Football Zebold: USF Has Strength in Numbers On the O-Line This Fall

[Brad]

USF Has Strength in Numbers On the O-Line This Fall

 

By TOM ZEBOLD

 

USF Senior Writer

 

TAMPA, AUG. 8, 2015 – Head coach Willie Taggart’s 2015 Bulls will have a lot of weapons to utilize in the new up-tempo offense and a lot of guys are ready to provide the push.

 

USF’s offensive line features plenty of seasoned veterans, but fans should really be excited about the team’s depth overall up front this fall.

 

“I think this is the best we’ve ever been collectively as a unit,” said senior Thor Jozwiak of his time with the program. “In my opinion, there are 10 guys out there that can go and run every play over and over again, and be successful. We’ve had great groups in the past, but if someone goes down we’re in a bind. This year I truly feel like there are nine, 10 guys that can come in and have success rolling with the ones.”

 

Saturday marked USF’s first full-squad practice of the fall and the depth on the line helped the Bulls get many plays in before lightning closed the books on another productive session at the Morsani Football Complex. 

 

“There is some potential there and we have some numbers,” co-offensive coordinator Danny Hope said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we’ve made a lot of progress since the spring. I think we’ve got enough big guys to play inside, where we’ll be able to establish some push and hold up as far as the pocket is concerned.”

 

Senior Thor Jozwiak has caught Hope’s attention at left guard, where he made eight starts last season. Jozwiak, a 6-foot-4, 318-pounder, said he’s up to speed with USF’s faster tempo and he got even stronger in the gym this offseason with a 635-pound squat and a 350-pound power clean max. 

 

“This is probably the best I’ve ever felt in my career at USF,” Jozwiak said.

 

USF’s jack-of-all-trades on the line is Brynjar Gudmundsson, who has been getting reps at center this fall. The 6-foot-4, 293-pounder from Wellington, Fla., started all 24 games at different spots the past two seasons and provides the Bulls with versatility.

 

“I think he could be a good center. He could be a good guard or a good tackle,” Hope said. “Over the years I haven’t had many guys that can play all five spots along the front and Brynjar can. I think that bodes well for him.”

 

Hope also said the Bulls have options on the outside of the line with a “handful of very athletic tackles.” Junior Kofi Amichia (6-4, 286 pounds) has experience at center, right tackle and left tackle, where he’s been working this fall.

 

“It’s a good position because you’re one-on-one on an island against the end. You don’t have anybody to blame but you if you lose,” Amichia said. “I like the pressure.”

 

Senior Mak Djulbegovic continues to progress at right tackle after impressing Hope the most of any offensive lineman on the roster in the spring. Described by Jozwiak as one of the team’s hardest workers, Djulbegovic is now squatting 500 pounds and he still moves well along the edge at 6-foot-5 and 288 pounds.

 

“I think he’s done a fantastic job since I’ve been here and I think he’s getting better,” Hope said. “He has a real passion for playing the game and being successful as a person. He’s a real joy to coach. He’s a winner as a person and I think he’s going to have a really good season.”

 

Hope said there is still a lot of work to get done before the opener against FAMU when it comes to building consistency. In the meantime, Hope will enjoy watching the competition heat up as USF rotates players frequently along the line.

 

“I’m encouraged about the possibility of playing several guys, maybe everyone in the two deep over the course of the game,” Hope said. “I think it can be really important for us, to finish off our blocks and help us really cash in on the benefits of this no-huddle offense.”

 

Bulls Make Most of Full-Squad Work

 

Lightning forced the Bulls to end practice after about an hour and 15 minutes Saturday. Despite the shortened session, USF players thought the team got a lot out of its first full-squad action of the fall.

 

“We got to see what we’re working with a bit better instead of guessing what the other guys were doing,” Amichia said. “We got to see where everybody is going to be rotation-wise. “

 

Freshmen worked in a separate group the first two days of camp in order for coaches to acclimate them to the practice system. The new Bulls made great progress during that time and Jozwiak said he’s happy to help bring them along even more as a complete team.

 

“In my opinion, that’s one of the best ways you can teach young guys. Get them out there, work them in with the vets and try to establish good rules for them,” Jozwiak said.

 

Bulls Bits

 

- USF coaches logged in super long hours during the first two days of camp.  With two separate practices each day, the staff was busy by 5:30 a.m. and didn’t leave the office until well after midnight.

 

- One eye-catching number put on the charts by a Bull during summer workouts was 675. That’s the amount of pounds junior offensive lineman Dominique Threatt squatted in the weight room, a 90-pound increase from last summer.

 

- Some of the dynamic playmakers from USF’s recruiting class got to show what they can do in the punt return game. Freshmen Jordan Reed and Chris Barr got reps along with junior Rodney Adams and impressive redshirt freshman walk-on Chase Whitehead.

 

Join the Bulls at Practice

 

USF has opened the first week of fall practice to the public and fans have four more chances to catch the Bulls in action.

 

Set your alarm clocks now and watch the Bulls continue full-squad workouts 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Morsani Complex. Check out the practice schedule below and park in the lot on Sycamore Drive, located behind the Morsani Complex fields and Corbett Stadium on the east end of campus near 50th Street.

 

Remaining Schedule for First Week of Practice (sessions open to the public)

 

Sun., Aug. 9 @ 8:30-10:30 a.m. – shells – Second full team practice (vets & freshmen)

 

Mon., Aug. 10 @ 3:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m.  – FULL PADS (full team)

 

Tues., Aug. 11 @ 6:30-8:30 p.m.  – FULL PADS (full team) – First Two-A-Day

 

Wed., Aug. 12 @ 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – FULL PADS (full team)

 

 

Quote of the Day

 

“There is energy in that locker room that I haven’t felt in a while, and to be a part of that is something really special.” -  Senior offensive lineman Thor Jozwiak.

 

 

Link

[Flowers4Heisman]

For me, I feel optimistic about the O-line. There's teaching going on:

 

[... I thought (Djulbegovic) did outstanding in the spring, and...when spring ended he was probably playing the best out of all our offensive linemen," first-year offensive line coach Danny Hope said.

"He pays a lot of attention to details. Most of the time he's pretty darn good at the fundamentals part of it and he almost always gives you a great effort. I think he's done a fantastic job since I've been here."[...]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bulls/big-mak-attack-djulbegovic-shining-on-o-line/2240563

 

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

Teaching is good. Learning is better.

[Calibull]

Teaching is good. Learning is better.

agreed

[libby_arts]

Seeing someone learn is why teachers love to teach.

[NCBull]

Pretty impressive:

"USF coaches logged in super long hours during the first two days of camp. With two separate practices each day, the staff was busy by 5:30 a.m. and didn’t leave the office until well after midnight."

[TallyBull]

Pretty impressive:

"USF coaches logged in super long hours during the first two days of camp. With two separate practices each day, the staff was busy by 5:30 a.m. and didn’t leave the office until well after midnight."

To their credit, they know the writing is on the wall this year.