Strength in Unity.
Strength in Unity.
Liking the tough schedule, should make for a fun season
Strength in Unity.
not gonna lie, it sort of snuck up on me until the last year or so. one of these days I'll go back and see who the last was to, I feel like it was a Texas game or something
Captain Canada wrote: ↑13 Apr 2021, 18:00Seems like a fairly tough schedule, but I like your repeat chances. Linebacking core always solid.
Yeah, one of the upsides of being an independent.
Strength in Unity.
South Florida Bulls Football Fall Camp Preview
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles
The defending national champions returned to campus late Friday night, putting an end to the two-week summer break that the players and coaching staff enjoyed. The Bulls are bringing back a top heavy roster filled with a ton of talent along the front seven and an offense that has a bevvy of talented and productive skill players.
The rest of the roster, however, is largely a question mark. Senior center Joel Dixon is the cornerstone of a rather inexperience and inconsistent offensive line while the secondary can sometimes be a mash unit. To top it off, the game's most important position is without a true starter.
We learned a lot in spring but in fall is where starting spots are won and loss. This time last year, Mike McFarland helped chip away at the gap between him and James Pittman, eventually overtaking as the starter. Before rushing for over 1,300 yards, it was in fall camp that David Fuller was able to put his injury plagued freshman season behind him and get back into the rotation at running back.
Here are the positional battles that Bulls fans should be keeping an eye on as the opener is nearing:
Starting Quarterback
Projected Depth Chart
#17 Nick Williams, Rs So. | 6'5", 207lbs | 86 ovr, 69 spd, 82 acc, 91 thp, 88 tha | Orlando, FL | 4-star recruit [QB #4]
#8 Jed White, Fr. | 6'5", 239lbs | 80 ovr, 89 spd, 80 acc, 86 thp, 78 tha | Miami, FL | 4-star recruit [QB #6]
#7 Jay Jackson, Rs Fr. | 5'11", 206lbs | 82 ovr, 87 spd, 85 acc, 84 thp, 83 tha | Miami, FL | 3-star recruit [QB #21]
When USF signed Jay Jackson last season, he was seen as a gadget player at five-foot-eleven, someone to potentially be what Michael Harrell was as a freshman to a more traditional quarterback such as Nick Williams. Jackson redshirted so we didn't get to see him play while Williams looked like a future professional quarterback in the two games that he played.
The groundwork was set for Williams to start for the next season or two, Jackson to replace him as a bridge quarterback which would lead to Jed White eventually being the starter. White's play this spring and Jackson's play last spring have kept them in the QB battle for this season but it's hard to overlook Williams' production in the two games that he played.
Y Receiver
Project Depth Chart
#13 Ryan Wagner, So. | 6'3", 211lbs | 77 ovr, 95 spd, 89 acc, 76 ali, 62 cth, 93 route, 84 cit, 74 spc, 83 jmp | Coral Springs, FL | 4-star [WR #32]
#18 Shane Peterson, Jr. | 6'0", 184lbs | 80 ovr, 88 spd, 92 acc, 78 agi, 79 cth, 85 route, 82 cit, 72 spc, 83 jmp | Pensacola, FL | 4-star [WR #26]
#19 Steve Townsend, Jr. | 6'1", 183lbs | 75 ovr, 93 spd, 84 acc, 74 agi, 71 cth, 86 route, 78 cit, 77 spc, 87 jmp | Wells Branch, TX | 3-star [WR #91]
#81 David Ryan, Jr. | 6'1", 209lbs | 75 ovr, 96 spd, 93 acc, 83 agi, 70 cth, 67 route, 62 cit, 73 spc, 82 jmp | Miami, FL | 4-star [WR 31]
Malcolm Francois Jr. could miss the entire season with his knee injury, leaving a spot open in the slot, a position that was very important in last year's offense. We'll see this season how Walt Wells runs the offense in his first season back given that two of the Bulls most productive receivers last season, Francois Jr. and Darius Downs, operated primarily out of the slot.
Wells has traditionally not used a lot of 4WR sets so someone like Ryan Wagner who caught 35 passes as WR4 last season likely won't be the case, raising the stakes for this battle. Wagner is the clear leader although Shane Peterson seems to be productive when given the opportunity and Townsend flashed as a freshman.
For Ryan, it's now or never for the former four-star recruit.
Starting Left Tackle
Project Depth Chart
#73 Charles Joseph, Rs Sr. | 82 ovr, 89 acc, 86 str, 79 pbk, 94 rbk | Tampa, FL | 3-star [T #47]
#64 Darryl Williams, Rs So. | 79 ovr, 93 acc, 88 str, 83 pbk, 83 rbk | Tampa, FL | 3-star [T #14]
#71 Tanner Patton, Rs Jr. | 82 ovr, 99 acc, 90 str, 79 pbk, 90 rbk | Brandon, FL | 3-star [T #13]
Charles Joseph started last season and struggled, allowing thirteen sacks and wasn't the sort of dominating run blocker that coaches had seen in practice as he was often out of position and beaten on the first step. Tanner Patton got a few snaps here and there but for the most part, the staff didn't waver from Joseph.
Darryl Williams has gotten into the rotation and while he's an intriguing prospect and certainly a potential starter next season at either tackle spots, it's hard to envision the staff benching a sixth-year player with plenty of starts and playing time under his belt.
Starting Right Guard
Project Depth Chart
#75 Chris Simpson, Fr. | 6'3", 308lbs | 75 ovr, 91 acc, 86 str, 83 pbk, 77 blk | Miami, FL | 3-star [G #59]
#77 Bobby Davis, Rs So. | 6'2", 321lbs | 78 ovr, 88 acc, 86 str, 78 pbk, 87 rbk | Miami, FL | [G #8]
For the stars don't matter crowd, this can already be considered a win. Bobby David was a highly touted recruit and a big recruiting trail victory for the Bulls as the state of Florida doesn't produce a ton of high level offensive linemen. Considered a starter in waiting his first two seasons, Davis' plans have been spoiled by Chris Simpson, who was a lightly regarded recruit.
Simpson has turned heads all summer with his athleticism and could very well win the job.
Nickelback/Weak Safety/Fifth Defensive Back
Project Depth Chart
#28 Corey Johnson, Jr. | 5'11", 181lbs | 81 ovr, 95 spd, 93 acc, 63 tkl, 78 mcv, 85 zcv, 88 prc, 69 hit power, 80 pur, 85 press | Winter Haven, FL | 4-star [CB #11]
#20 Skyler Wilson, Sr. | 6'3", 209lbs | 81 ovr, 80 spd, 92 acc, 76 tkl, 81 mcv, 82 zcv, 92 prc, 88 hit power, 95 pur, 81 press | Miami, FL | 3-star [OLB #25]
#30 Cody Johnson, Sr. | 5'11", 189lbs | 78 ovr, 91 spd, 88 acc, 62 tkl, 88 mcv, 82 zcv, 86 prc, 74 hit power, 83 pur, 80 press | Miami, FL | 3-star [CB #59]
#21 Pierre Francois, Fr. | 5'9", 187lbs | 70 ovr, 88 spd, 94 acc, 61 tkl, 85 mcv, 70 zcv, 80 prc, 60 hit power, 65 pur, 80 press | Tampa, FL | 3-star [CB #27]
The first clue will be what the Bulls call their fifth defensive back. In Dave Doeren's first season, the listed position was weak safety as safeties Ray Thompson, Jake Lott and Edgar Thompson all started. Last season, it was Sid Robinson who was the fifth defensive back and the position was listed as nickel back.
The clubhouse leader is Corey Johnson, whose been stuck at free safety behind Jake Lott after making the move from corner as a true freshman. Lott's move to strong safety has allowed Jay Jacobs to play free safety, a position he's more suited to play at 185 pounds as opposed to strong safety which requires him to be at the line of scrimmage. Johnson's biggest gripe has been his ability to play in the box and while he's still on the lighter side, he's shown a willingness to be physical on special teams with 20 career tackles.
If you want physical play, however, look no further than Skyler Wilson. A former linebacker, Wilson brings a bang when he and the ball carrier clashes. He's a fundamentally sound defender in coverage but his athletic limitations against faster receivers and tight ends could be an issue.
The two pure corners, Cody Johnson and Pierre Francois, are another option as well if Doeren wants to remain in a more traditional nickel look with two high safeties. They had mixed success last season with this approach and could they be looking to move towards more of a single high safety look in order to take away the short yardage passes that killed them last year.
Strength in Unity.
ESPN's projected win probabilities for USF's 2025 schedule
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
When USF fans, players and coaches saw the AP preseason poll had USF behind the likes of Texas, Minnesota and Notre Dame at 13th, they surely winced. The defending national champions probably aren't too happy now that ESPN has updated its preseason Football Power Index rankings.
The FPI projects South Florida as the No. 15 overall team in the country. In a big picture sense, the FPI projects the Bulls to finish with a 8-4 overall record.
How is the ESPN FPI calculated? It is a formula based on team performance over the past four seasons (with the most emphasis on last season). It also looks at the returning starter at quarterback as well as the returning starters on offense and defense. The model also takes into account whether the team has a returning head coach. The ESPN recruiting rankings over the past four years are also part of the calculation.
So judging by that criteria, you can gain an understanding as to why USF -- who lost a load of key players to the draft and will be starting a first-time starter at quarterback -- might not perform well in the preseason FPI.
The Bulls are projected to lose to #12 Alabama, #10 Notre Dame and #11 Michigan, all road games. ESPN FPI is also giving #4 Virginia Tech a 55% probability at beating USF at home on October 11th, ending their long standing home-winning streak.
USF is also narrow favorites against #20 Miami on the road, getting a 52% nod. The only games which the Bulls are more than 60% favored to win are at home against North Carolina State (62.4%), San Diego State (81.9%), Navy (66.1%) and Central Florida (64.3%).
Strength in Unity.
Nick Williams, QB1. Francois, Wells announce sophomore QB as starter
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Williams has been announced as USF's starter for the opener against N.C. State in three weeks.
Williams, who played in two games last season and impressed, had been pegged as the clubhouse leader by the media and fans in what was described as an open quarterback competition between Williams, redshirt freshman Jay Jackson and true freshman Jed White. Williams -- the elder of the three, the highest ranked recruit of the three and the only one with playing experience -- was the only quarterback made available to the media following the team's fall scrimmage on Sunday. If that wasn't enough of an hint, both head coach Malcolm Francois and offensive coordinator Walt Wells confirmed on Monday that Williams was indeed the starter.
"He's got tremendous arm talent," Wells said of Williams, "From looking at his tape from last speaking and speaking with [Francois], I sort of expected him to be a bit more advanced when I got here and he was but he just kept improving and that gap, in my mind, was never closed."
Wells has compared Williams to former Bulls quarterback Grant Oliver, who is the team's current QB coach. Oliver spoke on the comparison during the summer.
"He's a better athlete than I was," said Oliver, who threw 50 touchdowns as a two-year starter, "I certainly see the similarities as we have sort of similar playing style, he's got a really good processor and as a passer, he's pretty polished."
Francois was complimentary of all three quarterbacks, highlighting Jackson's vocal leadership and White's athleticism.
"I'd feel good starting any of the three," said Francois, "I think Nick is a bit further along as a passer and his arm talent is probably on another level as whole. He's got some room for growth as just a vocal leader, something Jay really excelled at in the spring and in the summer. Jed is a special athlete and Jay certainly a good athlete as well so all three bring something to the table, all three I think have a future at the position and playing it at a high level."
Neither Francois nor Wells chose to comment on whether Jackson or White would be included in sub packages.
Strength in Unity.
Page 103 HOLY SHIT
I hope your kicker breaks his femur
I hope your kicker breaks his femur
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 4745
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Strength in Unity.
Amazing that you have kept this going for so long. GOAT-shit.
Strength in Unity.
bro?
thanks brudda, let's keep it going until the new ncaa comes outCaptain Canada wrote: ↑16 Apr 2021, 15:01Amazing that you have kept this going for so long. GOAT-shit.
Strength in Unity.
How a once middling program in southwest Florida changed college football
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles
At a corner table inside of CALI -- a local eatery just five minutes from USF’s campus -- USF head coach Malcolm Francois and the athletic director Michael Kelly were having a working lunch.
Little did the fellow patrons of the Tex-Mex restaurant know that the faith of college football would be changed from that conversation.
The topic de jour was not an unfamiliar one. Francois had been begging(strikethrough) asking the decision makers at USF to pull the trigger on a multi-million dollar project he had in mind. The national championship winning coach wanted to continue expanding on USF's already renovated athletic facility, adding a housing unit that would be used for parents of recruits during recruiting visits instead of putting them up at the hotel. The unit would also be available to coaches for overnight stays, their families and such. He also wanted to expand the Bulls recently built indoor facility to include two full-sized football fields instead of just one.
"[Francois] is never not asking for something," says a prominent booster.
At most schools, it's the boosters that have an unsatiated appetite but at USF, it's the former fiery undersized wide receiver that's always trying to take the program to the next level. For the most part, he has. The Bulls are perennial national championship contenders, churning out first round picks and as of recently, have gotten involved in the business of Heisman trophies.
While USF's football program is on par with the Texas' and Alabama's of the world, it's pocket is not. Despite the success on the football field and USF's expanding alumni base, it's still a matter of the haves and the have-nots that the Bulls fall on the wrong side of.
---
When Francois was eight years old, his parents sent him to live with his uncle, Jean-Marie, who was only ten year his senior. As the summer came to an end, his uncle was tasked with enrolling Francois into school. With no transcripts or identification in hand, they were turned away at the door. It would be weeks before Francois’ mother, Louise, would join them in Miami to find her son out of school.
“She went to the school and they told her the same thing,” Francois recalled in a previous interview, “She nodded, she barely even spoke English at the time, I sure didn’t. She grabbed me, walked out of the office and I’m excited, you know? I get to go home, maybe get some chicken nuggets on the way and watch TV all day like I had been doing all summer. She starts looking around and starts walking down the hall, peeking into windows. She sizes up the kids, they look about my size, she opens the door, finds a seat and just sat me down. The teacher is confused, the kids are confused, I’m confused. She just walked out. She kept doing that every day until that became my seat. She just didn’t take no for an answer.”
---
Kelly’s response to Francois was the same as it had been for months. The Bulls simply didn’t have the money for such a niche project, not when there were already reports and rumblings of the disproportionate treatment of the college athletes at USF between the football team and the other sports, specifically the women’s sports. The optics of cutting women’s rowing the spring before only to announce the addition of another indoor football field wouldn’t reflect favorably on Kelly and the athletic department.
Fueling Francois’ persistence was his newfound obsession of the TV deal negotiations between the Big 12 and ESPN. The previous deal, which had been hatched before the Bulls joined the conference, was set to expire within nine months and a new deal was rumored to be close to being finalized. How little the Bulls brass was involved in those negotiations wasn’t lost on Francois.
“It’d be a topic almost every day,” says a former staffer that worked inside the Bulls football program, “He’d come in talking about it, there were always calls to the athletic office, the media office. He was really intune with how the talks were going and the numbers being thrown around.”
Francois’ issue with the negotiations and USF’s lack of representation in league circles began way before his now infamous Big 12 Championship Media Day ‘rant’. When Texas A&M was added to the league, Francois and USF’s athletic leadership found out just 72 hours before what many called a “performative vote”.
“It had already been decided that Texas A&M was going to be welcomed back,” says a league official with intimate knowledge of the situation, “Those talks had been going on since 2021 and once Texas and Oklahoma gave the okay behind the scenes, it was pretty much a done deal on [Big 12] side. It was just a matter of convincing A&M to leave. You don’t want to be the school going against Texas and OU when it comes to votes because you’re not only going to lose, now you’re viewed as an opposition if you fall on that other side too often.”
USF was the only school to vote no to Texas A&M and Missouri being welcomed back into the conference. The voting was stopped, Big 12 officials met with USF’s leadership for close to 45 minutes before another vote was casted, this time voting unanimously. When news of this hit Francois’ desk, it was only a matter of time before his displeasure would be heard.
The Big 12 Championship Media Day was the perfect backdrop for Francois. He had led his team to yet another conference championship game, sixth to be exact, and was one-win away from making it to his third national championship game and second in four years.
When a media member asked Francois a rather innocuous question about Texas A&M and Missouri joining the conference, it was the tee off that Francois was looking for.
“Everyone in the building knew heading into that week that something like this was going to happen,” said a member of the Bulls athletic department, “It was boiling over all year, starting with not getting the facility he wanted approved in the spring, the TV rights deal, everything. I know he didn’t want to come off as the angry black man but at some point, we knew it would probably happen.”
"If they're coming to pull their weight, it's great and I'm all for it but I'll believe it when I see it,” said Francois, “I didn't get a call about them [joining the conference], no one [at USF] got a call until it was time to vote on the matter and by then it seemed like everyone had already made their mind up and I'm over here begging for new facilities and all that and I see the money coming in for the conference and it's crazy to me. We played tough [expletive] games all year long, we go on the road, we play really good teams and when it's time to play each other, we dominate [the Big 12]. So no, I'm not excited about adding teams to split up the pie some more when we're doing all the cooking. Kansas, West Virginia, a lot of them, they're just trying to get to six wins, keep their jobs and then get a nice big check from our hard work, from us elevating the conference. [Expletive] that, go play Alabama on the road, Notre Dame, play some tough games and improve your program like we did and if you're not going to do that then let's have some incentives and divvy up the money differently. We'll whoop Texas A&M, Missouri, anyone else they want to bring in but at some point, there's a price to be paid for that and right now, we're not being paid it."
---
The Big 12 was never Francois’ ideal landing spot when the Bulls run started and talks of them leaving the American Athletic Conference began to be rumored. Francois, coming off an 11-3 season in 2016, wanted to make a push for the SEC. His plan was simple but complicated and ultimately viewed by those in the athletic department as impossible.
Francois’ vision was to push for a restructuring of AAC’s revenue splits and instead of an even distribution from TV dollars, it’d be based on winning percentage. The carrot and the stick would be USF threatening to leave the conference. If the AAC said no, Francois’ plan was to then compete as an Independent, prove their worth as a TV draw due to both their performance on the field and their media market and eventually draw interest from top conferences such as the ACC and the SEC.
The plan never made it out of the building. Other sports worried that leaving the AAC would crush their program and that only the football team would be able to survive as an Independent. When the Big 12 reached out to field interest in joining the conference, every program at USF was all onboard. Except for one.
---
The aftermath of Francois’ statement was quickly felt. The Big 12 and some of the teams, specifically those mentioned in his statement, started demanding a public apology behind the scenes. Some called for Francois to be fined, suspended and even terminated.
While they were looking for punishment, USF was now looking for a new landing spot. Francois had, perhaps purposefully, forced USF’s athletic department to now be on his side. Malcolm Francois Sr. at this point was USF football and with an opening in the SEC at Tennessee, the looming threat of Francois’ exodus was growing. Tickets are sold based on Francois being the head coach at USF. The digital media network, which had been a success, was functioning off Francois being the head coach at USF. So when Francois says jump, you question it for a bit, mill around some more, try to get out of it but in the end, you end up jumping to the moon.
Within weeks, USF had begun talks with the SEC as their completion of the South Carolina + exit fee cash to the ACC for Miami and Florida State was nearing. They needed a fourteenth team and once Florida State, Florida and Miami all gave the ok for USF to be potentially added, the Bulls were the only logical option. It didn’t take long for the two sides to come to an agreement and a multi-team, multi-conference trade was finalized.
The aftermath of that working lunch at CALI is still undetermined. USF, unwilling to play their final season in the Big 12 as a lame duck team unlike their counterparts in Orlando, is now an Independent and will feature some of the biggest games of the college football season. In twelve months, a once dying program will be a member of college football’s premier conference. Francois has done a lot in the last few months to get USF here and a whole lot more in the last decade to get them to a place where the SEC would even consider adding them. The work starts now, however. If competing with the wallets at Texas and Oklahoma was tough, now it’s Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Florida State, Miami and Tennessee.
The boosters at USF better get used to signing those checks and Francois better keep delivering those wins.
Strength in Unity.
du jour