USF Lands One Of Nation's Top QBs

[___ Eats It]

http://bulls.tbo.com/bulls/MGB2INZJZXD.html

Highly Touted QB Denson Transferring To USF

By BRETT McMURPHY

Published: Aug 17, 2004

TAMPA - After years of near misses, South Florida finally landed one of the nation's top quarterbacks when Courtney Denson said Monday he will transfer from Auburn to USF.

A Miami Central High graduate, Denson was rated the nation's eighth-best quarterback by SuperPrep in 2003 - Florida's Chris Leak was ranked third. Denson signed with Auburn, but became disenchanted after being moved to cornerback.

``I wanted to go somewhere I could play quarterback,'' Denson said. ``I knew I could play quarterback out of high school, but Auburn saw my athletic ability and switched me over to defense.''

The 5-foot-11, 198-pound Denson, who redshirted last season, received his release from Auburn, a Tigers spokeswoman said.

Denson was in the process of enrolling at USF's campus Monday and will have three years of eligibility beginning in 2005, the Bulls' first year in the Big East. Denson will be the third SuperPrep All-American in USF's history, joining freshman cornerback Mike Jenkins and former offensive lineman Cedric Bell.

``His heart is set on playing quarterback,'' Miami Central coach Anthony Saunders said. ``He was one of the top quarterbacks in the United States, but Auburn had a logjam at quarterback.

``USF is getting a great athlete. He's a Brent Schaeffer- like quarterback.''

As a senior at Miami Central, Denson threw for 1,905 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 615 yards and 12 TDs. He had more than 2,200 yards passing as a junior.

Before signing with Auburn, Denson considered Virginia Tech, USF, Nebraska and Rutgers. When Denson decided to leave Auburn, he said USF was his No. 1 choice.

``I knew they wanted me as a quarterback, and it's closer to home, allowing my family to watch me play,'' Denson said.

The addition of Denson lessens the sting of losing out on several impact quarterbacks, including Deerfield Beach's Schaeffer (Tennessee), Hawthorne's Cornelius Ingram (Florida), Bradenton Southeast's Adrian McPherson (Florida State), St. Pete Catholic's Chris Davis (Florida State) and Clearwater Central Catholic's Jay Davis (N.C. State).

``Courtney worked hard,'' Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville told the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser. ``It was just one of those things where he felt he needed to get closer back to his family. No problems there, but we hate to see him go.''

WOOOO HOOOO!!!!!

[KnightsRule]

I guess he wasn't good enough to play QB at Auburn. Could pay dividends for USF, good pickup.

[___ Eats It]

At least he qualified at Auburn, unlike your recent transfer.

This is a STELLAR pickup for USF!

[KnightsRule]

At least he qualified at Auburn, unlike your recent transfer.

This is a STELLAR pickup for USF!

Are you short on defensive backs?

[MavTechKNIGHT2]

WHOA!

Where is Bien!  This is a transfer, so he is not going to be very good.  According to Bien, that is.  Most transfers do not pan out.  I am interested in his take on this.  I bet it says something about how great he is.

[MavTechKNIGHT2]

OK.  Now that I have read the article you posted I have to say that I would be VERY concerned about a 5'11" quarterback.  This guy may be great but not many under 6' 2" make it these days.

Good luck though.  He would be a great addition if he is as good as others say.

[Guest S.  Bien]

WHOA!

Where is Bien!  This is a transfer, so he is not going to be very good.  According to Bien, that is.  Most transfers do not pan out.  I am interested in his take on this.  I bet it says something about how great he is.

Mavprick, if your going to quote me, then quote me accurately.  I do not like counting on transfers because they transfered for a reason usually.  This one is no exception, Denson's coming to USF to play QB.  Suddenly, the word from the practice field is PJ is putting it all together finally, Gachette looks very sharp early on, and Matt Grothe was a solid snag.  Not to mention there's another HS QB that's highly touted that USF is close to.  

I would be more excited if Denson came here just for the purpose of playing closer to home, but the elusions of playing QB muddy the water.  We'll see, he's a fabulous athlete- slated to start at CB for Auburn this year.   But what happens if he doesn't pan out at QB, does he leave us, does he become a bad apple?

I'll wait for two years before getting excited.  Transfers are always 50/50 propositions in 1-A.  If a kid is leaving a school to sit out a year and play at another 1-A school its usually attitude issues, coaches don't want him or think he's good enough, or conflicts between the coach and player (maybe on position movement, workout regime, whatever).  SO, a player comes with baggage, it's better to make sure its an isolated incident and not a problem with the player.

On a positive Courtney did have a 3.3 GPA, and 1140 SAT coming out of HS so qualifying wasn't a problem.

[Cattle_Prod]

This guy will never start at QB for the Bulls, if he does, then USF is in trouble.  As Bien said, he could not break the top five QB's at Auburn, hardly a QB haven.  

No, this kid is a great athlete and would be a great addition on defense, which is where he will play at USF.

[TripleB]

OK.  Now that I have read the article you posted I have to say that I would be VERY concerned about a 5'11" quarterback.  This guy may be great but not many under 6' 2" make it these days.

You're right, a 5'11" qb could NEVER do any good at USF ..........

[Cattle_Prod]

Triple, the days of Blackwell are gone and so is the competition he played against.