BCS bowl lures signees to South Florida

[Brad]

Chance for BCS bowl lures signees to South Florida

BY JEFF BERLINICKE

FOR FLORIDA TODAY  

When Jim Leavitt started the football program at South Florida more than 10 years ago, the only recruiting perk he had to offer was that someday the program would be run out of something more than a bare trailer in the middle of a parking lot.

When Leavitt announced his latest USF signing class on Wednesday, he had a bit more to work with. Two straight bowl games, including last season's win over East Carolina, and a spot in the BCS that guarantees at least a chance at a national championship.

Leavitt used that advantage to sign what he termed as a first-class signing class.

The Bulls lose only five starters from last year's team that finished 9-4 and knocked off West Virginia on the road during the last game of the regular season. Leavitt won't have the same luxury of returning starters in 2008, so he went out and filled needs on the offensive and defensive fronts, brought in three running backs who can fill a spot that was depleted from almost the first offensive play of last season, and added some much-needed defensive backs.

He also said that, for the first time, he was able to recruit successfully against the state's Big Three of Florida, Florida State, and Miami.

"When you play in a bowl game two straight years, you don't have to explain who you are as much to recruits," Leavitt said. "We can compete against the big schools on a regular basis. Now we are trying to build a bigger presence in the north."

Of USF's 25 signees, 22 came from Florida with three more from Georgia. Leavitt had interest from several recruits in the north, but late coaching departures hampered those prospects, although Leavitt said he still has a few more who might sign in the coming weeks.

At running back, Leavitt signed three solid players, including Tyson Butler (Cypress Lake) and highly-touted Mike Ford (Sarasota). The Bulls struggled at running back when Moises Plancher (Barron Collier) went down with a leg injury on the fourth offensive play of the season and used walk-ons the rest of the way. Leavitt said it is still Plancher's job and that Plancher is nearing 100 percent, but he is happy to have some depth.

The Bulls struggled in the defensive backfield at times, but Leavitt was able to add two players he expects to contribute immediately, Quenton Washington (North Fort Myers) and Charlton Sinclair (Jacksonville Mandarin).

Here is a closer look at South Florida's recruiting class signed Wednesday.

Impact player: If South Florida needs anything right now, it is a linebacker. Last year's starting three of Patrick St. Louis, Ben Moffitt and Stephen Nicholas is now reduced to only Moffitt after graduation. A linebacker was severely needed and Calvin Sutton (Deland) could fill the bill immediately. He was recruited by several programs in the SEC and is speedy, but a little small.

Mystery Man: Alton Voss is the only quarterback in the USF signing class, and it's unlikely he will ever play a down as long as sophomore Matt Grothe is running the show, but Voss is a duel-threat quarterback who may be moved to defensive back or even get some time if Grothe goes through a sophomore jinx. He led Holiday Gulf in sacks as a defensive back last year and played at every position on defense while throwing for 1,314 yards as quarterback.

Keep an eye on: David Fonua is a defensive end out of Bradenton Southeast who sat out the Florida North-South All-Star game with a knee injury. He signed with USF in February 2006, but is a big guy with a lot of growing to do. Coach Jim Leavitt expects Fonua to make an immediate impact if he can hold up physically.

How they fared:

USF got the running backs they wanted to back up Moise Plancher next season. Mike Ford and Tyson Butler were big catches, and the Bulls now have a huge stable of backs, but not a lot of experience.

Linebacker was a concern with the graduation of St. Louis and Nicholas. The Bulls were only able to net Sutton and Keith McCaskill (Tallahassee (Godby), so it wasn't as big a group as coach Jim Leavitt could have hoped for.

The Bulls might be making serious inroads in the state of Florida and the South. Of the 25 signees, 22 are from Florida and three are from Georgia. Leavitt said he is trying to get a foothold in the north, especially New Jersey, but he wasn't able to do so this year after some of his assistants left the program near signing day.

-- Jeff Berlinicke, The Fort Meyers News-Press

Link

[KB]

Funny how he fails to mention Spires and McKenzie.  I think we are fine at linebacker.  Can't wait to see what C Rob does at LB.  Plus we pulled in 4 LB's in last years class.  

[JoeB]

This guy didn't do much research.  What about Spires?

[Brad]

Probably because he hasn't signed yet.

[Matt]

This guy didn't do much research.  What about Spires?

and if he really does write for the Ft Myers News-Press why did he spell the name of the city wrong?  "Ft Meyers"

Mike Ford to back up Plancher but doesnt even mention Ponton?

Doesn't sound like a legit article to me.

[Unintelligibull]

That's my local paper. They're giving a bit more ink to USF than before but this is still a Gator/Nole town with a bunch of kids sliding over to UCF. UCF has a couple of satellite campuses here which also encourages more ink to them.

At least my letters to them regarding how USF continues to grow in all areas have proven to be true. More kids from this area are becoming Bulls as UF has snobbed themselves out of the market, UCF is too close for most kids, and who wants to be a Nole.

Glad my son is a Bull. Great to be part of a university that is moving forward.

[Don Toro]

Leavitt said he is trying to get a foothold in the north, especially New Jersey...

-- Jeff Berlinicke, The Fort Meyers News-Press

Cool, now we have a legit excuse to have a Beach Scened billboard in Jersey a la Rutgers on I-95.

[80mins]

I'm a **** yankee myself, don't get me wrong, but when you're in FL already, there's hardly reason to recruit outside of your own backyard.

[Mama_Bull]

I'm a **** yankee myself, don't get me wrong, but when you're in FL already, there's hardly reason to recruit outside of your own backyard.

As a former damned Yankee myself I get pissed when I see the Rutgers billboard trying to get our Florida boys to leave.  I think it is a great idea.  Do a billboard showing the palm trees and a picture of the blizzard conditions and ask.......where would you rather play football????????

I think it would be awesome.

[Don Toro]

As a former damned Yankee myself I get pissed when I see the Rutgers billboard trying to get our Florida boys to leave.  I think it is a great idea.  Do a billboard showing the palm trees and a picture of the blizzard conditions and ask.......where would you rather play football????????

I think it would be awesome.

 After looking up the rates I don't think we can afford to have one of those.  The rate quoted for NJ is $12,000 a month for just one! Rutgers pays a lot less for their Florida signs, a sign in Ft Myers would only cost 'em $2,800 a month.