Spring game from the Trib

[USFan]

All Of USF's QBs Make Their Mark In Spring Game

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By GREGG BECNEL Tribune correspondent

Published: Apr 16, 2006

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TAMPA - The White team built an early lead and coasted to a 36-10 win against the Green team in the University of South Florida Spring Game at Raymond James Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 3,862 on Saturday.

But with the starting quarterback spot up for grabs, all the focus was on the play of sophomore Carlton Hill, freshman Matt Grothe and senior Pat Julmiste.

Hill was 5-for-15 for 40 yards, Grothe finished 11 of 19 for 167 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and Julmiste, who rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown, was 6-for-13 for 87 yards and one touchdown.

"All quarterbacks did some good things," USF coach Jim Leavitt said. "Grothe started out slow, but look what he did at the end. You can see the talent there, and he's a freshman. You saw the athletic talent that Carlton has. Pat, you saw why he's been starting. He just has a command."

Grothe had an inauspicious start, having his first pass attempt intercepted by junior cornerback Mike Jenkins, who returned it 29 yards for the game's first score. Grothe settled down to lead a late touchdown drive.

"I feel I had a pretty good game, except for the two interceptions," Grothe said. "If I had to give myself a grade, I'd say a B-minus or a C-plus just because of the fact I made a couple of freshman mistakes."

Julmiste says he's done everything he could to win the starter's job.

"I feel good going into the summer. This will be my last season, so I want to hit the weight room hard, the field hard and the film room hard," he said. "As far as the quarterback job, I don't have any control over that, that's the coaches' decision, so the only thing I can do is get better each day."

Leavitt suggested Julmiste might have the advantage if a decision would be made today.

"I think it's really competitive," Leavitt said. "You'd probably go with Pat because he has the most experience. You just feel comfortable he can go out there and lead a team. But the summer is going to be big. I'm not going to tell you that Matt or Carlton can't get in the hunt because you saw what they did."

LSU transfer Amp Hill made a promising debut, finishing with eight catches for 87 yards.

"Amp is a target you can't seem to miss," Grothe said. "If you want somebody who's going to catch the ball, throw it to Amp. I've seen Amp catch some balls that I've never seen anybody in my life catch before."

Jenkins finished with two interceptions, while freshman Jerome Murphy continued his impressive spring with two picks for the Green Team.

After Jenkins' opening score, the White Team tacked on two more scores when Julmiste snuck in from 1 yard and Walt Smith ran in from the 8 to make it 20-0.

The Green Team finally got on the board when Mike Benzer hit a 33-yard field goal 1:39 before halftime. The White Team answered quickly when Julmiste engineered a TD drive before intermission, hitting Ean Randolph with a 30-yard strike to make it 27-3.

The Green's only score in the second half was Grothe's 25-yard touchdown throw to Cedric Hill with 8:45 remaining in the game. The White closed out the scoring on a safety by Tavarious Robinson and a 31-yard run by Smith.

[ChiTownBull]

****...looks like PJ helped himself tonight.

I think Amp & Jerome are two that are really going to help the Bulls

[jg]

Amp was impressive. He actually catches everything thrown his way.