Review of the first day of practice

[Brad]

SCOTT'S 'EXCITED' BULLS BRING THE ENERGY IN FALL CAMP OPENER

August 07, 2020

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

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TAMPA, AUG. 7, 2020 – Jeff Scott set the tone for the start of fall camp long before USF's first snap Friday morning at the Morsani Football Practice Complex.

The first-year head coach woke up at 4 a.m. – one hour prior to his alarm sounding – and hopped out of bed to begin a day that he and 110 Bulls on the roster also were eagerly awaiting.

"I was just excited to see a smile on their face, to see them with a helmet on and over there having fun," Scott said. "That, to me, was more important than any of the X's and O's, execution and all that."

Exactly 150 days since USF's one and only spring practice, the Bulls officially kicked off on-field preparations for the 2020 season with an intensity level that had to be contained at the start.

"Really what you look for as a coach is just the spirit of your team," Scott said. "These guys were genuinely excited to get back out there on the field. I had to slow 'em down."

Since March 10, USF had to resort to making most of its program progress virtually during physical distancing throughout the pandemic. A phased return to campus for offseason training in June and a plethora of precautionary measures have made players, like quarterback Jordan McCloud (Tampa), feel confident about conducting fall camp in a safe manner.

"The medical staff, the strength staff, the coaching staff, they're all doing a great job," McCloud said. "The players are being responsible, wearing their masks and being distant from each other… We all love football. That's what we want to do and we want to do it right."

Scott opened his post-practice press conference thanking USF Health and a long list of University employees who made a safe return to action possible. Coaches and staff members wore masks during Friday's practice session that kept COVID-19 awareness at the forefront.

USF's new leader was "really pleased" to note the program has conducted 514 tests of players, coaches and staff in the past two and a half months. Currently, no players are in quarantine due to positive COVID-19 tests or contact tracing, and there's been a strict protocol followed in each of the 24 positive test cases that occurred over the two-and-a-half-month period since players were first tested on May 31.
  
"I'm just very hopeful we'll be able to continue to find a safe and healthy way for these guys to continue to practice and hopefully find a way to play some games this fall," Scott said.

Full pads aren't scheduled to be put on until practice No. 5 next Wednesday. Until then, players will continue to reacclimate to football in the Florida heat and humidity while "creating championship habits" under the guidance of the new coaching staff on the fields they've missed dearly.

"The Xs and Os, those aren't as important right now as learning how we do what we do," Scott said. "It's not what we do. It's how we do it."

Quarterbacks Impress Early in Open Competition
Scott reiterated that "everything is an open competition" on the field this fall.

Probably the most watched position battle is at quarterback, where the main contenders for the starting spot are a pair of Tampa natives in sophomore returner Jordan McCloud and Noah Johnson, a grad transfer from Alcorn State, and North Carolina transfer Cade Fortin (Suwanee, Ga.), who is a sophomore in eligibility. McCloud started 10 games last year in his first season on the field.

All three QBs showed off their arms, connecting on touchdown passes deep downfield during one-on-one work Friday.

"I honestly feel, as of today, and I didn't see anything in practice that would change my mind, that we have three quarterbacks that could lead our program to a successful season," Scott said. "That's not always the case. That's really good, but it also creates a lot of decisions."

Scott is hopeful he'll know who the starter will be by the time the Bulls head into their Oct. 3 conference opener at Cincinnati. He'd like to get quarterbacks some game experience before that and all three Bulls must remain ready during the unique season ahead.

"This is gonna be one of those years, on Friday morning, we might find out that No. 1 and 2 are out and 3, 'Let's go, you're the starter,'" Scott said. "We're gonna need all of those guys as the season goes. We're really looking at it as a marathon and just taking it day by day."

Bulls Bits

• SCOTT SUPPORTS PLAYER DECISIONS: Through months of meetings and discussions, Scott has proven to his new players his staff's priority to build trust and respect them. Two Bulls – defensive tackle John Waller (St. Petersburg) and receiver Jernard Phillips (Miami) – have voluntarily opted out this season. Scott's response: "No. 1, I told them I support them. No. 2, I definitely told them they're gonna remain on scholarship and in good standing with our team." Scott has established a Bull Council of 16 team leaders representing each position group that regularly meets with the head coach to discuss player concerns.
• BULLS CATCH SCOTT'S EYE: Tight end Mitchell Brinkman (Council Bluffs, Iowa), a Northern Illinois transfer, and former Tennessee receiver Latrell Williams (Lake City, Fla.) were two playmakers who stood out to Scott on Friday, while others "flashed all over the place." Williams caught a 40-yard touchdown pass down the sideline. Another wide receiver, Terrence Horne (Miami), showed his blazing speed is definitely back by cruising to snag another long pass in the end zone during one-on-one work.
• EVERYONE GETS REPS: Keeping COVID-19 in mind, Scott is preparing pretty much everyone – at all positions - on the roster for possible game action. "Maybe in a typical fall camp, you would only work your first two groups and a little bit of your third group," he said. "Really, as a coaching staff, we've decided from the very first practice, we're gonna rep all four groups and get all four guys ready. It's not the same amount of reps, but we're gonna be more intentional about trying to have four deep."
• JOHNSON BLESSED TO BE A BULL: Alcorn State transfer Noah Johnson grew up going to USF football games in his hometown of Tampa while B.J. Daniels was playing quarterback. A talented, dual-threat QB himself, Johnson is super happy to be wearing Green and Gold. "I thank God every day I wake up to be able to do this. I thank Coach Scott and Coach (Charlie) Weis for bringing me in, helping the dream come true," he said. "… . I'm just so thankful to be here." Johnson fondly remembered growing up in Tampa and watching quarterback B.J. Daniels excel for Bulls teams that notched some of the biggest wins in program history.

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[Triple B]

Reading all this is making me sad .....

[NewEnglandBull]

52 minutes ago, Triple B said:

Reading all this is making me sad .....

I am thinking we got one more week to be happy before it happens...

[Brad]

1 hour ago, Triple B said:

Reading all this is making me sad .....

 

11 minutes ago, NewEnglandBull said:

I am thinking we got one more week to be happy before it happens...

Then read this....

 

[NewEnglandBull]

2 minutes ago, Brad said:

 

Then read this....

 

**** this fall is going to suck..