
USF assistant coaches among hot names in coaching searches
Sean Caesar -- The Athletic Writer
As USF's coaches prepare for their rematch against Stanford in the CFP Quarterfinal, at least two of them already have interviews scheduled for next week.
USF running back's coach Anthony Montgomery and receiver's coach Marco Mason are both expected to interview with Purdue for their offensive coordinator opening following Scott Frost's retirement.
Montgomery and Mason, both former USF players, joined USF's on field staff two seasons ago with Montgomery previously working in the player's development department. Mason spent some time as an off field analyst for the Bulls before coaching receivers at Kentucky and Coastal Carolina prior to returning to USF to be the receiver's coach.
Both great recruiters, Mason has signed at least one five-star in each of his three recruiting classes while at USF while Montgomery has signed two five-stars. Arkansas has also requested permission to interview Montgomery although a date has not been scheduled.
Linebackers coach
USF offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and defensive coordinator Trai Martinez are not expected to take part in any formal interviews until the season is completed according to multiple sources within the program.
Bulls win a rematch against Stanford to advance to CFP Semi Finals
USF head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. has made millions of decisions in his nearly three decade reign as the Bulls head coach. The decision to kick a 58-yard field with three minutes left was made for two reasons and two reasons only according to the veteran coach.
"I trust my defense," said Francois Sr. after the game, "And I trust my kicker."
It would turn out to be earned trust, even after the field goal fell short as USF's defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession and Mark Cunningham led the Bulls down the field to set up Chris Sanders' game winning field goal as time expired to beat Stanford 31-28 to advance to the College Football Playoffs Semi Finals.
The Bulls led for much of the game, trailing for a brief moment after Cunningham threw two interceptions in two drives before the end of the first half as Stanford went up three points. The Bulls retook the lead in the third with a strong first drive that punctuated with a Jacob Wheeler touchdown.
USF's defense made another big play with Travis Jones' intercepting Jeremy Watts on the next drive to give the Bulls a short field. After a few big plays by Scott Price -- who caught 11 passes for a career high 171 yards -- his former Tampa Jesuit teammate finished the drive once more with a touchdown run to give the Bulls their largest lead of the day.
After settling for a field goal to make it an eight point game, Stanford got the ball back and once again got in USF territory, this time scoring on a roll out pass from Watts to Kaleb Freund, his second touchdown of the day. Trailing by two, Stanford converted on the two point conversion with a toss to Bryce Nash.
Following the missed kick by USF to give Stanford a chance for their walk-off, Nash had another opportunity to make a big play but on third and three, Locher penetrated through Stanford's offense to stop him one yard short.
A big 26-yard completion to Price got the Bulls within scoring range and a few plays later, Sanders came onto the field to make history.
---------------------------------------------------------------- #6 South Florida Bulls
QB Mark Cunningham: 28 of 36, 315 yards, 2 interceptions, sacked twice, 12 carries, 35 yards, touchdown
HB Kellen Wright: 10 carries, 54 yards, touchdown
HB Jacob Wheeler: 8 carries, 52 yards, 2 touchdowns
WR Scott Price: 11 receptions, 171 yards
TE Jeff Rutledge: 6 receptions, 59 yards
WR Carl Graham: 4 receptions, 49 yards
LB Kyle Locher: 8 tackles, tackle for loss
LB E.J. Young: 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
LB Noah Wester: 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
CB Travis Jones: 4 tackles, interception
#3 Stanford Cardinal
QB Jeremy Watts: 21 of 31, 232 yards, 2 touchdowns, interception, sacked once
HB Bryce Nash: 23 carries, 127 yards, touchdown
WR Greg Hill: 6 receptions, 61 yards
TE Zachary Croston: 5 receptions, 58 yards
WR Kaleb Freund: 4 receptions, 67 yards, 2 touchdowns
WR Jake Evans: 3 receptions, 46 yards
LB Darius Jackson: 11 tackles, 4 tackles for loss
S Edmond Foster: 10 tackles, interception
CB Kyle Holmes: 3 tackles, interception
College Football Playoffs Semifinals Preview: vs. #2 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Record: 12-2, 9-1 AAC Champion
Head Coach: Barry Odom (148-77 at Rutgers, 17th year, 156-83)
Offensive Coordinator: Brian Kennedy (Spread)
Defensive Coordinator: Dave Doeren (3-4 D)
Team Leaders
Passing: Alan Pitts (4686 yards, 49 TD, 11 INT, 198.2 rating)
Rushing: Alan Pitts (953 yards, 5.2 ypc, 4 TD)
Receiving: Tom Scott (112 receptions, 1602 yards, 16 TD)
Defense: Tony Denman (28 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 INT, 4 PBU)
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 5th
Total Offense: 2nd
Rushing Offense: 88th
Passing Offense: 1st
Total Defense: 8th
Rushing Defense: 56th
Passing Defense: 6th
Turnover Differential: 91st
Team Schedule
vs. Liberty: W 45-7
at #6 USF: L 55-7
vs. Kentucky: W 56-35
vs. Wake Forest: L 40-38
at Vanderbilt: W 42-14
at North Carolina: W 38-13
at Maryland: W 38-10
at Boston College: W 38-10
vs. #16 Louisville: W 41-31
vs. Temple: W 48-27
at Navy: W 30-21
vs. Syracuse: W 45-14
vs. #9 East Carolina: W 38-28
vs. #7 Michigan: W 35-7
Bulls and Rutgers meet again in CFP Semi Finals, same result as Bulls come out on top 45-17
Through six and a half quarter, Rutgers' top five scoring offense led by Heisman winner Alan Pitts had managed to score all of just ten points against the South Florida Bulls, dating back to their September clash earlier in the season. But after USF's offense responded with a three-and-out to Rutgers' first touchdown of the season against USF, the momentum was shifting towards the Scarlet Knights.
It lasted all of a few seconds as the punt was muffed, giving USF back the ball and a few plays later, Scott Price found the endzone to begin the 28-0 run that would fuel USF's 48-17 win over Rutgers in the College Football Playoffs Semi Finals to advance to their second consecutive National Championship Game to play either Arizona State or BYU.
Cunningham threw four second half touchdowns, including three consecutive ones to Jeff Rutledge who caught nine passes for 131 yards. Rutledge by himself outgained Pitts who was held to just 98 yards passing and just four yards on the ground, averaging less than half a yard per carry.
"We love playing Heisman winners," USF linebacker Kyle Locher said after the game, "We get excited and it's a great chance to compete against the best or what other people call the best."
The Bulls made easy work of last year's Heisman winner Dustin Caldwell in the CFP Quarterfinals last year as Caldwell was sacked seven times, throwing for just 166 yards with a pick six in the first quarter that got the 49-17 rout underway.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
[USF] K. Wright, 3 Yd run (7:33)
[USF] C. Sanders, 25 Yd FG (4:10)
[RU] K. Derrick, 33 Yd FG (1:49
[USF] S. Price, 1 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (0:19)
Quarter 3
[RU] C. Todd, 32 Yd run (4:45)
[USF] S. Price, 18 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (3:13)
[USF] J. Rutledge, 39 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (0:31)
Quarter 4
[USF] J. Rutledge, 6 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (5:10)
[USF] J. Rutledge, 13 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (2:19)
[RU] C. Todd, 7 Yd run (1:37)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #6 South Florida Bulls
QB Mark Cunningham: 29 of 37, 302 yards, 5 touchdowns, sacked 3 times, 6 carries, 30 yards
HB Kellen Wright: 15 carries, 80 yards, touchdown
HB Jacob Wheeler: 14 carries, 51 yards
TE Jeff Rutledge: 9 receptions, 131 yards, 3 touchdowns
WR Scott Price: 5 receptions, 49 yards, 2 touchdowns
WR Brooks Coe: 4 receptions, 19 yards, 1 carry, 43 yards
WR Carl Graham: 3 receptions, 72 yards
LB Kyle Locher: 10 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, sack
DE Marcellus Smith: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
#2 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
QB Alan Pitts: 12 of 19, 98 yards, sacked 3 times, 12 carries, 4 yards, fumble (recovered)
HB Chris Todd: 15 carries, 123 yards, 2 touchdowns, 4 receptions, 17 yards
WR Thurman Melton: 2 receptions, 40 yards
LB Alfred King: 14 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, sack
S James Ortiz: 11 tackles
LB Paul Brothers: 5 tackles, tackle for loss, sack
Former USF receivers Tracy Brooks, Mike Thomas find their landing spots as Dominique Shelton declares intention to transfer
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
After spending a few weeks in the transfer portal, wide receivers Tracy Brooks and Mike Thomas announced their commitments to Wake Forest and Texas State, respectively.
A former three-star prospect, Brooks caught 20 passes in three seasons at USF for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He picked the Bulls over the Demon Deacons during his high school recruitment. Thomas was an unranked walk-on who redshirted as a freshman before earning his scholarship last season despite not playing. Thomas played some this season, catching thirteen passes for 110 yards.
The transfer could prove fruitful for both players as the dropdown in competition should be beneficial to them as they have shown flashes while at USF.
Another player that will be following in their footsteps is running back Dominique Shelton, the former five-star running back who has two touchdowns on the season after redshirting last year. Unlike Brooks and Thomas, Shelton remains on the team and will play in the national championship game but has shared with the staff that plans to enter the transfer portal following the conclusion of the season.
Hometown Clemson and South Carolina are potential landing spots as well as Georgia Tech, who finished second to USF in his high school recruitment.
2042 Players Leaving » Career Stats
#82 Tracy Brooks (WR, Junior): Transfer (Wake Forest) » 20 receptions, 239 yards, 2 touchdowns
#83 Mike Thomas (WR, Rs Sophomore): Transfer (Texas State) » 13 receptions, 110 yards
#36 Dominique Shelton (HB, Rs Freshman): Transfer Portal » 11 carries, 31 yards, 2 touchdowns
Last edited by Soapy on 27 Jul 2023, 13:41, edited 1 time in total.
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