Scout's honor: Simulating W. Va.'s speed

tampaboi07 · September 25, 2007

We don't get to write a lot about USF's scout team, the redshirting freshmen and reserves who don a different jersey number every week, doing their best to simulate the opposing squad to give the Bulls a better sense of the formations and players they'll be lining up against.

This is an interesting week, because it's difficult to simulate the speed that West Virginia has in its offensive skill players. So we took an extra interest in the casting Monday night, seeing which Bulls were chosen to portray which Mountaineers in preparation for Friday night's game. Your playbill ...

AS RUNNING BACK STEVE SLATON ... freshman running back Tyson Butler, who wore Slaton's No. 10 jersey with the word "SLATON" on masking tape on the front of his helmet. Butler is 5-11, 170, and Slaton is 5-10, 190, so they're of similar build, and Butler is one of the fastest scout-team players.

AS QUARTERBACK PAT WHITE ... a host of Bulls. True freshman walk-ons Alton Voss and Matt Piloto are both wearing No. 5 -- they tend to wear the opposing QB's number every week. Neither is exactly a physical match for White -- Voss is 6-2, like him, but is 40 pounds heavier, and Piloto is 6-5. So the real Pat White, for scouting purposes, is former starting free safety Danny Verpaele, who is ineligible this season but still practicing with the Bulls and filling an important role this week.

AS TALENTED FRESHMAN NOEL DEVINE ... walk-on running back Rafael Bennett. Bennett, who joined the team after two-a-days when USF could expand its roster above 105 players, is a bit big for Devine -- he's 6-2, 205, while Devine is just 5-8, 170. I'd thought USF might turn to Devine's friend and high school teammate, cornerback Quenton Washington, who at 5-10, 172, is a closer match for Devine's size and speed and might have a better familiarity with his tendencies. Washington's wearing his normal No. 16 and working on the scout-team defense.

AS SPEEDY RECEIVER DARIUS REYNAUD ... a combination of two of the smallest, fastest Bulls on roster. Freshman receiver Patrick Richardson and walk-on David Cozzo are both wearing No. 2 jerseys to simulate West Virginia's top receiver, who actually was the team's leading rusher against the Bulls last season despite getting only two carries. Richardson is 6-0, 163, and Cozzo is 5-10, 160, but they're there to show his speed for USF's cornerbacks, who will have to contain Reynaud on Friday while helping with run support.

There you have it. The kind of silly minutiae you only get here ...

Posted by Greg Auman at 9:38:05 AM on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (5)

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