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Impact on recruiting might be NONE


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The biggest impact on recruiting, at least right away, is going to be on out of state schools that recruit Florida. The two coaches who have to be the most upset about this are Kirk Ferentz and Greg Schiano. Why would someone go to Iowa or New Jersey for big time college football when they can go to USF and get the same thing, or even better?

You also forgot Ron Zook and Steve Spurrier. There are some guys who comitted to Miami, now looking at USF.
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Bullish on USF 

  By Jamie Newberg

National Recruiting Analyst

Posted Sep 30, 2007 

The Bulls are off and running as they find themsleves sitting at No. 6 in the AP poll after beating West Virginia on Friday and watching all the college football upsets in the top 10 on Saturday. USF has come a very long way in a short time under Head Coach Jim Leavitt. Right now everyone is bullish on South Florida.

Ten years ago there was a birth in Tampa, Florida. On September, 6, 1997, the University of South Florida played its first football game. They beat Kentucky Wesleyan 80-3. Who would have believed that ten seasons later the USF Bulls would be in line for a possible BCS bowl? Who would have believed that USF could line up against Florida State or Miami and be favored to win the game? Who would have believed that Jim Leavitt’s program would be the highest ranked team from the Sunshine State and ranked nationally (No. 6) among the elite college football programs? USF is the fastest team in the modern era of college football to go from upstart program to top-10 in the rankings.

Everyone is bullish on USF right now. And rightly so.

On Friday night South Florida hosted then ranked No. 5 West Virginia and soundly beat the high powered Mountaineers 21-13. The Bulls, behind a speedy, aggressive and hard hitting defense, shut down West Virginia to spark the biggest win in their short football history.

These young Bulls are used to big wins. Two years ago USF whipped No. 9 Louisville. Last year they upset the No. 7 ranked Mountaineers in Morgantown. Earlier this season South Florida went to Auburn and beat the Tigers.

College football fans better get used to these three letters, U-S-F. The Bulls are on the rise and last Friday’s win will go a long way to securing their football future. Beating a team like West Virginia in front of a national television audience will give the Bulls a big boost in recruiting. It was also a program defining moment for Leavitt’s Bulls. Certainly, recruits will take notice.

“The West Virginia win will help a lot,†said USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt. “Recruiting is obviously a critical piece of the puzzle because we are trying to go out there and get the very best players. I mean those kids can be a part of a great story. We are going to sign 25 and we are hitting Florida and Georgia real hard. But we will go anywhere if the interest is there. It’s exciting because this class is our most important class.†Friday night’s win was just another step in the building process for Leavitt and his program, just like their first victory back in ’97. Consistency is the key both on and off the field and the future certainly looks bright for the Bulls. Against West Virginia, USF only started seven seniors (two on offense and five on defense). USF is led by quarterback Matt Grothe, who is only a sophomore. Another sophomore spearheads the defense in defensive end George Selvie. He just so happens is the college football leader in sacks and tackles for a loss. As good as the defensive front is for the Bulls, the secondary is the strength of this team, where senior cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams, are arguably the top tandem at this position in college football.

Simply put Leavitt and his staff have done an excellent job in evaluating talent and then developing that talent. If you look at the Bulls 107 man roster, 97 players are from the Sunshine State. If you follow recruiting then you know Florida is a bell cow in term of producing talent. Typically the state produces over 300 1-A signees and USF has certainly gotten their share.

Florida, Florida State and Miami have dominated recruiting in the state of Florida. Known as the “Big Three†the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes would never lose a recruiting battle to the upstart Bulls.

Folks, those times are about to change. Friday’s signature win and a potentially magical season ahead will open recruiting doors never seen before in Tampa. Sure the Bulls have knocked and some recruits have listened. But at the end of the day the big fish would sign elsewhere. Those days are over. I am not saying the Bulls will own recruiting in the state of Florida. What I am saying is that USF will take the next step and start competing with the “Big Three†in the all important in-state recruiting wars. This means they are going to start winning some of those battles.

Not every major blue-chipper from Florida signs with Florida, FSU or Miami. Even those three college football powers have lost their share over the years. But for the most part, if you are an elite player from the Sunshine State, chances are you would end up in Gainesville, Tallahassee, or Coral Gables.

After last season’s Cinderella story Rutgers finished No. 28 in the team recruiting rankings. In the process they beat out Ohio State for the nation’s top offensive tackle in Anthony Davis. There is no way the Scarlet Knights land Davis without a great season in ’06 and you better believe that the year they had on the field greatly impacted their recruiting efforts. The same can be said for USF this season. The Bulls are currently sitting on nine commitments and there is a great possibility that many new names will be on the board that were not there at the end of August. Quarterback B.J. Daniels (Tallahassee, Fla.), linebacker Sean Spence (Miami, Fla.), wide receiver Tommy Streeter (Miami, Fla.), defensive end Corey Liuget (Hialeah, Fla.), cornerback Kevin Green (Tallahassee, Fla.), and offensive guard Ricky Barnum (Lakeland, Fla.) are just some names that could be back in play.

“We are trying to get in there with the top kids here,†said Leavitt. “We will go in again and see what happens. It won’t be easy and we just don’t know yet where we stand.†There is more to the beauty of Florida than warm weather, palm trees and beautiful beaches. The Sunshine State is deep in high school football talent. There is certainly enough to feed all the in-state programs as well as out-of-state schools like Louisville, West Virginia, Clemson and others. In fact, just about every program in the country tries to recruit the state. The surge of the Bulls though will make it a little harder for those schools, especially for the better prospects.

It has been baby steps in the evolution of USF football. Leavitt and his staff first worked out of a trailer behind the baseball field. Now they have beautiful offices. Before, they didn’t have a weight room. Now they have a big and beautiful facility. The Bulls also have the opportunity to play in a state of the art football stadium, Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play. Plans are in the works for $70 million in athletic upgrades including a dining hall and other goodies to enhance the South Florida athletic experience. The ingredients are now there off the field for the University of South Florida to compete with anyone in terms of attracting players.

The Bulls, like any other team, also needed to be in a strong conference. Recruits want to play in a good league with an opportunity to play in the BCS and more importantly, have a shot to play for a national title. First they were 1-AA, then 1-A, then part of Conference USA before joining the Big East in 2005. Remember, the Big East lost Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to supposed greener pastures of the Atlantic Coast Conference. It seemed as though the conference was down and out. Then Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese invited in USF, Cincinnati, and Louisville. With the emergence of Rutgers last season and now South Florida, the Big East has to be considered one of the strongest conferences in college football, especially given the fact that several other Big East programs are on the rise as well. Many will even say the Big East is football’s No. 3 rated conference behind the SEC and Pac 10. The bottom line is that the Big East is rapidly improving and that will provide a shot in the arm in terms of recruiting not just for South Florida but within the entire league itself.

More than anything what USF needed was validation. Beating a SEC school like Auburn on the road is validation. Beating West Virginia, who many considered a National Championship contender, at home in front of a raucous and sold out home crowd is validation. Being ranked No. 6 in the nation is validation.

USF is in uncharted waters. They have never seen this much success. How will the Bulls handle it? Also remember they are only 4-0 and 1-0 in conference play and there are eight more games to be played. They get No. 21 Rutgers on the road in a few weeks, as well as No. 20 Cincinnati and Louisville among others. It’s not going to be easy. No one in the Big East will lie down for USF and they now have everyone’s utmost attention.

“The most important day is tomorrow,†proclaimed Leavitt. “The most important day is always tomorrow. We have to practice good (tomorrow) and keep our players focused. Look at all those upsets yesterday.â€Â

Every program needs a pioneer and a leader to take them places never before seen. Look at what Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier and Howard Schnellenberger did for FSU, Florida and Miami respectively. These coaching legends all put those football programs on the map, started and established football traditions and won championships. Jim Leavitt is that man for USF. What he has done in ten plus seasons (74-43) is amazing and different because he had to do it from scratch.

Will Leavitt lead USF to championships in the future? That remains to be seen. But each game, each season, and each year this young Bulls program takes steps toward that direction.  

http://recruiting.scout.com/2/685626.html

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We won't out recruit on of the big 3 this team it's a relationship that takes 2 years. Any impact will be seen in the next 2-3 years

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If USF becomes a consistent top-25 member, there will be a tremendous impact which will only grow each year.

CJL will go after high-character recruits with a higher inherent talent level.

His biggest challenge may be to not lose the HS coach's relationships he has when he can no longer place their 2nd tier players.

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If we keep winning, we can recruit the same athletes and they will suddenly become 1-star better because they signed with us. The "star" system is totally based on who is recruiting. Once we become an elite program, we could sign a punter as a defensive tackle, and they wouldn't be below 3 stars.

Don't fall into the star trap. Leavitt knows what he is looking for, and it doesn't matter how they are rated.

Selvie only had one D-1A offer. I think he was a 1-star recruit. I hope we can keep finding guys like that under the radar.

That is one of the most accurate things I have read on any board.

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I agree with MamaBull -- USF recruits on character as well as talent.    I think that's sometimes we see threads where people are like "why aren't we going after this guy"...

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