Greg Auman

curtis stinson, iowa state's top scorer, not in the starting lineup, according to t.j. ... buckley is still starting, despite the groin injury ... mattis also starting

many of you guys listening? t.j. and lighthall are on 620. zaronn in streetclothes, as expected ... greg

"The second best player on nearly every team is the backup qb, the best player is always the qb that you're recruiting....." scooby ... great, great line. i may have to steal that some day ... greg

Even if the Bulls don't get Jimmy Oliver, I think Grooms is smart enough to see the number of quarterbacks ahead of him and wonder how long he'll be at that position at USF. The challenge for USF is to convince it's still worth coming if he won't be a quarterback, which isn't always an easy sell to a teenager ... greg

just to update, i talked again today with oliver's coach at pearl river. he said it's a done deal, also said oliver has finished his classes at pearl river and should be fine academically to transfer to USF. the academics are probably the only catch in this -- same coach told me last summer that gene coleman was good to go grade-wise, and that never panned out because of academic issues. greg 5-foot-11, 175 pounds

hey all. this board amazes me sometimes. i talked to oliver's coach yesterday, and he told me, unwaveringly, the kid is coming to USF. coach had talked to him 10 minutes earlier, told me the kid came back from an official visit to louisiana tech all the more sure USF is where he wanted to be. told me he has the letter of intent USF sent him, told me he's going to sign it and fax it to USF on wednesday. josh calls the kid today, wakes him up, gets a groggy response that the kid hasn't made up his mind, and posts it here. josh called me this morning, and josh is confident jimmy oliver is coming to USF. he didn't post it here, but he said so on his site. if jimmy oliver doesn't sign with USF on wednesday, it's not that my story is false -- let me know who i need to thank for re-titling the thread so nicely -- it's because a young athlete changed his mind. i wrote that he had decided to transfer to USF, and I have every indication that's the case. what he's telling josh is that he hasn't committed -- meaning he hasn't called USF's coaches and told them he's coming. i didn't claim he had. now you guys go back to arguing over how short he is. greg

my favorite word in that whole piece: Pysch!

a single newspaper story speculating on potential candidates listed Smith as one of 11 names, in with a local junior college coach. i haven't heard anything since to suggest buffalo has any interest in smith, or vice versa.

talked to Jerrell Young this afternoon, and it's not like he's gone completely under the radar. he's had his name mentioned in the Times 35 times, though our readers outside pinellas probably haven't read much about him. great numbers as a running back -- more than 1,000 yards in a six-game stretch this season, finishing with 16 TDs, plus six picks, with two returned for touchdowns. might not have as many stars as some other recruits (yet) but seems like a good get. greg

hey folks. talked with Dorsey tonight, and he told me he was also offered by Rutgers and Southern Miss. he didn't play football this year as a fifth-year senior, so he's a little off the radar. former sprinter, much like Lincoln star/USF transfer Ryan Gilliam ... greg

E.T., the Bulls had five true freshmen play this year: Carlton Hill, receivers Taurus Johnson and Jessie Hester, cornerback Tyller Roberts and kicker Mike Benzer ... the rest are all due to redshirt

seriously though, smazza is closing in on 30,000 posts (heck, might have it by the time i write this) and i feel like something should be done. any progress on getting Howie back on the boards? been too long.

good thread, both for the real posts and the fake ones. along those two lines: a. I cover USF for the St. Pete Times b. I'm part of a 10-person research staff working 'round the clock to collate and analyze all of smazza's posts, but as luck would have it, I'm only responsible for studying posts of 20 words or longer.

he committed saturday. so did his high school teammate, DB/KR dylan douglas ...

guys. plaschke's not a moron. he's a great columnist. he's actually been to a USF baseball game -- how many national columnists can say that? i believe he's friends with the father of Bulls player Davis Bilardello. anyway, i met him this summer at a seminar in south florida, and he's not a bad guy at all. all he's saying is that bowl games with two 6-5 teams aren't very compelling. and from a national perspective, they're not. take the new orleans bowl: 6-5 southern miss vs. 6-5 arkansas state. are you really excited about that? if there are 28 bowl games, the 6-5 types are going to be the ones everyone talks about in terms of there being too many bowl games. it's not a personal attack on USF, it's just a bowl with a new sponsor, so nobody knows what or where it is, and two teams that are barely bowl eligible. greg

Villanova opens its 2006 schedule at Central Florida. They only play one I-A opponent each year, and have Maryland in 2007 and West Virginia in 2008 ... greg

RHB ... Bucs drafted Larry Brackins from Pearl River in April, but he got hurt and didn't make the team ... good memory. greg

hey, it's all about cross-traffic and self-promotion. was surprised i was first to post it here -- you guys are usually pretty quick ...

the pool for assistant coaches goes up from $690,000 this year to $850,000 in 2006, increasing by $100,000 each year. by 2012, leavitt will have twice as much money to spend on his staff than he did this season.

this from USF this afternoon ... Jim Leavitt, the only coach in the 10-year history of USF football, has agreed to a contract extension through 2012, USF Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Doug Woolard announced today. The new terms begin January 1, 2006, replacing Leavitt’s current contract that ran through 2009. The base salary plus compensation for radio, television and appearances will average $1 million per year over the length of the contract. The annual salary in 2006 will be $600,000 with an escalation each year thereafter. All monies provided in the contract will be drawn from gate receipts, private fundraising corporate partnerships, television and radio rights fees, and Big East Conference and NCAA revenues. No Education and General Fund (state) monies or student fees will be utilized. Other than the addition of a $75,000 incentive for a BCS bowl appearance, the incentives portion of the contract remains unchanged. The new terms also increase the buyout of the contract. If Coach Leavitt resigns his position between the effective date and January 1, 2008, the buyout is $500,000. The buyout drops to $400,000 between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2012. There is no buyout if the contract is terminated between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. “I’ve said from the very beginning that USF is one of the best coaching jobs in America,†said Leavitt. “I really feel that way. I am very fortunate to coach for USF and it’s something I will never take for granted. I appreciate both President Genshaft and (Athletics Director) Doug Woolard so much for the unending support they have shown for our program.†Woolard said, “This extension reflects the outstanding job that Jim has done in leading our football program. He has made our program competitive in the Big East Conference and within the BCS, and we feel like the terms of this extension are consistent with his outstanding achievements. Coach Leavitt has an opportunity to build a legacy here at USF and we are pleased to support him in that endeavor.†"We recognize how important Jim Leavitt is to the future of USF athletics," said President Judy Genshaft. "He has built this program in record time and we are happy to do everything in our power to keep him here."

espn picked up louisville-connecticut for the 7:45 slot the usf game would have occupied.

bulls got eight points in the coaches poll as well. (still 10 fewer than UCF in that one) ...

hey. yes, was Achilles -- it's an injury Dennis has been slowed by for months. McCullum estimated Dennis was at "65 percent" going into the game ... I had the same thought on Capko tonight. They have two scholarships that are going unused for the current school year, and they've said they'd like to find a point guard who can join the team at the semester break, but it certainly would make sense for Capko to be in position for the other. he played 29 minutes on Friday -- hadn't played more than 13 in a game before that ... greg

hey guys. they're saying collin dennis re-aggravated his Achilles tendon injury; no word on when he'll return. Solomon Jones just had bad cramps -- he left around the 7:00 mark in second half and didn't return. greg

ricky's got it down near-perfect. very impressive.