Bullpride08

As,  I recall they embraced the Bucs pretty **** well back in the 1976. Not really...in the 2nd season they were playing to half empty stadiums. In fact, many questioned TB getting a team at the time because it wasn't a big enough metro area to be past over by so many other bigger areas, but Culverhouse had some clout. In fact, some in the area were miffed because city officials forced UT to basically shutdown it's program to make room for the Bucs. At the time the TB area was highly working class, and really struggled to maintain the Bucs and Rowdies- yeah the Rowdies (it costed an arm and leg for them to bring in Rodney Marsh). Hope Hauling, you were either not around or to little to remember but there was a lot of issue about TB getting the Bucs in 1976- actually awarded in 74. Obviously we've grown considerably in that time- the city of Tampa has doubled it's population twice in that time- but it wasn't a no-brainer initially, and it wasn't an easy sell (some of the cheapest tixs in the NFL at the time).

It's wrong to have recruits in on so many levels. Like windbane makes a valid point, recruits will want to see the weightroom, can you imagine a player host taking them through the lockerroom this weekend? Not at all. Another classy move is the entire team getting bused up to Tally for the funeral. Class move again.

excuse me, but many people complained just the same after certain wins, such as the cincy and wake games when people got more excited about wins than they should have. no, but neither does the constant complaining about legitimate complaints with the team. except you can still point out bad aspects of the play, just like during BLOWOUTS people are apologizing for the play and creating moral victories where there are none and just generally being complacent about the team's lack of success. again, so is this complaining.  and not all the talk is about coach mac, it's about why and how our team is not performing well. good idea, and I believe most darksiders go to the games. I hope you do all those things.  I also hope you don't continue to miss the point of a message board. message boards aren't for people looking for a license to be 'as*holes'. I would hope, and Brad's proven that in the past, that he will police such actions. Hey, the very people some are complaining about on this thread were suspended for their actions. Cuban is right, you aren't even an intelligent fan if you come on here and complain specifically about the WVU game. In fact, a fan that complains or rails on the team actually loses the right to be considered an intelligible and astute basketball fan. There are other reasons and points to rip on the coach, smart people find those points and use constructive means, and intelligent posts to get their point across.

Good enough, start a thread about CRM and ask why we played last night with only 6 healthy scholarship players- probably already did that. But as for the play of the 6 healthy, it was pretty good given the massive adversity they were faced with. You have to feel for those guys, and at least tip your hat to them for not getting the floor mopped with their arses by a good WVU team, despite the fact they were dog tired, and lacked any formidable inside presence for nearly the final five mins. For that you can say a change is necessary or warranted, but not by virtue of the play.

Good grief some of you guys condemning Stirrups have never even met the kid. I have, and he's a good kid, made a real stupid error and is paying a severe price for his mistake- as he should. However, don't go insinuating that he's in some class as a murderer or ******. His dad is a respected highway patrolman, and mother a hard worker too. They were severely disappointed and embarrassed by Leslie's mistake as was Leslie. He's making amends, and deserves a chance to make things right and get his life back in order. If he indeed stays straight as an arrow at Pearl River, makes the grades, is a model player and student with no mistakes, then he deserves another shot in 18 months or so. We shall see, but Leavitt won't be easy on him, that we all know, and he will take a hard look at everything before deciding whether he can come to USF or not. So, before the uninformed, and classless pass judgement you might want to sit back, zip your trap, and wait. There is to much time between now and when he could potentially enroll to worry about it, particularly since right now he is not a Bull. Worry about it, or complaining when the time is right, don't worry your little panties over it now when it isn't even an issue. Hell by that time another school might get him instead...look at Nate Harris for UL, he had an all-conference year and had a major criminal issue coming out of HS.

I don't find many people claiming moral victories however I do think it's absolutely silly when some of you decide to rail on the team because they got beat by a top 25 Big East team. Change might be in order, but we've lost to a few really good teams on the road thus far, teams that it probably wouldn't have mattered who was the coach at USF at this juncture because we still would have lost. So using your profound thinking the best thing is "DEAL WITH IT." There is plenty of reasons to call for CRM's firing, and certainly his issues with recruiting and player retention has only worsened some of those results, however don't go acting like this team, or any USF team for that matter is expected to hit the court and win everytime. That's also silly, and not sensible thinking. We played well last night, shorthanded, and on the road against a top 25 team. Definitely wasn't enough to win, and I continue to get frustrated why every season we're at this point with only 6-8 healthy scholarship players but that doesn't remove the fact this was going to be a tough game anyway you cut it. I guess the simple request is chew on the team when it's warranted like losing by 25 at home to only a pretty good UL team. Not losing by 11, and nearly coming back, while only playing 6 scholarship players to a top 25 team. Ask why CRM has a depleted bench but don't say the team is awful, or played bad when that's not even close to the truth. It was more than an uphill battle and we lost, case closed.

They also only have us with 17 recruits, once we get 25 or 28 as expected that will jump us up. Particularly if we land a few that some expect.

No way he doesn't get drafted.  With the NFL's new rules of no hand contact after five yards teams are going after bigger receivers versus pure speed (better if they can get a guy with both), because defenses can scheme for speed, but if a corner can't touch a 6-5 225lbs receiver after five yards then they're at an incredible disadvantage. He would get drafted just based on his size and raw potential, but it's better he returns to get bigger, stronger, and show more.  That should improve his potential. I love Amarri and his ability, but SBien there is no way Amarri is close to 225 lbs.  If he weighs much above 205 I would be suprised. I didn't say Amarri was 225, just saying the NFL rules are geared toward teams to have bigger receivers. You're not even allowed to touch a receiver after five yards, but you can almost mug them within the first five- another reason for the big receiver and why you're seeing more smaller guys production slip. This is key, because once a big receiver gets out of the blocks, and having a bigger receiver will help him get out of the blocks smoother, there is little a corner can to do impede his reception until the ball arrives and you've got to like 5-11 against 6-5. It's the reason more TE's are leading the league in receptions and lining up wide. Amarri isn't 225, but he is north of 210lbs right now, and has a vertical leap of over 34 inches. It wouldn't be hard for him to add 10lbs, and the NFL probably suggested that. But when the NFL sees 6-5, 4.5 speed, with a 35 inch vert or so they will salavate. It should be no surprise that 5 of the top receivers in the NFL right now are 6-4 or taller. It should also not be a shock that a few have come from no-name Universities, because the NFL is dying for that combination of size and quickness. It's a rare commodity that fits today's NFL profile.

IMO, that loss by 20 was the beginning of the downward spiral that got USF MBB in its current state.  The Bulls looked great until 4 minutes left in the first half of that game.  The big question is, "Has CRM stopped the bleeding?"  I would say "yes" but the healing is taking to long.  He's had to many set backs in recruiting and injuries.  I do know one thing, the player cupboards were as dry as petrified desert bones when CRM arrived. Good point Doug...the cupboard was bone dry when CRM arrived especially when you considered Yusuf Baker was about to foul out without any help from CRM. No CRM has done a good job stopping the bleeding, and has assembled a team that once they can all hit the court healthy at the same time could be pretty good in 2007-08. I will constantly contend that the potential roster for 2007-08 of Dante Curry, Aaron Holmes, Jesus Verdejo, Kentrell Gransberry, Chris Howard, Solomon Bozeman, Amu Saaka, Cann, and Jones will be the most talented one in USF history with the biggest star power of any past teams. Is that enough to turn the corner? I don't know? Can CRM do it? I don't know? But there is potential, and players to do the work so it maybe wouldn't be a bad time to make a change. Because it would make the new coach's transition a little easier.

Ari, if you watched the game last night and thought we 'stunk' then you honestly don't have a clue about hoops. This isn't a disparaging attack but rather a fact you don't understand the game aside from the fact guys dribble, and the ball goes in the net. There was a five minute stretch that we looked really bad, and those three minutes after we closed the gap to 3, but overall a strong performance. Last night WVU made sure Kentrell Gransberry wasn't going to beat them, doubling down, flashing men in front of him. The team played well, they were just literally out-manned once Saaka went down. Once Saaka went down they only had 6 healthy players, only two big men- Gransberry and Mattis. It was a wonder they played defense as well as they did, and it was even more amazing that Gransberry lasted as long as he did before fouling out. People wonder why our FT shooting stunk, well these guys were dog tired. We've got Aris Williams, Melyvn Richardson both sitting indefinitely next to Curry, and Cann...what a team with all them healthy. Say what you will about Richardson but Coach Burnell and CRM have done a good job making him maximize his potential...he's been good at using his body, defending, and rebounding, enough to be a useful commodity to spell minutes for Gransberry and Mattis, without Saaka he and Buckley were hurting having to play almost a full 40 minutes. No, no those guys played well, moved the ball well, and shot fairly well. They turned the ball over to much, but that was partially due to exhaustion, they didn't create enough turnovers, that was partially due to no bench and the team couldn't afford to lose anyone fouling out. If you've got a problem with this team and CRM then it's all about retention, recruiting, player management. He's a sound floor coach, a good teacher and his teams usually play well and hard. Last night was no exception, given their limitations (and you've got to take those into account when critiquing the play) they played very well last night. Problems i see is CRM again having to push the envelop because of recruiting and player retention issues. 1. Chris Howard is not ready to play the nearly 33 minutes he played last night, that's almost cruel and unusual punishment, and could derail the comeback, but CRM is doing it out of necessity. 2. Again, not signing another managable big man last year when there was room had everyone screaming, and it's hurting us now. 3. What's with the injuries, are the players motivated enough to play through injuries? Plenty of stuff to be upset about but the play by and large on the court has been sound, it's just unfortunate that often those teams are playing shorthanded, or without help.

Well put Bullgator... All you have to do is look at the National Freshmen All-American teams and see who's listed. George Selvie, and Chris Robinson... Each were two star recruits, Selvie was a center in HS, and Robinson a safety.  Both put up sick numbers as freshmen in HS. I don't know much about the Selvie recruiting job, but someone explained to me about Robinson, that a number of area coaches were raving about this kid, more as a TE, but one HS coach that the staff really respects told our staff that he "Was grateful to the coaching staff Robinson played on for mainly not using him to his greatest potential because that coach felt that if Robinson's HS staff used him correctly they would have made the playoffs".  This coach felt Robinson would have been a force at LB, and QB or receiver.  Great connections.  USF's HS connections are impeccible definitely the best in the state right now- although FSU might be back on top adding Amato back to the family, and getting Dawsey in-house. Hey you want to know about great USF coaching and recruiting look at the all-conference team.  Trae Williams- two star, Ean Randolph no-star, Ben Moffitt two-star....get the picture. Take for instance Kevin Williams- he's a no-star not even in rivals database, not even in scouts database.  DID YOU KNOW, last year WVU beat us for Kevin Williams, he was set to enroll at WVU but academics held him back.  He didn't go JC just waited in the fall to do some part-time CC, and get his test score up.  He got his test scores up and decided to commit, and subsequently enroll at USF.  Kevin de-committed from WVU- that's a WVU team that's gone 22-3 over the past three years with wins over UGA, Gtech, among others- had a full ride offer from Iowa, and UAB, and getting some interest from a few other SEC schools before he slammed the door shut and enrolled at USF immediately. Does this make him less of a player?  To compare I would say Kevin Williams is a clone of Trae Williams/Ean Randolph, a little bigger with exceptional breakaway speed- 4 kick returns for TD in HS in 2005.  State finalist in the 400m, 100m regional champ... What does that say about USF?  Not only did he have no stars, he wasn't even in their database but if you ask any HS coach in Pinellas County who were the five most dangerous athletes in Pinellas in 2005 they would have told you Kevin Williams, Dexter McCluster, Jock Sanders, Donald Bowen, and Andrew Harris, maybe Young and Newsome just behind those five.  Kevin averaged 15.87 yards a catch, and 10 yards a carry as a senior scoring 16 TD's, and having almost 1400 total yards. I guess it's like the old saying goes if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, then did it happen?  If USF wins a recruiting battle and no one hears, or the recruiting services don't spend time reporting about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

smazza should be put in the penalty box for this. Does he realize how this went down? Does he realize that a part of the team was witnessing this as it happened and are now very traumatized? Do you think that Saturday night they all want to get up and applaud one another, and accept awards? You can't be serious man? I feel for your personal losses but don't make your issues become a jaded, and callous person. The memorial service will more than likely be this weekend do you expect people ignore that for a banquet or to be a recruiting host? Nope, if a recruit doesn't understand this then he does not belong in the USF family, and that goes double for a fan!

You wouldn't go "HMMMM" if you had a better idea about these recruits and didn't let a source that has no credibility on HS evaluation tell you what to believe. I'd say at a minimum, and some very credible people agree, that Claude Davis, Quenton Washington, and Richard Kelly are severely underrated. Claude Davis is a two star DE, I say again, and Joe agrees and knows, yet Davis has offers and interest like any 3 or 4 star ranked FL player?  SO, who's wrong, are you saying this article, or ranking done by unqualified people, who decide which players deserve stars and rankings is right?  Or are you saying that UTennessee, UofIowa, Louisville, Michigan State, WVU, Auburn, and USF (among many others) is right?  I'd tend to go with the staffs of those schools, all with proven track records of finding diamonds in the rough, particularly in FL. Another perfect example is Calvin Sutton.  I know for a fact Mr. Sutton holds offers from Ole Miss, Auburn, Nebraska, UK, and Clemson, Miami claims they're going to offer- he had dozens of offers but almost 18 from top BCS schools.  Neither website has him listed over 5-11, but Calvin is legit 6-1 220lbs.  Neither give him his true speed of 4.55, and his father does some physical training with Gary Sheffield so he would know.  One person that really knows FL football believes Calvin is one of the top 3 LB's coming out of this state this year right up there with Hicks and Edwards....Leavitt made him his #1 defensive target.  Three stars is such a travesty for this kid.  161 tackles his senior year, 19 sacks as a junior. Nah, you've got to get a better perspective before criticizing.  Tyrone McKenzie a transfer was a three star out of HS.  Tyson Butler was one of the state's leading rushers.  This is easily USF's best recruiting class in terms of talent.  In fact, my biggest concern is some big BCS schools cherry picking us at the end.  UF's supposely very interested in Bellamy, FSU wants Kelly to visit in the worst way, Claude has visits set up with MSU, and UT after USF.  Sutton, Sinclair, McClain, Butler, Washington and more are all sporting numerous bigtime offers.  This isn't a smoke and mirrors class like some possibly in the past, all the aforementioned are legit big time recruits that have multiple BCS offers and visits. I couldn't believe how disappointed Auburn was when Sutton said he wasn't visiting.

No way he doesn't get drafted. With the NFL's new rules of no hand contact after five yards teams are going after bigger receivers versus pure speed (better if they can get a guy with both), because defenses can scheme for speed, but if a corner can't touch a 6-5 225lbs receiver after five yards then they're at an incredible disadvantage. He would get drafted just based on his size and raw potential, but it's better he returns to get bigger, stronger, and show more. That should improve his potential.

should be ranked higher if a few guys received their due. But as some say why bother because it will only want the other schools to want our players even more. Claude Davis sports offers from michigan state, tennessee, louisville, wvu, iowa, and auburn...but he's a two star. ;D had three sacks in the FL north/south all-star game, shows you what good those rankings are.

Good grief, don't be so ridiculous as if you didn't already expect us to lose this game. There are many reasons to gripe about CRM for some, like losing to just an above average UL team at home by 25, but this is almost incredulous that some people start acting like every Big East loss, even against ranked teams or very talented teams like Uconn, Pitt, and WVU is unbelievable to some. Losing to a very good WVU is not one of the things that makes any sense to gripe about. Come on fan83...you seem smart enough to realize that these aren't the type of games to take your cheap shots.  CRM has given you many reasons to take shots, but our guys fought pretty hard against a top 25, very good, WVU team...there's no reason to do anything BUT give them a nod of approval.  There will be other games, and other points in the season to take your shots, but just because we lose a game doesn't mean it was necessarily a poor performance.  Some people on this board need to learn that there are just some teams in the Big East that are better than us, and for good reason, and reasons that have NOTHING to do with CRM.  Anyone that could suggest without CRM we would be better than Uconn, or WVU or something to that effect doesn't have a clue about hoops.  This is Big East hoops, we must take our lumps unfortunately.  Like I said, there are spots where CRM will give you reasons to want a change, 25 pt loss at home to UL, losing to TAMUCC, Richmond, only having 7 healthy scholarship players right now- like I said there is countless reasons to b-tch, without trumping up losing to an overall superior team, and program, on the road.

this shows you the kind of man Leavitt is. This is a HUGE weekend recruiting wise for USF. Not only were some enormous names coming in for a visit, but it was banquet weekend. Leavitt canceling both, and not giving the tacty "I know KD would have wanted to continue on with the banquet" line that most coaches give for such selfish reasons- should tell everyone what type of person Leavitt is, and coach he is. Some things are more important and despite his tough persona, Jim Leavitt has always recognized that fact.

Then you've got to ask yourself what you expected out of Ponton? He was never confused with Hall or a great back. Ponton has a nice burst, is a hardnosed runner with ok footwork and movement. He's as hard a worker as we have and actually has a good attitude despite what others suggest. Who knows he might decide to follow McCollough to BCC this year because Plancher did legitimately beat him out- Plancher is really good as a smallish scat back type, durability will be an issue- and with Ford here for spring practice and the freshmen coming in not to mention Dorsey you've got to guess Ponton's seeing some writing on the wall. Can't fault him for that. I never expected Ponton to be a 1000 yard rusher for USF, although had he been eligible at the beginning of the season and out of the dog house his value would have been huge in games like KU, UCF, FIU, and Rutgers. Not enough to tear up those teams, but enough to keep the offense more balanced and defenses honest. He's a good all-around player and hard worker so I hope he sticks it out but if not given the depth at RB starting to build I can understand why.

OK Joe, and if you want to be the voice of reason for the board that's fine, but this isn't a kid that ran for 1200 yards in HS, and had a couple of big games. This is a kid that so thoroughly dominated 5A competition in FL virtually his entire senior season is a highlight reel. I've seen Ford play and he's a phenomenal talent, and one that actually you can't make a highlight reel that can show ALL OF HIS GOOD PLAYS. This kid is the opposite of your theory about videos, and typically videos are tougher to evaluate on OL, and defensive players because in those instances it does show a few good plays but fail to show every snap which define a player at those positions and what they're truly capable of and aren't useful that's where coaches seeing a few games are more critical then some key plays where the player looked good. Whereas with a RB like Ford, who ran for 2900 yards, and caught something 200 yards receiving as a senior there is no way to show his impact. Every game was a human highlight reel. You're seeing some great plays but he has even more than that. I know coaches that played against him which conceded 200 yards (and I am not saying they gave him 200 yards, but rather conceded the fact he would get it against them regardless of what they schemed) knowing they had no way of really stopping him but trying to contain the remainder of the team in hopes of beating Sarasota. I like Ford again not because of what he does on a single play but his body of work over the course of his HS career, and prep school career. I also love his versatility because he can catch the ball out of the backfield, but has an excellent burst, and change of direction for his size so he's not pigeon holed into a certain style of offense that would only be conducive to his skills. Because of that fact he will be effective for USF assuming he maintains his academic status and a great attitude- which he should have knowing the type of kid he is. In the past we've grabbed stellar players but usually they came with baggage or were a stretch. Ford is the first kid we've got that has all the tools, a good attitude, and a hard worker. You won't be disappointed, he probably won't initially have the seasons Hall had partially because our offense will be more balanced and he'll need to learn how to play in our multiple sets. But he's a RB with all the God given tools necessary to be an impact player which is rare indeed.

the explosiveness, size....speed we're adding is going to really make this team amazing. I know Calvin Sutton and suffice it to say that in FL he's probably one of the three best LB's available if not the best OLB...his speed is undeniable, possibly the fastest LB in FL. But due to a coaching change and having a young inexperienced coach at Deland this year, Calvin getting academics in order in the off-season he went severely under-hyped and publicized but I can assure you his stats are all legit including his 19 sacks as a Jr.

he was over hyped anyways. He should be a desenmt bench player for us. I think Id rather have Howard and Bozeman start. Man you don't know hoops if you think he's over-hyped. No one has a quicker first step, or the nice pull-up Jesus has, or ability to switch hands on the drive. His problem is he's not fitting into the offense well or picking his times to attack at the right points, he's having some mental lapses. It's going to take time because of the type of player he is. He's not some 6-9 275lbs PF/C like Gransberry that can just out muscle his opponents. But anyone that's got a good glimpse at practices the past two years will tell you Verdejo has the most tools and skills on the entire team- in fact those were the same people that said Howard was an amazing point guard- two games and it's clear they were spot on.

Your first good post in a while. Skills the kid has, he's oozing with talent but we've seen it all before. Two things positive- he has a role model/mentor in Amarri, and his parents are very strict (this is why he actually made it and persevered), they pushed him to succeed and his dad use to work for USF. I think the point that Ford continued to push until he got eligible against the odds demonstrates he'll have the will.

Ford has a lot of skills that insure he's not just a one dimensional player. This is why he's enormously valuable to USF, and yes has the ability to be the missing link. Joe, you may have 'edited' video clips for football recruiting services, but keep in mind Mike Ford's almost entire HS career was a highlight reel. He ran for nearly 2900 yards in 12 games in HS, missed his junior year, and played as a soph, and freshman at Riverview. His HS career he ran for over 4900 in three football seasons. He ran for 900 yards at Hargrave sharing time with starting RB at LSU Keilan Williams. Mike's got all the tools to be very solid and capable of adapting to most offenses. This will help USF and Ford to mesh together and insuring that both will have at least reasonably successful careers together.

Uh, the typical misnomer. No one has shutdown the media the past two months. All the assistants have been accessible and Leavitt has allowed full access. The lack of media sometimes isn't Jim's fault all the time, often it's the media's apathy toward USF. Some media personalities deserve to shoulder as much, if not more, of the responsibility. It's easy when you're Urban Meyer when you've got about 40-50 state papers that have beat writers who wait with baited breath over every word you utter. Not even fair to compare the two given the fact Urban shut off the media twice this year, pre-season and before the bowl- but it didn't stop most writers from giving their reads what they want, ANY GATOR.

a very serious football school at Palatka that kicks out 1-A prospects every year. It's a very good sign for USF that were getting verbals for great kids from great programs that in the past USF hasn't had much success signing. Sinclair out of Mandarin, Sutton from Deland....maybe Joe Jones out of Broward. All areas and schools that typically send their top talent to the SEC or ACC and it's a very good sign USF is making headway in those schools and areas.