Recruiting/Transfer Notes from Greg's blog

[E.T.]

More intriguing news: Some Bulls fans might remember the name Tyrone McKenzie from the summer of 2005, when the former Riverview standout considered transferring to USF from Michigan State. He wound up at Iowa State, where he racked up 129 tackles this fall as a sophomore, ranking eighth in the nation and earning second-team All-Big 12 honors (9.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles).

Here's the scoop: McKenzie is transferring closer to home due to a family illness, and USF has gotten a release from Iowa State and is actively recruiting him. He's already sat out one season from his last transfer, so it's huge that he might be able to land a hardship waiver allowing him to play immediately, rather than sit out another season, which would leave him with only one year of eligibility. USF is a good match, then, for two reasons: the Bulls have one opening for a starting linebacker, and he really can't play the need-to-get-close-to-home card any more convincingly than with the Bulls. He's 6-2, 230 pounds, put up some insane numbers with the Cyclones and could be on campus next month. He played middle linebacker at Iowa State but would move outside at USF, where Ben Moffitt will return as a senior in the middle in 2007. Nothing's official until McKenzie sets foot on campus, but it's looking good for the Bulls right now.

We'd told you a while back about South Sumter star Jarrod Fleming, who plans to enroll in January and walk on with the Bulls, and Fleming told me this weekend that another local from the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS) is also planning on returning home and walking on with the Bulls. It's former Plant City quarterback Jason Brown -- speedy, athletic kid, but was listed at or about 5-foot-8, 160 pounds in high school, which realistically limits him to receiver or returns on the major-college level. Haven't been able to reach Brown myself, but it's another promising walk-on to watch.

One more note: former USF quarterback Carlton Hill, who helped Pearl River Community College to the national juco championship game this weekend, said Sunday he will not return to USF in January, though he is still considering returning to the Bulls next fall.

Hill could have rejoined the Bulls after one semester, but said he wants to get his associate of arts from Pearl River, something he said he can do by the end of next summer, which would give him two years of eligibility at the Division I level. Hill said he has no idea what he wants to do, said he has kept in semi-regular contact with USF coaches and wouldn't rule out a return. He isn't sure what position he wants to play, how big a school he wants to transfer to, lots of questions to be answered between now and next fall. Again, I hear nothing but high praise for Donte Spires, the former USF signee who played his first season at Pearl River this fall and will join the Bulls next summer with three years of eligibility.

[LakelandBull]

Greg's blog is outstanding!  Hats off to him.