Call him a Bull? Ishmeal Grant could be coming

[USFishin]

From Greg's Blog:

Call him a Bull? Ishmeal Grant could be coming

I've told you guys how my cell only keeps 500 contacts, so I'm constantly having to purge old numbers to make room for new ones. One guy I haven't let myself lose track of is Ishmeal Grant, a receiver from Blountstown, Fla., who signed with USF in 2005 but failed to qualify academically. Every time I'd talk to Grant, he'd have a different setback to overcome -- he told me he was hit by a drunk driver in spring 2007 -- but one thing wouldn't change: how much he wanted to make it to USF.

It looks like Grant is going to get his wish, as JCgridiron.com, a juco recruiting site that's part of the Rivals.com network, is reporting that Grant has committed to USF as a late addition to the incoming recruiting class. I've traded text messages with Grant this morning and will be talking to him shortly, and can report that USF receivers coach Mike Canales will be visiting Grant at Arizona Western College this week.

Grant always had a great mix of size and speed -- 6-foot-3, but quick enough to return eight kicks -- six kickoffs and two punts -- for touchdowns as a senior in 2004. As a junior he averaged 35.4 yards a catch. If I'm recalling his timeline correctly, Grant wasn't in school in 2005 and spent 2006 at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, but didn't play. He's been at Arizona Western this past spring, and while AWC doesn't have complete stats on its site, just tallying up five games would give him 25 catches for 368 yards and four touchdowns.

So I wouldn't write it down as a done deal yet, but it's a promising development for USF with a familiar old name. And with all due respect to Melville, he spells his name "Ishmeal." Now if they can just find a linebacker named Queequeg ...

-- Speaking of old names you might remember, how about Travaris Cadet? The Miami Central quarterback nearly signed with USF a year ago, but wound up at Toledo, where he redshirted, then bolted after one semester. I bring him up because he's wound up at Pearl River this spring. He'll compete for the starting quarterback job this fall, but it's unclear whether he'll be recruited by major colleges as a quarterback or as an "athlete." Pearl River coach Tim Hatten estimates he'll have 17 Division I recruits on his roster this fall ...

-- Another name at Pearl River this fall? Hatten said he'll have Onterio McCalebb, a four-star running back from Fort Meade who considered USF but signed with Auburn. McCalebb, who was at Auburn's spring game this month, is tiny but super-fast and could play major-college ball at any number of positions. He follows another Fort Meade standout, Demetrius Byrd, who went from Pearl River to a national championship at LSU last fall. Two other former SEC signees from Florida who will be at Pearl River: defensive lineman Charles Deas, a former LSU signee, and Johnnie Lee Dixon, a safety who signed with Auburn in 2007. Did I mention that Wally Burnham will be up at Pearl River this week?

-- Hey, for those of you with a sudden interest in UNLV women's basketball after USF's Jose Fernandez was a finalist for that opening: As expected the job went to former UCLA coach Kathy Olivier, so says the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Expect coverage of the Lady Rebels to dwindle off a bit now ...

April 21, 2008 | Permalink

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2008/04/call-him-a-bull.html