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If we do in fact hire Diaz, then I think we need to come to grips with the fact that we are a nobody directional school in a second or third tier low level conference. Our competition is the likes of Liberty and FAU/FIU. We will look forward to getting a big paycheck to play against a big time conference team like UCF. Yes, I simultaneously died a little and vomited while typing that.

If Deion does come, what assistants might he try to bring in? Former NFL guys?

Why would Deion choose USF over offers from just about any P5 school? I just don’t see any reason for him to come here. I think our best chance for a “big name” is Herman. Unless they say screw it and offer Urban Meyer.

Compare our three runs up the middle when we needed to be aggressive vs them throwing the ball in the end zone when all they needed was a field goal to win. You play to win or you play to lose.

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Tom Herman as Head Coach and Leavitt as assistant Head coach/Defensive Coordinator?

Whoever we get needs to have an attitude or the ability to instill an attitude. I want more aggression. More people playing like they are pissed off. The old “swarm and punish” days of early USF football teams.

Would Hugh Freeze at Liberty be an option or would this be too lateral of a move for him.

Scott Frost?

GB was a good QB. His performance thus far this year has been pretty awful but I put that on the coaches not knowing how to put him in a position to be successful.

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Assessment: QB: Phenomenal athlete that is one of the best players in USF history. Currently kind of schizophrenic. First two games looked disjointed. Third game passing was impressive. Last night was uncomfortable and completely out of sync. Amazing potential. OC needs to call the game to get him in a groove. Grade: C+. (Yes, this may be lower than some people but the expectations are high for him based upon last years results.) RB: Overall very pleased. Really like Tice so far. DJ has been underwhelming but still a good strong runner. RBs seem a step slower than last year. Grade: B WR/TE: Hard to assess. Loads of talent. Too many drops in earlier games. Love the down field blocking. Grade: B- OL: Biggest disappointment thus far. Yes I'm aware of our points scored and average yards running per game. They made big strides against Illinois but were repeatedly beat in many running and passing situations against Temple. The main reason our offense looked bad at times against SB and Tem was the fact that those teams had strong defensive lines. This is my biggest concern for offensive success going forward. Grade: D+/C- DL: Pleasantly surprised with this group. They have been playing with intensity and passion. I have routinely seen them get penetration and/or drive the OL back on run plays. Pass rush seems to be improving as well. Grade: A LB: I have been very critical of this group in the past but they are a different bunch this year. They seem to have more intensity and less breakdowns. Still a little shaky on pass coverage but very happy with their progress in the last year. Probably the most improved group. Grade: B+ DB: Very talented and probably our best group on the team. Good coverage abilities. Ball hawking is seen with the multitude of interceptions. Love seeing the blitzing and run support by this group. Will have to see how they fair against more potent passing offenses. Grade: A Special teams: Terrible thus far. Yes, they had a better game against Temple, especially the coverage teams. But even without any blocks last night, there was still more pressure in both kicking and punting than I like to see. Kicker seems solid. Punter has a good leg but a little slow. This may determine future success of this team. Grade: D- Prediction: I love that we have progressed to the point where we can be critical of our Bulls being Top 25 and undefeated. I am concerned that our wins thus far have been due to excess talent which may not always be the case going forward. My fear is that unless special teams improves, penalties decrease, and offense starts to find a rhythm, we may be in for 1 or 2 losses. I do have confidence that at least some if not all of these will improve and we will finish the year with 0 or 1 loss. Overall, Its a great day to be a Bull!

Emotion, aggression, pride, swagger, intensity, passion ..... that was the USF way. I hope it returns.

Just a quick word about Cedric Bell and Shaq Dawson. I played w/ both Ced and Shaq. Ced was an amazing football player, and a freak of nature in terms of size strength and athleticism. While he was here, Ced was better than Kenyatta Jones and had the potential to be an NFL offensive lineman. Unforunately, problems came up that caused him to leave after two seasons. I wouldn't consider him a total bust only because he did contribute alot during his first two years. Shaq Dawson was a big time hyped recruit w/ all the physical tools necessary to excel. The problem w/ Shaq was more on the mental side, and it took him almost three years to develop into a starting offensive tackle. But once he did develop, he started I believe every game for his final two years. Both were good guys that although didn't live up to their hype or their talents, did contribute to the foundation of our South Florida Bulls Football program, and so in my mind neither were busts.

Right now it doesn't matter who is QB. We must find a replacement for our interior offensive line or else we won't get a chance to run or throw anything next year.

Coach Lane was a good recruiter, but more importantly he has been the recruiter mostly for the miami area. So he has had the most contact with the coaches and players from that area. That is also going to be difficult to replace.

This one is bad. Coach Lane is the sole reason we have had very good defensive lineman during USFs short history. His work ethic and attitude are as awesome as you will find. He was so good, that he was able to work with the Bucs over the summer and help coach their defensive lineman. With having us have to replace both DE and a DT, this loss is going to hurt us bigtime. This loss combined with the loss of Coach Kravitz, now puts a major question mark on the defense. Yeah, the players are basically the same, and yes Coach Burnham will do an awesome job, but now you are going to have two or three (assuming Simmonds gets hired) new defensive coaches that have to learn how the defense works and then try to teach it to some of the new guys that we need to step in. Unfortunately, we just aren't paying our coaches what they need and deserve, which is going to make it very difficult to bring in top notch coaches as well. As far as other coaches leaving, if our offense has success at all this year, I wouldn't be suprised if both Frey and Franks leave as well. They are both very good coaches and deserve more than they get.

As far as QB goes, Leavitt's only real role is in his decision on who is QB coach and/or OC. Marquel was far from a college QB his first two years, but he had Coach Mike Canales who has proven to be one of the best young coordinators out there. Coach Cananles knew how to coach QBs and did a great job with Marquel. Coach Smith has not shown the ability to do that, thus the poor QB play the last few years. Although this is purely speculation, but if Coach Canales had been coaching PJ or any other guy we've had the last two years, they would have been much more successful, not great, maybe not even good, but PJ wouldn't have been the worst QB in Division IA and IAA football.

Bad decision .... yes. Should he be fired ... no.

1. QB - There are enough people in the mix such that an improvement should be seen. However, this is greatly dependent upon #2. 2. OC - This is the most worrisome part of the team. With no evidence of actual QB development and no evidence of play calling suitable for the success of your team, I am still left apprehensive about Coach Smith in this position. 3. RB - I believe the talent we have at RB is good. It will be an adjustment for any new tailback, not just in running the ball but also w/ route running and blitz pickup/pass blocking which is the hardest part for any young RB. Also, people forget that we are relpacing all three interior offensive lineman, which has me very worried. We could have Emmitt Smith and still have problems if we don't get two guards and a center to step up and fill those holes. 4. Penalties - Don't bother me too much. We have always had them. We can overcome them with good play. 5. Big East - With the way recruiting worked out for the other teams and with the way scheduling has ended up, this could really be an exciting year for the Big East. USF has a legitimate chance of being undefeated going into the Pitt game, and even up to the UL and WVU games. UL and WVU seem to be in a great position for a national spotlight provided they don't stumble early. Pitt should be much improved. 6. Coaching Staff - The loss of Coach Kravitz will hurt alot for the players and other coaches, but defensively, I think we can be as good if not better because of the addition of new coaches and the excitement they will bring. My biggest worry w/ the defense is that if the offense doesn't improve from last year will the defense continue to have enough pride to keep fighting all the time by themselves. Offensively, I am still very worried. We will be breaking in a new RB, QB, Guards, and Center. This by itself will cause a lot of mistakes simply from guys learning how to play together. The leadership offensively is what will ultimately decide on our sucess next year both in the Coaches and the players. 7. OOC Schedule- The OOC schedule lends itself for USF to show improvement, gain more national recognition, and put itself in a position to be ranked in October. The Kansas and North Carolina games will both be very difficult, but are both winnable. These games I feel will ultimately decide our season. 8. Prediction - I feel like USF has a great chance to go undeafeated in OOC play. Syracuse, Cinn, and UCONN (revengeand at home) should be wins. Pitt will be a struggle but at home and so I feel the Bulls will win this as well. This leads us to UL and WVU. Both difficult placs to play, both cold weather games, both should be national spotlight games. This should be an opportunity for us to step up to the level of the big boys. I do feel like both UL and WVU will most likely win these games, but they are both winnable for USF. Plus they are at the end of the year, so who knows in what situation UL, WVU, or USF will be in by then. I would expect another successful season that shows progression and growth. A National Championship is not gonna happen this year, but the Bulls can show improvement. No matter what you feel, Get out and root for your 2006 USF Bulls! It should be a great year. Optimistic!

Last I checked, he was the LB coach at Lakeland ..... he did coach at Bartow the year after he left USF.

Frey is the one and only "Big Sweat"

There's a difference between respect, admiration, confidence and being buddies. For most of the players, Coach Leavitt is a very good coach that demands excellence from everyone involved with the program. He is a tough coach on everyone, but with that, most if not all involved with the program respect him and have confidence in what he is doing. However, that doesn't mean that everyone is looking to be his best friend. As a former player, I take every opportunity I can to go back and visit players and coaches. I always talk with Coach Leavitt and have a good relationship with him, but that doesn't mean he is loved by all. That also is no reflection on his abilities as a coach. In his position the most important thing he must have is respect, and that he has earned. More than that can develop overtime if needed or wanted.

#1 Coach Kravitz was a great coach and will be missed by the players and other coaches. #2 Coach Burnham is a phenomenal coach and the defense won't miss a beat, provided an adequate secondary coach is hired. I too was hoping that the offseason coaching moves would have been offensively and not defensively. Don't be surprised if Coach Rachel moves back to coaching defensive backs if Coach Leavitt can't find a good secondary coach.

1. Linebackers, Defensive Line, and Offensive Tackles 2. Offensive changes do need to occur. Frey and Franks are good, never met Gregory, not impressed right now with the WR play but I can give that another year, my personal opinion is for a minimum of a new QB coach preferably a new OC. 3. Jason Butler to come from Lakeland and be the secondary coach. Gonna be a great coach in a few years! 4. 7-9 5. Medically speaking, the aspirin isn't as good for pain as alcohol,... or as fun