JPP just committed.......

[Rizman]

Outstanding.  I was worried about next year, but it starting to come together.  I just wish we had a few more OL recruits coming in that where from 2 year college programs.

[Mama_Bull]

Outstanding.  I was worried about next year, but it starting to come together.  I just wish we had a few more OL recruits coming in that where from 2 year college programs.

It would have been nice to have landed Jamar Bass as a mid-year player to participate in spring practice, but at least we will have effectively two in Carlos Savala and Daron Rose. Given the choice, I'd rather have Rose here in the summer than Bass early in the spring. 

[Mama_Bull]

Greg has a story up on his verbal:

January 29, 2009

End rush: Five-star Pierre-Paul commits to USF

USF already had one of the nation's best incoming classes of defensive ends, but the Bulls have added perhaps the biggest coup yet, as junior college standout Jason Pierre-Paul, rated a five-star recruit by Scout.com, committed on Thursday.

"There is no doubt he is the best player in junior college football this year," said Jeff Sims, his coach at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. "He's extremely athletic. You have a 6-foot-6, 270-pound player who can do a backflip wearing a helmet and shoulder pads."

Pierre-Paul, of Deerfield Beach, also had Nebraska and Kansas State among his final choices, and Sims said the proximity to home helped USF and defensive line coach Kevin Patrick seal the deal.

Pierre-Paul is rated as the nation's No. 6 junior college prospect at any position by Rivals.com, which rates him a four-star recruit. He will sign with the Bulls next week as perhaps the most highly touted recruit in USF's 12-year history. He joins a talented class of defensive ends that includes Armwood's Ryne Giddens and Boca Ciega's Julius Forte.

Posted by Greg Auman at 3:36:50 PM on January 29, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (7)

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/01/end-rush-five-s.html

[E.T.]

...  I just wish we had a few more OL recruits coming in that where from 2 year college programs.

I think we'll see some major Prep OL commits in 2010.

[Dr.Brahma]

...  I just wish we had a few more OL recruits coming in that where from 2 year college programs.

I think we'll see some major Prep OL commits in 2010.

This has been an incredible class so far. We just need to get commits on paper. As far as OL go, this is the one major area that I wish we would have addressed more. I really believe the OL depth killed our season. We were playing with busted up OL most of the season because our backups must have not been good enough to beat out INJURED starters. That is not good.  I hope Savala and Rose can come in and push for starting time because if they are good we may blow up.

[E.T.]

...  I hope Savala and Rose can come in and push for starting time because if they are good we may blow up.

Success of these 2 is vital.

[windbane]

...  I hope Savala and Rose can come in and push for starting time because if they are good we may blow up.

Success of these 2 is vital.

Could be, but I think we'll find some guys out of this list:

Jason Fox (Sr.)

Jake Sims (Jr.)

Zach Hermann (Jr.)

S. Genus (Jr.)

Chaz Hine (So.)

Jeremiah Warren (So.)

Keith McCaskill (So.)

Mike McGowan (So.)

Damien Edwards (R-Fr.)

Danous Estenor (R-Fr.)

Sean Hirlinger (R-Fr.)

J. Jackson (R-Fr.)

Mark Popek (R-Fr.)

Josh Garvin (R-Fr.)

Look at all of those redshirt freshmen.  Remember, Hermann started 13 games as a redshirt freshmen.  It's not ideal, but many good things have been said about our current redshirt freshmen.  Genus and Jackson are switching over, and Genus has played 2 years.

Add to that list the aforementioned Savala and Rose, and also Jacques, McGhin, and Joyer.

If we can find a good 2-deep for next year, then we are set for many years.  The only senior doesn't play as far as I know, and we only have 2 or 3 starters that are juniors this upcoming year.  If this next year isn't our best OL ever, then I think next year will definitely be.

[Mama_Bull]

Greg finally was able to speak with JPP:

January 30, 2009

Defensive end Pierre-Paul: 'I'm very excited'

Another busy day with Super Bowl stuff, but I got a call back this afternoon from Jason Pierre-Paul, the five-star defensive end from Fort Scott Community College who committed to USF earlier this week. Nobody was able to get Pierre-Paul initially, as everyone had gotten the news from his coach at Fort Scott, so this was the first chance to get the news straight from the commitment himself. A few things ...

-- His weight. He's been listed at 280 pounds a few places, which surprised me, because he was listed around 230 two years ago when he signed with Central Florida out of high school. Pierre-Paul said Friday that he's 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, which puts him at a good weight to be a college defensive end.

-- The competition: Pierre-Paul said the other schools he strongly considered were Nebraska, Kansas State, Arizona and Kansas, in that order. Geography helped the Bulls, as he's from Deerfield Beach and likes the idea of his mother, father, brother and sister being able to drive to his home games. He said he and Fort Scott linebacker Jacquian Williams, another USF commitment, have found a lot in common since the end of the season -- both great athletes who had to leave the state to get the degrees they needed to get a scholarship back in their home state.

-- Pierre-Paul said the chance to play with senior George Selvie was a major plus, and his goal now is to earn the starting job opposite Selvie and learn as much as possible from him this fall. "He's an All-American, and hopefully it'll be me and him coming at people from both sides," he said.

-- Sunday's paper will have a feature on Lake Mary's Demi Thompson, a great story that stands out in a ridiculously talented class of defensive linemen coming to USF. It's interesting that USF is ranked by Rivals.com as having the nation's No. 2 group of defensive ends in the country in this year's class. That ranking, however, includes Leslie Stirrups as a defensive end, but he's been a defensive tackle at East Mississippi and I have no reason to think he'll be anything but a tackle at USF. With Stirrups, Khyri Thornton and Anthony Hill, the Bulls have eight defensive linemen in this class, clearly a strength in what's shaping up as a top-25 class nationally.

Posted by Greg Auman at 5:06:26 PM on January 30, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/01/defensive-end-p.html

[gobulls83]

Both Giddens and JPP cited Selvie as a factor in their decisions to choose USF. Yet another reason to love that man.