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I can second most of what exbull just wrote. But for me, the thing that finally lead to his decision was family. With his wife getting the opportunity she did in North Carolina, with he no longer having family obligations down here, and with a job opportunity to enhance himself, it became a job opportunity that couldn't be passed up. Again, he will be missed.

Any former player can attest to the fact that Coach Kravitz is one of the greatest people you will ever meet in your life. His knowledge of the game and coaching ability were awesome, but the thing that most guys remember and appreciate was his personality. You always felt comfortable around him, he was proabably the easiest coach to talk to, he always genuinely asked about your family, and was very funny guy that did his best to keep things light. As my high school recruiting coach, as one of my former coaches, but most importantly as a friend, I, along with almost all current and former players, will miss Coach Kravitz.

I am being optimistic. I know that Coach Smith is not the answer for offensive coordinator. I know that, unfortunately, we will have to suffer through another year of Smith. But I feel like we are still improving and will continue to do so. As long as our defensive coaches remain, and we continue to bring in better talent offensively, and hopefully bring in some new blood offensively. We honestly do have a chance to do special things. Will those happen? I hope so, and I think eventually they will. Anyways, tomorrow is signing day. I think the defensive coaches have done an awesome job of bringing in guys that will make them continue to improve on defense. I think most of the offensive guys are an improvement from what we have been getting. Tomorrow is the day to celebrate what might happen in the future.

Another thought to the rankings .... Last year we were in position to win the Big East. It didn't happen, but we had the talent to do it. That was accomplished mostly with conference USA recruits, because a majority of last years recruits didn't provide much in terms of starting lineups. So if we end up with a recruiting class the same as last years, then I believe we will be even better next year. Would I like a top 10 class? sure. But we aren't quite there yet. I know our defensive coaches, given even the smallest of talent, can create a defense that will shine. Hopefully, our offensive coaches can put together a package in the spring that will maximize the talents of both the returing players and those newcomers that will play a key role. This will give us a better chance to win the Big East. Will it be enought to win the National Championship? Probably not. But Rome wasn't built overnight.

Smazza, they way our coaches typically deal w/ redshirts traveling is two fold. #1 If there is a position that isn't real deep, like center, then a redshirt will likely travel. #2 The coaches determine at the end of the week which redshirts worked hardest during the entire week of practice. Those that worked hardest are rewarded by going on the road trip. This provides an extra incentive to work hard. Now, don't read into this too much and think that just because someone didn't travel, that means he didn't work hard. That isn't the case, cuz the coaches only have so many travel spots for redshirts, so they usually try to bring a variety of guys throughout the year.

#1 Never begin to judge a class until the Letters of Intent are signed. Crazy things happen on signing day, both good and bad. #2 No class can truly be evaluated for 2 years. If we sign 25, most likely only 15 or so will last 4 years, and only 7-9 of those will be long time starters. My only comment about the debate of our ranking and stars is that no scout has ever been able to judge an athlete's heart. This is the biggest determining factor at the college level. If you play D-IA ball, you have the talent to be successful, but it is your heart, drive, and determination that will decide how successful you will be. Until these guys sign, show us their work ethic, and compete against players at their talent level, there is no way to truly judge them. Go Bulls! 2 Days to Signing Day!

One thing I can assure you of at USF is that our players are in shape. We run and condition more than almost any other school. For example, Miami used to have a conditioning test, that we did as a normal workout every monday during spring conditioning. Our winter conditioning is 3-4 days per week and that is just running. Over the summer we typically run 4 days per week starting June 1st. Our conditioning test is the hardest thing you could possibly do to yourself, and by the time the first game roles around 90% of the team has passed the conditioning test, with the exception of the freshman lineman. We run 2 to three days a week during the entire season. We are in shape and we pride ourselves on that. The cramping issue is more of a personal basis, we had one guy that cramped everyday despite medical therapy and some old wives tales for helping. Cramping just happens with extreme exertion.

Although strength is very important, we used to have a saying "Looks like Tarzan, Plays like Jane" What that refered to were those guys that either looked like mini-bodybuilers in muscularity or could absolutely lift a house strength wise, but couldn't play worth a lick. There is so much more that goes into your ability to dominate than strength. Its just that being stronger helps.

When I played, almost every single OL and DL was at or above a 400 bench except a very few. As far as I can remember, every one was over 600 squat. Power cleans I don't remember as well but I would say a majority are, but the problem with power cleans is the technique involved. A lot of guys are big, powerful, and explosive but can't seem to figure out the technique for power cleans. Now Smazza may be on to something that I have been noticing alittle. If you look at our roster numbers for height and weight, we are comparable to almost anybody in the country. But when you see us in real life its a different ball game. For the most part, a lot of our guys look smaller muscularly than our opposition, again with exceptions. The current strength coach was a grad asst. when I was their and he knows his stuff, but I'm not seeing the progression muscle wise on the field I would like. But maybe its just me being picky.

4 star RB J. James and 3 star OL D. Mosely just gave USF a perfect 10 for their visit this weekend. And DE/OLB Smiley commited. This shows that the visits are doing good, so its time to see if we can keep them convinced for another two weeks.

After watching his video on Sunshine preps, Zach has enough talent, size and speed to make a good college offensive guard. Things he must focus on #1 playing with leg bend - he plays to high for the college game (Frey will have him under the cage quickly) #2 He must learn to deliver the hit by running his feet - too many times he stopped his feet on contact #3 I love his mean streak, that you can't teach and it is a great quality for a lineman #4 Pass blocking in college is a whole new world, but it is much easier at guard than it is at tackle so his experience at tackle should help him. #5 He must live in the weight room. He appears to be a strong guy, but he must get stronger and then learn how to use that strength with leverage. I could easily see Zach become a two or three year starter at guard provided he has the desire and work ethic to become better.

One point that is being overlooked is that PJ has been nothing but a QB in college and highschool. Aside from route running and pass catching, Blocking requires a hard earned talent at this level. It isn't something that can be mastered in one spring from someone who hasn't played a position based upon hitting. I'm not saying he has never given nor received hits, I'm talking about three point stance, firing off the ball, low pad level, using leverage, proper hands, etc. These are things that offensive and defensive lineman work on for years to be able to play at this level of competition. Not to say it can't be done, but it is very unlikely.

In my years playing for USF, Coach Leavitt would reccomend plays during special situations, but for someone to say that he is blantantly calling runs up the middle every play is a lie, either from Coach Smith or from who he spoke with. Leavitt tends to be conservative, but he is also a fierce competitor that wants to win and he more than anyone knows how horrible our offense was this year. The only question is whether or not Coach Smith can talk Leavitt into giving him another year to prove himself? I hope not, but it could be very likely. P.S. Coach Smith didn't teach Marquel how to play QB, that was entirely from Coach Canales, who happens to be running an awesome offense in Arizona.

This is probably not good for the Big East's vision. Realistically, UGa is gonna blow them out in all three games which will just fuel the fire for people to disregard the Big East.

They wouldn't necessarily have to replace them. Franks could switch to coaching another position on offense (QB, WR, TE) and/or Coach Frey could focus on Tackles and Tight ends with Kehoe doing guards and centers. This would mean Coach Gregory or Dawsey would have to leave though. Coach Kehoe and Soldinger are awesome coaches and recruiters that would elevate this program to a new level. Although it is likely they won't come here, I would hope that we are offering everything we can to get them.

Grothe was a proven winner in high school, but until I see him or anyone else on the field under game pressures, I don't think it is wise to assume anyone's future success. Hopefully, all of our QBs work extremely hard in the weight room, in film study, during winter and summer conditioning, and spend extra time with the receivers. (And I'll save my OC comments for later)

James would be nice but it would be perfect if we could get Kehoe or Soldinger.

I don't know if I would hire their offensive coordinator. Miami's offense was pretty bad this year and has been declining since their last National Championship. Coah Kehoe, however, is an awesome coach and would be a great hire.

You're right Joe. One thing that people forget is that there is more to recruiting than the state of the football program. Some recruits care a lot about academics and how they feel around the players, etc. Yes, I agree that it is wrong for a recruit to commit, decommit, recommit, etc. But these are young guys and they are allowed to change their minds. Ultimately, we want guys that want to be Bulls. Don't get too caught up in recruiting until signing day, cuz many recruits change their minds at the last sec. (That includes our commits too)

Unfortunately, there are usually quite a few guys that don't take classes serious enough, which is why they need to focus more on finals than the first couple bowl practices. If you don't pass your classes, you don't play.

I am a former bull and a current medical student. And I just found out that I may be doing my rotations in Naples next year which means I may actually be able to see a few Bulls games!!!!

To me the kid is unbelievable. I have looked at the video for all of the 3, 4, and 5 star running backs in the state and in my opinion, he is by far the best. No, he doesn't have 4.4 speed like the other 5 star guys, but he has one of the nastiest cut back moves I've seen in a long time. He also finishes every run, meaning that when he goes down, he initiates contact and gets another 2 or 3 yards. This guy is major talent and if he chooses us over UM I believe it would be bigger than the C. Hill signing. P.S. Purely speculative, but could you imagine 2 or 3 years from now, with C. Hill at QB, James at RB, and our Receiving core? (of course with a new OC ) That would be awesome!!!

Josh, I just saw on rivals.com that Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln running back Keeley Dorsey just committed to us. But it said that he is unrated and his other scholarship offer was to D-II Valdosta State. So is this guy a major sleeper, or did our coaches spike their egg nog a little too strongly?

The only commitments you can feel somewhat comfortable about are those that committ and then cancel the rest of their visits. For all others, you cross your fingers and hope.

The only argument I would say here is that it wasn't an official engagement and simply more of an unofficial thing. Had it been official, one or more of the coaches would have been there and most likely the players would have either been in their warm-ups or dressed more "appropriately", depending on your point of view.