New USF Preferred Walk-on: Tyler Pippens (Ola High School - RB) 2015

[KevinUSF00]

Capt'n Pipp â€@typippens  5h5 hours ago

Got told that as of today I am officially on the USF football team as a Preferred Walk-On

 

 

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2627388/tyler-pippens

 

• Football Overall Player of the Year Congratulations to #5 Tyler Pippens for being selected as the Ola Overall Football Player of the Year.

  Tyler Pippens was chosen unanimously as the Player of the Year for Ola High School. He led the team in rushing, scoring, and all purpose yards. Tyler carried the ball 134 times for a team-high 1127 yards. He caught 11 passes for 204 yards. He also completed 3 passes for 90 yards. Tyler led the team with 9 kickoff returns, totaling 259 yards. On defense, he recorded 4 tackles and 1 pass deflection. Tyler was among the state leaders for scoring in the regular season. He finished with 17 touchdowns. Tyler was a leader on the field this season. Off the field, Tyler carries a 3.5 overall G.P.A. and participates in track. He finished 4th at the Georgia High School State Meet last year in the 300 high hurdles. Tyler is a great role model for other athletes and a great mentor our underclassmen this past season.

   

 

[SpeedyBull]

Congrats to him, but aren't we pretty deep at RB? I mean depth is never bad but I thought we had at least 4 pretty solid guys there and more coming in. 

[bullgrad10]

Congrats to him, but aren't we pretty deep at RB? I mean depth is never bad but I thought we had at least 4 pretty solid guys there and more coming in.

Doesn't matter. He is a walk-on so he won't be taking up a ship.

[usfbullrider]

Feeling sorry for those hs safetys up in GA.  This kid is a Jet.  Welcome to USF.

[NinjaPenguin777]

Did Ironside come with him???

[BullFan98]

Very nice...stats look great, but begs the question why is this kid a walk on?

[usfbullrider]

MCDONOUGH — Never let it be said that not receiving a football scholarship as a senior in high school is a stigma.

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Running back Tyler Pippens graduated from Ola without a guarantee that he’d have the opportunity to strap up for a college team.

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But Tuesday afternoon, one month after Pippens earned his diploma, Mustangs head coach Jared Zito told the Henry Herald that his former player would indeed have that chance. Pippens was earned one of 20 preferred walk-on spots for the Division I University of South Florida Bulls football team.

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“Tyler was recruited by several other schools but really wanted to go to USF as a student,†Zito wrote in an email. “(The Bulls) were actually looking for more slot type players that could catch the football, be involved in the screen game and motion into the backfield to run the ball in some of their new spread packages they are installing and Tyler fit that position perfectly.â€

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Pippens is arguably one of the most prolific running backs Ola has had. He became the first 1,000-yard rusher in school history in 2014, rushing for 1,127 yards. He also had 1,597 all-purpose yards and scored 17 touchdowns.

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Pippens’ most dominating performance came against Union Grove in September, where he gained 279 yards on 16 carries. He averaged around 118 yards per game as a senior.

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For his efforts, Pippens was recognized as a Region 4-AAAAA Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

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The South Florida Bulls went 4-8 last year, including a 3-5 American Athletic Conference record.

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“Tyler made a lot of explosive plays for us last year and may be the fastest player I have ever coached,†Zito said. “He can be a dynamic college player at the FBS level and is a perfect fit for the slot position at USF. I am very proud of him and wish him nothing but the best.â€

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Pippens joins four other 2015 Ola graduates who will play at the next level.

 

http://www.henryherald.com/news/2015/jun/30/ola-running-back-tyler-pippens-earns-walk-on-role/

 

I really can't think of reason he wasn't more recruited, but I'm glad he's giving us the nod, we need home run hitters bad.

[slick1ru2]

Did Ironside come with him???

Ironside came down and transferred to Michigan after talking to Harbaugh.

[JupiterBull]

OK, I know he's a walk on, but I just watched his HUDL film.  WOW.

 

My quick reaction...seeing him in green, #5 was:  Lindsay Lamar, Part II.  He's small, but seems strong, and he has good speed (maybe not Lamar speed).

 

This kids runs quick hitters up the gut, runs pitch sweeps, played well in the slot and even threw a few nice passes.  He also had a few fake punts, downed inside the 10.  And his kick returns?  He is quick up field, and shows good vision, burst and evasiveness.

 

I don't want to go nuts, as I don't know the level of competition, but he looks VERY talented.  Unlikely he sees the field this year, but hope he gets a look at KR and gives us a spark.

[Paisa el Toro]

OK, I know he's a walk on, but I just watched his HUDL film.  WOW.

 

My quick reaction...seeing him in green, #5 was:  Lindsay Lamar, Part II.  He's small, but seems strong, and he has good speed (maybe not Lamar speed).

 

This kids runs quick hitters up the gut, runs pitch sweeps, played well in the slot and even threw a few nice passes.  He also had a few fake punts, downed inside the 10.  And his kick returns?  He is quick up field, and shows good vision, burst and evasiveness.

 

I don't want to go nuts, as I don't know the level of competition, but he looks VERY talented.  Unlikely he sees the field this year, but hope he gets a look at KR and gives us a spark.

Thought this kid had some shades of Ian Randolph. That was an unheralded transfer that worked out amazingly for us. Hopefully, this preferred walk-on can be a similar diamond in the rough.