Atlanta Bull

Here's to the "Grad Five" taking us to the Final Four next season.

Would be a great hire: Joey Knight‏ @TBTimes_Bulls I've also heard Mark Gottfried's name floated for @USFMBB job (unsubstantiated), but bear in mind: Doug Woolard was his high school coach. Head coaching record SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference) (1995–1997) 1995–96Murray State19–1012–41stNIT First Round 1996–97Murray State20–1012–6T–1stNCAA First Round 1997–98Murray State29–416–21stNCAA First Round Murray State:68–24 (.739)40–12 (.769) Alabama (Southeastern Conference) (1998–2009) 1998–99Alabama17–156–10T–5thNIT First Round 1999–00Alabama13–166–104th 2000–01Alabama25–118–83rdNIT Runner-up 2001–02Alabama27–812–41stNCAA Second Round 2002–03Alabama17–127–94thNCAA First Round 2003–04Alabama20–138–8T–2ndNCAA Elite Eight 2004–05Alabama24–812–4T–1stNCAA First Round 2005–06Alabama18–1310–62ndNCAA Second Round 2006–07Alabama20–127–9T–3rdNIT First Round 2007–08Alabama17–165–115th 2008–09Alabama12–7 †2–3 †3rd Alabama:210–131 (.616)83–82 (.503)† Resigned mid–season NC State (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2011–present) 2011–12NC State24–139–7T–4thNCAA Sweet 16 2012–13NC State24–1111–7T–4thNCAA Second Round 2013–14NC State22–149–97thNCAA Second Round 2014–15NC State22–1410–8T–6thNCAA Sweet 16 2015–16NC State16–175–1313th 2016–17NC State15–174–14T-13th NC State:123–86 (.589)48–58 (.453) Total:401–241 (.625)

OVERVIEW It was a major recruiting coup for USF to get the All-Florida star running back and safety to sign in Tampa. He hasn't let them down, becoming the school's all-time leading rusher and earning first-team All-American Athletic Conference nods in each of his three seasons with the Bulls. Mack led the AAC in rushing as a freshman (202-1,041, nine touchdowns) and sophomore (210-1,381, eight TDs). He finished fifth in the conference in 2016, but had only 174 carries for 1,187 yards and scored 15 times on the ground. Mack also had 63 catches for 485 yards and a score during his career while averaging over 100 rushing yards per game over his three seasons. ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Looks like he has ball bearings in his hips. Able to swivel in multiple directions. Can tilt and slalom around defenders on the second and third level and is able to string moves together. Has slippery feet and is hard to pin down when bouncing laterally. Runs with knee bend and his pad level is low at contact. Explosive burst carries him into his getaway gear. Able to run away from tacklers. Six of his fifteen touchdowns this year went for 43-plus yards. Always plays fast. Contain buster to the outside. Finds ways to slither out of tackles. Hands showed improvement as pass catcher. WEAKNESSES Runs with inconsistent power through contact. Will need to accelerate through contact on next level. Serial run bouncer. Too willing to make wild bounces to the furthest reaches of the perimeter if interior lanes are gummed up. Lacks a committed approach between the tackles. Feet start dancing if he doesn't see an early point of entry. On jet sweeps, he rarely looked to cut it downhill in space and defaulted to the wide track. Has a very poor fumble rate over this three years and has put the ball on the ground twelve times. Ducks head into traffic to finish rather than keeping eyes scanning. NFL COMPARISON Denard Robinson BOTTOM LINE Scat back with decent size and blazing getaway speed. Mack has plenty of wiggle to bounce from run lane to run lane and make tacklers miss, but he has a penchant for looking to break runs way outside when the interior becomes too trafficked and he won't be able to get away with that against NFL speed. Mack is a complementary runner who can hit big runs against defenses who have been worn down, but he needs to be matched with the right scheme in order to unlock his big-play potential. -Lance Zierlein

Right now he's tied for 9th best RB. The great McCaffrey ran 4.49. Check out nfl.com/combine http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#year=2017&workout=FORTY_YARD_DASH&position=QB-RB-WR-TE-S-DL-LB-CB-OL-SPEC

Cook 4.5, Fornette 4.51, Elliot (2016) 4.47. I'd say pushing round 2.

Could it be a walking/bicycle bridge from campus to University Mall which is going to be turned into a restaurant/bar entertainment mecca that rivals no other in college?

Thinking P5/ESPN Mafia will continue to try everything in their power to keep AAC/G5 a distant second. When does ESPN stop showing/paying for G5 football to make up for the revenue shortfall? Does YouTube or whoever pay for G5 football to make up the revenue? Probably but they will have leverage to pay less since they are tossing G5 a life preserver. The comment about HD is big too. Pretty hard to watch non HD anymore unless you get a rush out of saving money watching blurry images. Bottom line stays the same: keep winning, playing exciting football to watch (ie offense) and win championships. Then hope a B12 or ACC school does something so scandalous to its players and or female students that a school finally gets a death penalty (as a result of a mountain of expensive lawsuits against school and NCAA) and USF is first in line to get back to the big boy table.

Thought I read Atlanta has the most USF alumni outside of FL. Georgia is great recruiting territory for USF/AAC. It's the heart of SEC territory and could elevate exposure. Maybe even get a Bowl game at the new Mercedes Dome. So Piss and Hillfloppers don't fit the conference profile of many of the schools. Nothing is ideal but there is some potential upside if GA State was selected.

Wonder if Reaves would have been arrested if he was pulled over in Tampa? The Taggart hire has quickly become quite problematic for the image of Oregon Football and Nike U. I wish him well but alumni and administration will not cut him any slack now. I would think he's in a zero tolerance situation right now, one more F-Up in the near term and he's toast.

What about Bob Hoffman from Mercer? Has done some good things lately. http://mercerbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=216&path=mbball

Now you have the trifecta: Willie, Woodie and Jimmie Leavitt. I think we can expect those guys to hit recruiting hard in the Bay area.

This used to be the toughest job (according to Dickie V) when we were in the BIG EAST. AAC has some good teams but cmon a good coach can do well in our conference. I know FSU and UM play in ACC but those programs were built with great coaching/recruiting. It's not like we are in the Sun Belt.

I'd say he's in deep ****. I would think if another player safety incident occurs he's toast. And he won't get his contract money. Hope Leavitt doesn't head butt anybody

We should blow out SJST, Stonybrook and UMass. Plenty of time for backups to play. We need to win a conf. championship for the first time and its going to depend on how much the defense improves. If defense is good and we are up by 21 in middle of the fourth qtr, put in the backups. Otherwise this defense can't be trusted to hold the lead and we need to keep QF in the game.

I don't think it will happen (like Willie's garbage offense the first two years) but if Gilbert's plays aren't working I would say bring old Joe back for some more consulting work. BTW, Willie should be paying Joe some big coin this year for his input on the Gulf Coast Offense so Willie could get the Oregon job. If you think about it, Gilbert has been successful two or three years longer than Willie in the spread and he learned from the Spread Master, Art Briles. I think Gilbert is the real deal and we will continue the streak of 30+ points per game through the regular season in 2017. In the Peach Bowl we might only score 28

In Hoc FB, Rho pledge class '87

Bulls winning important, nationally televised games in front of a packed house at RayJay helps recruiting. Being ranked helps recruiting. Having a practice at USF facilities probably not so much other than for coaches and players to see how our facilities stack up against big time programs.

Why would Strong want a crap DC? CCS wants to win and he trusts BJM, we need to trust CCS. BJM has shown to be a stud recruiter and recruiting coordinator. CCS will probably give him a shot this year and if he stinks bring in a Co DC. If BJM can get some studs on Def to commit, it should improve his coaching performance. We got no where to go but up on Def, its a great spot for him to start.

Starting to see a theme, USF will be the only G5 team ranked in pre-season polls. Pre-season rankings based on amount of projected magazine sales for each university in 2017.

I guess he passed the "What HS is off this exit test?" given by Coach Strong. The bad news is the other guys didn't pass.

CSU invests 220M in OCS, etc. Group of Five schools make investments with big-time in mind http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBC_GROUP_OF_FIVE_LOOKING_UP?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Sounds like CCS has a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Good combo to have at USF. He's probably as good or better at recruiting FL than Willie. I don't think talent level drops and might even get better, especially on DEF. Offense is going to remain explosive, perfect for FL recruits. DEF will definitely improve in points allowed. Expectations will be very high, the highest they have ever been. How Bulls handle those expectations could be a key to 2017.

User Actions Following Pete ThamelVerified account‏@SIPeteThamel Source: USF will make hire of former Texas OC Sterlin Gilbert official today. He'll be Charlie Strong's OC at USF.

Rudd, in radio interview, predicts Power 5 realignment will go beyond Big 12 expansion If the Big 12 conference expands by two schools as early as this summer the move won't necessarily signal an end to programs joining power conferences, according to University of Memphis president Dr. M. David Rudd. Rudd, appearing Thursday on WHBQ-AM 560's Middays with Eli Savoie and Greg Gaston, said he expects the number of schools in power conferences ultimately could grow to 80 from the current 65 in the five Power Five leagues (plus Notre Dame). The Big 12 is considering adding two programs to increase its chances of appearing in the four-team College Football Playoff by as much as 15 percent. Memphis is one of several schools being mentioned as an expansion candidate. Cincinnati, BYU, Central Florida, South Florida, Houston and Boise State also have been listed. "With respect to the Big 12, I'm not convinced there won't be additional realignment down the road," Rudd said. "It certainly is encouraging to hear of the opportunities that are emerging right now, but I don't think it stops there. "I don't think it goes from 65 to 67 major universities. I'm one of those presidents that is convinced this probably, at the end of the day, will shake out at about 80 universities as part of the universities that are in power conferences." Earlier this week, the university released a 42-page promotional publication "Memphis -- Soul of a City" that highlights the city's and university's attributes. The publication, which displays the U of M's accomplishments athletically and academically, has been sent to presidents and chancellors around the country. "We were trying to find an effective way to tell our story, an effective way to put information and data together," Rudd said. "We've got a lot of things we share about this university on a regular basis." He said the U of M launched a "national visibility campaign" about 18 months ago. When asked about campaigning for an invitation to a Power Five conference -- while a member of a Group of Five league, the American Athletic Conference -- Rudd said he and AAC commissioner Mike Aresco are "very close . . . I'm on the executive committee for the (AAC)." "Let there be no confusion," Rudd said. "We are committed to competing at the highest level in terms of college athletics and competing at the highest level academically. At the end of the day this comes down to how do we sustain and support those initiatives." At issue is the difference in shared conference revenue. Power Five programs generally share nearly 10 times more per year than Group of Five schools. "I think you know the differentials in funding," Rudd said. "I think you know (the) gap grows each and every year. We have fought very hard in the American . . . to grow revenue." Memphis received less than $3 million from shared conference revenue last year. Most Big 12 schools -- the eight receiving full shares -- received checks in excess of $25 million. "There is a remarkable separation and that gap will only widen with each successive year," Rudd said. "Go back a few months to our defeat of Ole Miss at the Liberty Bowl. What a great game and a great day and how remarkable is that for many reasons. "One of those is the payout in the SEC last year. You’re looking at a university receiving a payout of $28 million-plus a year. You’re looking at the University of Memphis with a payout of under $2.9 million. And yet we not only competed at that level, we were successful at that level. I think that says a lot about what we can do at the university and the opportunity that we have." The Tiger football program has rebounded the past two seasons, going 19-7 and appearing in back-to-back bowl games. Its sustained success is a necessity. "Football drives the bus," Rudd said. "That’s the reality. All you have to do is look at the Forbes rankings of football revenue in the top 50-70 programs in the country. Football is critical to that. If we are not competitive in football we are going to have a hard time competing at the highest level in any sport." http://www.commercialappeal.com/sports/tigers/Rudd-in-radio-interview-predicts-Power-5-realignment-will-go-beyond-Big-12-expansion-378324281.html