The Original Bulls Are Gone ...

[E.T.]

The Original Bulls Are Gone, But Their Legacy Remains Intact

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Dec 28, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Before they became mortgage brokers, teachers, football coaches, financial advisors and even a multimillion-dollar NFL cornerback, a group of freshmen arrived at the University of South Florida in the fall of 1996.

They were among about 75 football players who participated in USF's first practice on Sept. 6, 1996. Of the 75, only 14 remained five years later.

Those that lasted until the end called themselves the "OGs," for Original Gangstas - it must have sounded better in 1996. Their first year at USF consisted of no games, only brutal practices under the direction of a zealous rookie coach named Jim Leavitt.

But they laid the foundation for USF's program. And when USF plays in the program's first bowl game Saturday, this year's club says they'll be playing for USF's pioneers.

"With us going to a bowl game, they're going to a bowl game," USF senior defensive end Terrence Royal said. "We're just carrying on their legacy. Those are the guys that started it all with their hard work and leadership. It's an honor to represent those guys."

Here's a look at the OGs: Ryan Benjamin, Otis Dixon, Edwin Greene, Steve Hatley, Shawn Hay, Anthony Henry, Charlie Jackson, Roy Manns, Vassay Marc, Leon Matthews, Cory Porter, Joey Sipp, Marshall Smith and Rafael Williams.

Only Matthews, who is teaching in Orlando, could not be reached.

Before playing his final game at USF in 2001, Williams remarked: "I can't wait for USF's first bowl because then they can reflect back to what we started."

Thanx for keeping this story alive Brett !

I hope USF does something next season to show their respect for these guys. I would be happy to see a ring of honor to drap over the buc stuff from the top deck.

Thanx to these pioneers of USF Football!

[E.T.]

LS RYAN BENJAMIN (NO. 53)

He has played in the NFL and started in Super Bowl XXXVII with the Bucs, but the biggest game in Benjamin's career?

"I was more nervous against Kentucky Wesleyan than the Super Bowl," Benjamin said. "I was so nervous, so excited. Everything blurred together and before you knew it, it was over. It was the biggest game of my career because that is what started it all at USF."

Benjamin works for his family's air conditioning business in New Port Richey and is married with two children.

"The Super Bowl was out of this world, don't get me wrong," Benjamin said. "But we had a year and a half of nothing but practice [at USF] to get ready for that game. I would go to bed thinking our first game is in eight months, then six months, then three weeks - that's why it's such a defining moment for me."

RB OTIS DIXON (NO. 21)

He is the only Bull to hit two home runs in a game and score two TDs in a game - "I'm the answer to a USF trivia question no one knows about," Dixon jokes. However, his greatest accomplishment was being a part of that first team.

"I like the title of being a pioneer," said Dixon, who was the first player ever recruited by USF.

Dixon, who just ended his first season as Lakewood High's coach, said he's not surprised by the Bulls' success this year.

"They could have stayed in Division I-AA and won a national championship, but Coach [Jim] Leavitt had bigger aspirations.

"I echo a lot of things to my team Coach Leavitt said to me. All those little things carry over to my everyday life. I always dreamed about playing college football close to home. It was a no-brainer, but did I know what I was getting into? Absolutely not."

CB EDWIN GREENE (NO. 2)

Living in Tampa, Greene has noticed major improvements in USF's facilities since 1996.

"Those guys now," Greene said, "they're living in a palace compared to what we were in."

Nine years ago, USF's players worked out in a Sun Dome weight room the size of a walk-in closet. Of course, the coaches' offices were in trailers.

All of that, though, brought that first team closer together.

"Our team had a lot of people that were friends, we developed a lot of relationships," said Green, who manages an electronics store in Tampa. "We keep in contact even 10 years later.

"This year's team has no idea what it's like to practice an entire year. Coach Leavitt conditioned us so much that year to compete. It was rough. There were a couple of times I didn't want to do it, but we stuck with it. That's one thing I'm most proud of."

DE STEVE HATLEY (NO. 55)

As a detail manager for Manheim (Pa.) Auto Auction, Hatley may live the farthest from Tampa, but he's slowly turning Manheim into Bulls country.

"A lot of people up here are familiar with South Florida," he said. "They're always asking how we're doing. They know that's where I went to school."

Hatley described his first year at USF as "separating the men from the boys, so to speak. All we did was bang heads against each other. We started with 85 guys that first day and ended up with 14. Coach Leavitt knew there would be a lot of people come and go. He wanted to see who would stick it out."

Hatley's said he's glad USF finally has first-class facilities.

"Those guys are definitely 'Livin' La Vida Loca,' " he said. "We were told as 18-year-old kids that would happen. We just weren't told the exact timeframe."

DE SHAWN HAY (NO. 88 )

The self-proclaimed "skinny white defensive end that played with technique," Hay is now a mortgage broker for Tampa's Premier Home Lending.

Hay said he would never go through that first season at USF again.

"I wouldn't do it again in a million years," he said. "They didn't take it easy on us. I never thought I would throw up or cramp like that in my life."

Through all the pain, though, the OGs persevered.

"There's definitely a bond there," said Hay, who signed a free-agent contract with the 49ers after USF. "We went through a lot. We didn't know what we were doing. We were just trying not to be late and trying to survive. Most freshmen get to redshirt, but we didn't.

"It all worked because we were successful. We had pride and were 100 percent blue collar. We were lucky to have a lot of coaches that helped us develop that."

CB ANTHONY HENRY (NO. 12)

At the time, Henry couldn't understand why Leavitt made him and USF's other best players play on special teams.

"Some schools don't play their starters on special teams," Henry said.

But Leavitt did in the early years and it paid off - especially for Henry, who last season signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys.

"It helped me and it instilled a work ethic in all of us," Henry said. "It goes well beyond football and I give credit to Coach Leavitt and the other coaches."

Henry, who returns to USF each offseason, said it's great to see how much the program has blossomed. He said he's especially proud of the on-campus housing and new athletics facility.

"Things must be going well," he said. "They're going to their first bowl game, so they must be doing something right."

WR CHARLIE JACKSON (NO. 1)

No one was actually killed, but that first year of practicing was "murder," Jackson said. "But it brought us together like a family.

"It's amazing how close we are, that first class. There's a real brotherhood between us. It's amazing and exciting. We're the ones who started this."

Jackson, who recently moved to Savannah, Ga., to take care of his mother, was ecstatic when USF received its first bowl bid.

"We came from nothing," he said. "From ground zero to be in a BCS conference and a bowl game. I've been smiling ever since we got the bowl bid.

"It's exciting to see USF come on ESPN and to sit and watch my school on TV and the coaches that coached me. It's a real pleasure and honor to have been the first class to sign with USF."

SS ROY MANNS (NO. 11)

Since that first year, Manns said Leavitt has changed.

"I talked to Coach and told him, he's not the same, he's getting lazy," Manns said. "He just started smiling. Maybe he's learned better ways to do things. I think he's working harder, but he's not working the players as hard."

Leavitt agreed. He said he hasn't worked any team as hard as that first group.

"The guys right now take this all for granted," Manns said. "We had trailers and everything."

But Manns, who teaches at a private preschool in Clearwater, plans to be among a few thousand Bulls fans in Charlotte cheering for USF.

"They should have gone before this [but got snubbed]; I'm happy they proved a lot of people wrong," Manns said. "Everyone thought we would be in the bottom of the Big East. I guess we're still proving people wrong."

LB VASSAY MARC (NO. 44)

Nine years later, he remembers what Leavitt said in 1996.

"Coach told us that this was the first year of a 10-year plan of changing the powers from the Big Three in Florida to the Big Four," Marc said. "It looks like he was right."

The biggest victory that established USF came at the expense of Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil, Marc's second cousin.

"He was real disappointed after the game [a 45-14 USF win]," said Marc, a loan processor at a Tampa federal credit union. "That one was for bragging rights."

Marc said he's amazed how the program has progressed.

"I take a lot of pride to see where the program is now," Marc said. "That first year was hell. Just playing each other and not having a game. Our practice field was just dirt. Now we're in the Big East Conference."

WR CORY PORTER (NO. 80 )

Looking for perspective on how much USF's program has changed? Just ask Porter after a tour of the new athletics facility.

"I remember sitting in a garbage can with water," Porter said. "Now they have high-tech saunas. The whole thing is mind-blowing."

Porter was blown away three weeks into his first year at USF. Apparently no one told Porter there wouldn't be any games that first season, only practices.

"Coach Leavitt really didn't mention that to me," he said. "I finally asked him and he said not until next year. I was like 'seriously?' But we toughed it out."

An aspiring model and actor in Tampa, Porter was excited when USF received its first bowl bid.

"It was like seeing your children go off to school for the first time," he said. "I was part of the first USF team. That means a lot to me."

C JOEY SIPP (NO. 68 )

Living in sunny Tampa, it's not easy to get the chills. That is, unless someone mentions USF's inaugural game to Sipp.

"That first game - 80-3," Sipp said. "Whenever I talk about that game, it still brings goose bumps."

Sipp, who came to USF from Hillsborough High, is back with the Terriers, coaching the offensive line. At USF, Sipp and Benjamin were the first Bulls to start all 44 games of their career.

Sipp said the key to USF's early success was how close they were.

"If we were enemies against each other, we couldn't have made it," Sipp said. "We were a true family and that helped us get through it. That's why we've stayed close with each other.

"We laid that foundation, laid that groundwork. Even though the current players don't know half the things we went through, I'm glad they have all this stuff."

LB MARSHALL SMITH (NO. 46)

During his freshman year, Smith had to wear a cast after dislocating and tearing ligaments in his left wrist.

When the pin inserted in his wrist became infected and was threatening to split open the cast, Smith urged defensive backs coach Andre Waters to rip the cast off with pliers in the lockerroom so he could play.

"When it gets cold out, I still have problems with my wrist," said Smith, a sales manager with Tampa's Residential Finance. "That first year was definitely unique and different from what other people have gone through."

Smith said another difference is the quality of recruits USF is attracting.

"You can definitely see where the program started and where it's going," Smith said. "I didn't realize I was that slow. I thought I was lot faster back then until I watched the video."

RB RAFAEL WILLIAMS (NO. 28 )

After leaving USF, Williams figured he'd never experience any worse conditions than USF's trailers.

But that was before Williams spent four years in the Army, including a 14-month stint in Iraq.

"It was a good learning experience," said Williams, now a financial adviser for Citibank in Dallas. "My dad was in the Army and this is what I wanted to do at a certain time in my life."

In Iraq, Williams was an administrative assistant, handling finances, but said every now and then he went out on patrol.

Since returning, he's followed USF closely.

"I heard Coach Leavitt isn't as hard as he used to be," Williams said. "It's like parents with their first child. Often I reflect back on that first game and playing before all those people. Now it's amazing to see them in a bowl game."

[BULLfreak]

The best post I ever seen ET has my vote for the hall

[E.T.]

These guys are Hall of Fame and would love for it to be archived there.

Thanx to Brett for keeping this story alive ... he did an original story when they all graduated. Very Special Story !

[BULLfreak]

I got chills just reading it

[E.T.]

Who wouldn´t get chills. It´s a great football story !

[BULLfreak]

I know they are doing a hall of fame at the ath. Building these guys should be in it hands down

[E.T.]

No Doubt !

Each incoming FR should know about these men !

[smazza]

no ring of honor for these guys

we all agree they are special but such an honor should be based on achievement not luck,timing or cirmcumstance

[The Sheriff]

Greg puts a lot of good articles out about the Bulls for the Times, but Brett's articles this week in the Tribune have been hands down spanking the Times like a father whipping his son for getting caught stealing from the local grocery store. Bravo Zulu Brett on the stories this week... can you keep topping them?

Brett is a writer on Viagra making a mid career comeback... Greg... you got your work cut out for you based on the recent quality coming from Brett's pen.