Mcknurkle

Jim hit the nail on the head. Get at me on Twitter gents. @Mcknurkle Working on highlights. Late. 

I agree. I said it from the beginning. My prediction for 6-6 required a win over either Maryland or Syracuse. Next weekend is very important. 

It's right here for you guys: 2015 South Florida Football Predictions on BoydsBets

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not confirmed at all and a player would NEVER know first. But thanks for causing random anarchy and always quoting us! 

It's Wanky. 100%

At some point you'll learn nothing is ever 100%....

....Thanks Dad.....

I hope Flowers has a solid outing against SMU. Need someone to step it up. If White is second then I'm going to be frustrated.

It's Wanky. 100%

Kid has a lot of natural talent. Looking forward to seeing more

Thought I'd Share a piece I put together on Saturday while watching the Houston vs. BYU game. Enjoy & feel free to share your two cents.

The link below goes to my site and includes sources for all items bold & green. 

http://soflobulls.com/2013/10/21/%F0%9F%93-taggart-picks-up-flowers-again/

___________________________________________________________

As I sat watching former St. Thomas Aquinas QB John O’Korn lead impressive drive after impressive drive for Houston against BYU, I began to rattle off all the QBs USF missed on the recruiting trail during the ‘****** Skippy Years’: John O’Korn (Houston), Tyler Cameron (Wake Forest) & Pete DiNovo (UCF) just to name a few off the top.

Anyone surprised the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are 2-5 (1-2)? Better yet, are you flabbergasted Coach Mike Canales (wiki) & Coach Dan McCarney (wiki) led North Texas past Skippy’s Bulldogs 28-13 today? Thought I’d share this gem I ran across too… Hope Skippy is enjoying his half a million bucks from USF… 

The Quinton Flowers saga added another chapter today when the Miami Jackson QB re-committed to Coach Taggart’s USF Bulls. The consensus 3-Star #8 dual-threat QB hailing from Dade County originally hopped on Coach T’s Bus in June, only to de-commit the following day. This is not the first time Bulls fans have experienced ups & downs in the QB recruiting process. Just last year Winter Park QB Asiantii Woulard took fans for an emotionally draining roller coaster ride before being named the Elite 11 Finals MVP & committing to UCLA.

All that being said, please take the time to watch Flowers’ highlight reel below. Flowers is extremely talented & will undoubtedly remind Bulls fans of former signal caller & current Seattle Seahawk B.J. Daniels. We can be certain times have changed when Coach T & crew hold on to key recruits like Flowers through signing day. The return to prominence is not a question of if, but a matter of when. It’s simply a matter of time. 

by Matthew Manuri

© 2013 SoFloBulls.com; SoFloBulls Blog. Material in any right may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of Matthew Manuri. All rights reserved.

Keep up with the good work!! USF fans appreciate it!!!

Appreciate the daps!

Appreciate all the love guys!   

And I was wrong and it was McFarland.... my bad. Since has been updated but for some reason I cannot edit my thread here. 

Gents,

Thought I'd share my thoughts after the UConn game. Feel free to add your two cents, this is simply what I felt/noticed while watching the game. 

Matt

http://soflobulls.com/2013/10/18/post-uconn-rehashing-rant/

Photo courtesy of Dani Antonucci Photography

Dre Davis’ Maturation
WR Andre ‘Dre’ Davis is not helping his QB out on the field, at all. As the number one WR on the Bulls depth chart Davis needs to work back to the ball to make the throws easier for Eveld & Bench, especially when the QBs are forced out of the pocket. Eveld finished the day 8 of 28 for 106-yards…. that’s 28% completion rate folks. Which also means it’s NOT all Davis’ fault. Davis hauled in a few solid receptions, had one taken back by a penalty (see below) & was the victim of errant passes seemingly all game. Eveld simply does not possess the ability to play at the Division I level in my honest opinion. Remember when all of you thought BJ Daniels was the problem? If anyone has footage of Eveld setting his feet to throw and actually rolling out looking through his progressions please send it to me at SoFloBulls@gmail.com. 

McCombs Career Day
UConn RB Lyle McCombs’ had a career day with 164-yards on the ground, previously 76-yards. Let me remind you that this is the same UConn team that came into the contest averaging less than 50-yards a game on the ground.

#LikeAKloss
Marvin Kloss came up big for the second straight week, hitting a 44-yard FG & a 47-yarder that was the eventual game winner. Kloss from the 239′s Barron Collier High School (Naples, FL) has been a key contributor this season & is the Captain of the Special Teams Unit. Hats Off to Special Teams Coordinator Coach Stu Holt for executing a great game plan on Saturday for the second consecutive week.

Impressive Newcomer
True Fr. RB Darius Tice showed some burst against UConn with Marcus Shaw sidelined with a lingering ailment. Tice contributed 69-yards (6.3yrds/carry) on the ground, including a 27-yard dash up the gut.

Defensive Line Steps Up
With 1:34 on the ticker in the 1^st Quarter DT Ryne Giddinsforced UConn QB Tim Boyle to fumble, which turned into a 44-yard TD by Aaron Lynch. Also, Julius ‘JuJu’ Forte’sblocked a 47-yard field goal attempt in the 3^rd Quarter. DT Todd Chandler & DT Luke Sager are tough & really stepped up with DE Tevin Mims & DT Elkino Watson out.

Costly Penalties
 Penalties on big plays are killing the offensive rhythm. Key penalties on TE Sean Price & DE Aaron Lynch have become re-occurring issues week after week. With 9:58 left in the 1^stQuarter a holding penalty on OL Darrell Williams created a 3rd & 14, which was immediately followed by a Byron James interception at the USF 29-yard line via QB Bobby Eveld’s errant pass. The turnover led to a 32-yard UConn Field Goal.

 In the 2^nd OL Brynjar Gudmundsson’s holding penalty erased a 14-yard reception from Eveld to Davis & forced the Bulls to punt. The hold was away from the play and completely absurd. These are the things that add up and cost us wins.

In the End 
 I found myself in the 4^th Quarter getting angry at the Defense for several missed interceptions, that is until I realized the Defense scored the days only TD  for the second straight week. Not to mention the 26-yard go-ahead TD pass dropped by WR Stephen Bravo-Brown. I’m not sure ever seen a worse drop & it was 100% #SCNotTop10 worthy. Bravo-Brown’s drop is a perfect example of just how atroncious we are as an offensive unit.

All that being said, we’re 2-0 in the AAC and I’m praying for a Louisville upset for Homecoming.  

by Matthew Manuri

Link: USF vs. UConn Highlights 2013

© 2013 SoFloBulls.com; SoFloBulls Blog. Material in any right may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of Matthew Manuri. All rights reserved.

Awesome work!

Appreciate that sir!

Looked like good times.  Nice job and thanks for sharing.

Appreciate it!

Great job putting that together.  Other than the loss, it was a good trip.  That 10:00 o'clock shot thing was pretty funny.

Thank you sir!

The 10 o'clock shot was awesome. I was impressed by all the research.

Thought I'd share an article & videos I put together from my road trip to Michigan State. What a great time even though we lost. Enjoy! (Link Below)

📌 Spartan Showdown: South Florida vs Michigan State 2013

Our offense, for the 2nd game in a row, has given the opposing team more points than they could score for our own team. Pathetic.

Even if our defense shut out the opposing offense in our last 2 games we still would have lost. If that isn't bad enough, when you add in the points off of turnovers by McNeese our offense has given opposing teams more points in each game then they have scored.

Points off of turnovers by opponents - points by USF:

McNeese 23 -21

MSU 14 - 6

FAU 14 - 10

What is wrong with our players! Stop giving the opponents points. It's not rocket science. This stat is infuriating. It's absolutely unacceptable.

Completely agree, this kills me.....

- "D'Joun Smith finished the rout by returning an interception 75 yards for the fifth defensive TD scored against South Florida in three games."

 

Ok, so I'm kind of wondering.  

 

You rip apart the offense, then say the defense played well.  Then you wonder why we haven't seen more of Robbins and Whitehurst.  Shouldn't you be wondering why we haven't seen more younger players on offense?

 

Who would you like to see on offense? Tice & McCray aren't needed with Pierre & Shaw. For WR's, Benjamin isn't ready, Ruben Gonzalez dropped one that hit him in the chest... who else is left? Link to Roster: http://www.gousfbulls.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=37330&SPID=2981&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=7700&SORT_ORDER=6&Q_SEASON=2013&PRINTABLE_PAGE=

Where do I start? How about one word: Terrible.

The Offense got off to a horrific start to say the least. With less than five minutes burned off the game clock, QB Bobby Eveld botched a fake hand off to RB Marcus Shaw allowing FAU’s Cory Henry to scoop up the ball for the first points of the evening…..

Unbelievable.

I truly believe the Defense played well, if you ignore the slew of penalties on Aaron Lynch, including a 15-yard face mask that negated Elkino Watson’s TFL. Safety Mark Joyce showed exceptional effort on special teams & finished the contest with 7 solo tackles. Then there’s true Fr. LB Nigel Harris’ (Hillsborough HS/Tampa, FL) stellar performance in his first career start as a Bull. Harris recorded 6 solo tackles & 6 assisted filling in for injured LB Reshard Cliett.

I feel the need to give a shout out to Spring walk-on turned starter DB Brandon Salinas, who rocks some pretty sweet dreads. Salinas finished the day with two solo tackles & one pass defended. Salinas’ pass defended stat came on a big 3rd & 5 deep shot, where he displayed excellent coverage skills that caught my eye. Salinas also happens to be a great person & you can read more about B-Fye in a piece written by Greg Auman  ‘USF cornerback Salinas finds new self in football, rap‘, on his website BFye4Christ.com and on Twitter @iB_Fye. 

The offensive highlights of the night where shared by RB Marcus Shaw & Penn State QB transfer Steven Bench. With less than 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter, LB DeDe Lattimore picked off FAU QB Jacquez Johnson setting the Bulls up on the FAU 27 yard-line. Bench came in and swiftly fired a 25-yard strike to former walk-on FB Ryan Eppes (Largo HS/Seminole, FL) for the go-ahead TD.

Shaw showed his burst in the 1st quarter with a 44-yard jaunt. Next, Shaw broke off another big one in the 2nd quarter for 41-yards on an option pitch from Bench. Unfortunately the Bulls momentum seemed to come to a screeching halt after Marcus Shaw was stuffed on 4th & goal.

Bench’s 4th quarter ill-advised cross-body, back foot pass turned 75-yard pick six to D’Joun Smith sealed FAU’s 28-10 victory is what has become typical Bulls fashion. Bench finished with 128-yards on 8/23 (34.7%) passing, one TD, one INT, two sacks & a passer rating of 87.2. Marcus Shaw ended the evening with 159-yards on 22 carries (7.2yds/carry).

There was also a rare siting of former Florida transfer TE Mike McFarland. Bench connected with McFarland for some nice gains & you can expect to see more from those two.

We need to see immediate improvement & it legitimately cannot get any worse. Also, has anyone seen or heard from Lamar Robbins? or Tashon Whitehurst? Hold on tight Bulls fans, it’s going to be another long year if this offense doesn’t start to click.

by Matthew Manuri

Highlights

© 2013 SoFloBulls.com; SoFloBulls Blog. Material in any right may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of Matthew Manuri. All rights reserved.

My thoughts on the FAU game.... Thought I'd share.

http://wp.me/p2Gfwz-16j

Here's the full article. Meant to post it below the link.

#DoSomething is no trendy pop-culture cliché; it defines a way of going about your daily business. It’s a mentality rooted in addressing all facets of life with precision and exceptional enthusiasm. The #DoSomething mantra has spread like wildfire amongst players, students, recruits, alumni and members of the media. The rebranded Bulls under first year head coach Willie Taggart have experienced tremendous recruiting success in the Tampa Bay Area, likely due to the strong belief in Coach Taggart’s methods.

The Bulls hold fifteen total verbal commitments for the class of 2014, seven from the Bay Area. ESPN columnist Corey Dowlar had this to say about Taggart’s recent local recruiting success after touted ATH/DB Tajee Fullwood selected the hometown Bulls in late June:

“He [Fullwood] becomes the sixth commitment from the Tampa Bay area, out of 10 total, to choose the Bulls for the Class of 2014. Only one prospect, Bruno Reagan (Clarksville, Tenn./Clarksville), hails from out of state.â€

Twitter went ballistic over the news of yet another local Tampa Bay Area star selecting USF over some of College Football’s biggest names.“@FlaRecruiting: If USF continues to recruit the Tampa Bay area as hard as they are right now. CFB may be in trouble.†Fullwood held offers from the likes of Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, Rutgers, Tennessee & Vanderbilt.

The local pull the Taggart regime has manifested sparked reactions from several media outlets. Jamie Newberg of FoxSports.net continued the sentiment of praise in his piece ‘All Aboard!’ noting, “But you have to build your roster with more than kids from just Tampa Bay. That’s a huge reason why he brought in a guy like [Telly] Lockette. Creating a good base from the football populated area of south Florida is critical, as there are more recruits from that area than any part of the state. It’s not even close.†The Bulls hit the south Florida trail hard over the summer gaining verbals from DB Deatrick Nichols and OG Michael Smith from Miami Central, then added N. Miami WR Stanley Clerveaux in late July.

Yesterday another area stud got on the bus, Plant DB Mazzi Wilkins. Wilkins joins a class loaded with playmakers. Below is the current class of 2014.

247Sports’ Corey Long wrapped up his article ‘The Recent Wave of Local Recruits Keeps Rolling’ by stating, “When push comes to shove they are proving that ‘do something’ isn’t just a slogan, it’s an action.â€

It’s safe to say the Taggart Era has implemented a spirited, aggressive culture in the locker room and created a buzz in the Tampa Bay Area. Let’s hope we see the #DoSomething mentality translate into success on the field this fall.

by Matthew Manuri | SoFloBulls.com |

Thought I'd share my new article. Thoughts on recent recruiting success in the Tampa Bay Area for the Class of 2014. Enjoy.    

http://soflobulls.com/2013/08/22/dosomething-mantra-mentality/

@@Mcknurkle

Completely agree. They all are excellent additions. True skill players.

Wrote an article for my blog & thought I'd share. Just my thoughts on recent commits. (Link Below)

http://soflobulls.com/2013/06/25/abraham-co-fuel-hometown-takeover/

great write-up! Hope he decides to be a Bull

Thank you sir. I agree; hopefully Coach T gets after him

Guys,

 

Wrote this article on Class of 2014 QB Kilton Anderson (Naples HS) following our Q&A & thought I'd share. At 6'3, 205 pounds he posses ideal size, speed & athleticism. The kids a winner & his recruitment is starting to heat up after leading Naples to the 2012 6A Semifinal vs Miami Central. 

 

Please check out the article (and videos) & feel free to share your thoughts.

 

Matt

 

http://soflobulls.com/2013/03/04/the-man-at-naples-high/

‘The Man’ at Naples High

By Matthew Manuri

 

With Spring practices quickly approaching, the 2014 recruiting cycle is now in full swing & QB Kilton Anderson's (Naples HS/6’3, 205) name has surfaced on several top-tier recruiting hot boards. I caught up with Kilton after he returned from Alabama’s Jr. Day last Saturday [2/23] to pick his brain about the recruiting process & see which programs are actively pursuing his talents.

 

But first let’s begin with Anderson’s Sophomore coming out party.

 

On November 10th, 2011 Naples squared off against the S. Ft. Myers Wolfpack in the 2011 Florida 6A Regional Quarterfinal. After Naples’ Sr. QB Billy Crook caught the injury bug in the 2nd Quarter, Soph. Kilton Anderson was thrust into the limelight. Anderson embraced the moment, orchestrating a 99-yard 3rd Quarter TD drive with veteran-like poise. Anderson iced the game in the 4th with a 44-yard jaunt to the house. The Sophomore finished with 118 rushing yards on 14 touches (8.4yrds/carry) in the 49-13 trouncing of S. Ft. Myers. (highlight video below)

 

After successfully leading Naples (12-1; 3-1) to the 2012 6A Semifinals Anderson’s stock continues to soar. Some scouts have overlooked the 17^th ranked QB in Florida because his stats aren’t gaudy, despite leading Class 6A in scoring with 270 points. When I asked Anderson about his stats he noted, “I passed for 1,288-yards & rushed for 839-yards. This is where I have a problem with stats; they don't point out that we beat our opponents by 40+ points/game last season so I didn’t see the second half in 8 out of 13 games.†Another issue is the tendency for coaches & scouts to favor larger media markets like Tampa & Miami, overlooking Naples as a piece of the I-75 South recruiting corridor.

 

Anderson also commented on the 2012 season & recruiting during our Q&A, “I believe what is being overlooked is that I stepped in & led my team to State twice. Every critic chose Immokalee to whip us because they had 8 D-1 players. We beat them 55-29. Then it was S. Ft. Myers. I punched it in four times in the second half, erasing a 21-14 deficit. Next, we handled 13 D-1 athletes in Mainland. We squared off against Miami Central in the State Semi-Finals. We had them [Miami Central] until the 3rd Quarter. We should have had that one. I have been playing football for 6 years & have only lost twice. Twice was two times too many & I’m positive Coach Taggart would agree.â€

 

Next I asked Anderson for his thoughts & feelings about playing for new HC Willie Taggart & he responded, “Coach Taggart doesn't care about media hype. He values how each player fits into his program & how passionate the player is about his team. That is old school coaching & I like that. The bottom line is finding a school & team where you feel valued & supported. I also like that players from Florida dominate USF’s roster. I would like to meet Coach Taggart & see for myself why players with offers from big BCS programs opted to play for him. Plus Coach Taggart was a record-setting Quarterback; he understands the intricacies of the position.â€

 

What truly impresses me about Anderson is his off-the-field demeanor. After Naples Daily News columnist Adam Fisher wrote an article that tagged Anderson as “The Man†for the Eagles, Anderson sent him a thank you letter that prompted Fisher to publish another piece the very next day. In the article Fisher noted, “What I didn't include in the story is that he's [Anderson] also a good kid. Nice, polite, genuine. When I did a story in the preseason about him taking over as “The Man†at Naples, he gave me a hand-written thank you note. Never in my years as a sportswriter (all eight of them) have I gotten a thank you note from the subject of a feature. You don't see that from many teenagers these days.†I cannot possibly agree more with Fisher’s statements & feel coaches will be truly impressed by this well-mannered, hardworking & driven student-athlete.

 

by Matthew Manuri, SoFloBulls.com