Jackson to start over Peyton?

[Papa_Bull]

Peyton is a lot better than Whittaker

Jackson is a LOT better than Whittaker!

HE doesn't drop balls he SHOULD catch.

[Guest S.  Bien]

Jackson is a LOT better than Whittaker!

And Chambers, and Green, and Taurus Johnson, and Hester.... ;D

Huey Whittaker was a big giant guy, and I bet he would have probably been better off at TE.  He had a very good first step for his size, and quickness- which is what brought him to many NFL camps.  But once there they saw his overall speed, hands, and receiving skills were just decent.   I still love Huey for some of the great catches he made, and he was a pretty good blocker.  But after the great trio of Rubin, Smith, and Hearn we were shallow at receiver for 03' especially with Iskra going down, and Fisher relegated to QB more than receiver....Huey came through for us that year in a big way.

[Papa_Bull]

Iskra was a big loss. Nobody tried harder than him.

I wonder what ever happened to him.

[JoeB]

I gotta go old school and say Charlie Jackson was the best WR at USF.  He never disappointed in that first year.

[Papa_Bull]

Flashback:

Something's in the air

One of nation's deepest receiving corps has QB Marquel Blackwell in line for a monster season.

By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times

published August 29, 2002

[Times photo: Bill Serne]

A key to the offense is the health of speedy DeAndrew Rubin, who already has hamstring trouble.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marquel Blackwell steps to the line of scrimmage and scans the field.

The fifth-year senior quarterback, fourth-year starter, in his second year as the centerpiece of South Florida's four-receiver, shotgun, no-huddle offense, looks around and sees one thing:

Opportunity.

Make that plural: a cornucopia of opportunities.

Wide to one side is 6-foot-5, 232-pound junior Huey Whittaker. He had a school-record 52 catches last season.

In the slots are speed merchants DeAndrew Rubin and Hugh Smith, a pair of 4.4-second 40-yard burners who combined for 74 catches for 1,007 yards in 2001, even though Rubin was injured much of the year.

Wide to the other side is Chris Iskra, who has 55 career receptions entering his junior season.

Life's tough, eh Marquel?

"Depth, and quality of depth, we've got the best receiving corps in the country," Blackwell said. "If they get open, then they'll be happy. That's what I tell them."

Rotating into the game at inside receiver are veterans Ryan Hearn (25 catches in 2001) and Brian Fisher (16 catches), plus ultra-athletic tight end Tim Jones.

[Times photo: Bill Serne]

6-5 Huey Whittaker returns after setting a school record with 52 receptions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In reserve on the outside are ready-to-erupt junior Elgin Hicks, sophomore Bruce Gipson and precocious freshmen Joe Bain, Willie Williams, Marcus Edwards and C.J. Lewis. Rubin plays outside, also.

"We've got more players who can step in and are ready to step up," Iskra said. "The defense can't keep track."

USF averaged 35.2 points a game and more than 400 yards of offense last season. With every skill position player returning, many are expecting bigger numbers this season.

Before last season, USF's new offensive coordinator Mike Hobbie and passing game coordinator Rod Smith installed the no-huddle, shotgun and added the extra receiver to most formations. Smith has said the biggest period of improvement in such an offense occurs between the first and second seasons.

In other words, he expects a bigger leap this season than last.

"We picked it up well last year, and we've just fine-tuned it and put in some new packages," Iskra said. "If you do your routes, do your job, someone will be open. If everyone does their job, someone will be open on every play. And Marquel will find them."

Multiple talented receivers running precise routes, a cool-as-a-smoothie quarterback and a piping tempo are the keys to the Bulls' express attack.

[Times photo: Bill Serne]

Chris Iskra says defenses have a hard time keeping up with USF’s fast-paced attack.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Between plays, USF quickly shuttles in new receiving personnel. There is no huddle. The formation and play are hand-signaled in from the sideline, and the whole offense sees it and immediately lines up. Blackwell can change the play when he sees the defense. When center Alex Herron is ready, he shotgun snaps the ball and Blackwell usually gets rid of it within two seconds.

Then the Bulls race to the next play.

Whew.

"The fast-tempo, the fast pace of our offense, it's hard for defenses to keep up," Iskra said. "Defenses are in the palm of our hands. They have to keep rotating in personnel to adjust."

With a polished quarterback comfortable with the system and an overkill of veteran playmakers, the inevitable result is big numbers. Blackwell, though, doesn't pay the statistics any attention.

"You might throw for 5,000 yards, but down the line someone will come along and do better," Blackwell said. "But winning, that stays with you."

Blackwell threw for 2,882 yards and rushed for 241 last season, but the only numbers he remembers are wins, losses, and interceptions. He has no idea how many yards or completions he threw for in his breakout game at Pittsburgh last season, a 35-26 USF win. But he knows he threw one interception.

"Actually, it was on the first play," Blackwell said. "I tried to force it backside."

Blackwell may shun the numbers (for the record, he was 37 of 65 for 343 yards and four touchdowns at Pitt), but numbers define sports. If Rod Smith is right, if Year 2 in the offense shows the most improvement, then Blackwell will be presiding over a frighteningly prolific attack.

Two seasons ago, Blackwell threw for 2,016 yards and USF scored 26.2 points a game. Last season those figures rose by 866 yards and 9.0 points. With the same improvement, Blackwell would throw for 3,748 yards and USF would score about 44 points a game.

Of course, it's not that simple. There are many other factors at work.

First, the schedule is tougher. Oklahoma, Arkansas and Southern Miss have defenses that are likely to keep USF's productivity down.

Second, Rubin, a threat to go all the way every time he touches the ball, has been hobbled by a hamstring and is injury prone. For much of last season he was hampered by turf toe. And Whittaker, whose freakish physique induces fear in the biggest and best cornerbacks, strained a knee ligament on Aug. 17 and could be slow to get going.

Third, the offensive line, while promising, is very young. Of the six linemen expected to play a significant amount, just two, sophomores Alex Herron and Derrick Sarosi, have a year's starting experience. The other three starters likely will be two freshmen, Chris Carothers and Shelly Houston, and sophomore Levi Newton. Top backup Frank Davis is a freshman.

With Blackwell's quick release, elusiveness and poise, the offensive line's growing pains are more likely to be felt in the running game.

USF uses one back almost exclusively and returns its three leading rushers, Clenton Crossley (380 yards), Quinton Callum (338 ) and Vince Brewer (325). Crossley and Callum have been battling for the No. 1 spot this fall with Georgia transfer DeJuan Green. Redshirt freshman Billy Henderson also has been impressive.

And as would be expected, all are adept at catching passes out of the backfield.

Add it all up, and Blackwell is at the helm of what could be one of the best offenses in Division I. Just check the numbers -- even if Blackwell won't.

"Operating this offense, it's like a quarterback's dream," Blackwell said. "I've just got to pull the trigger."

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/08/29/Sports/Something_s_in_the_ai.shtml

Hopefully, Déjà Vu! I could live with 9-2 this year or next.  ;D

[Guest S.  Bien]

I gotta go old school and say Charlie Jackson was the best WR at USF.  He never disappointed in that first year.

He was good against bad competition.  Charlie was a great guy but the best receivers to play for USF were Smith, Rubin, and Hicks....they're both still hanging around NFL camps.  That's no fluke, Charlie never even sniffed the NFL.

I loved Cliff Dell, and McCready but they weren't the most talented just the perfect players at the perfect time.

[JoeB]

HowieP, good stuff.  

Maybe you can answer this question.  Why isn't there archives of the first few seasons on the main USF website?  I've tried to locate these before and had no luck whatsoever.  I'd like to see some of those stats from the early days.

[Papa_Bull]

HowieP, good stuff.  

Maybe you can answer this question.  Why isn't there archives of the first few seasons on the main USF website?  I've tried to locate these before and had no luck whatsoever.  I'd like to see some of those stats from the early days.

Good question.

I can't even find schedule/results from last year for the various athletic teams any more.

You should e-mail the new guy in charge.

[Guest]

HowieP, good stuff.  

Maybe you can answer this question.  Why isn't there archives of the first few seasons on the main USF website?  I've tried to locate these before and had no luck whatsoever.  I'd like to see some of those stats from the early days.

You mean the link that says "Year By Year Archive" on the Football page??

http://isis.fastmail.usf.edu/usf-athletics/Sports/football/archive.htm

They only go back to 2002... I wonder if they even have versions of the 1997-2001 seasons they can post on-line??

[Papa_Bull]

Jim...THAT link I knew about.

Now see if you can find a simple schedule with results for any team for previous years.

They should have it set up on the schedule/results page for each sport to CHOOSE previous years for viewing.