The Bulls arrive in Vero Beach!

[ajusf16]

mmm I love bbq

[SpikeBull]

I don't know about the play on the left but that (x+b/2q)2 play looks like a sure fire TD against UF.

[813knight]

stay away from the East Coast :foul

Port Charlotte would have been just fine for you guys

[crambone]

I love this.  Great idea and great timing.

[Mama_Bull]

First Practice at camp is about to start.

Message: BJ Daniels leading the Bulls out to practice.

16 minutes ago via UberTwitter

[bullwark]

Thanks Mama_Bull, provide updates if you can.

[Mama_Bull]

Thanks Mama_Bull, provide updates if you can.

You can get updates directly here:

http://twitter.com/usffootball/

The whole team is huddled under a tent rehydrating halfway through practice.

3 minutes ago via UberTwitter

[Mama_Bull]

gregauman tweets

USF freshman QB Jamius Gunsby makes a nice deep throw down the sidelines to hit freshman Deonte Welch in stride at practice in Vero Beach.

about 2 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Scott Carter has some pics up.

http://twitter.com/TribuneScott

[Southshore26]

Dear Lord T.J. Knowles is huge!!!

[Mama_Bull]

AUGUST 09, 2010

Greetings from Vero: Bulls in the outfield

VERO BEACH -- USF's football team has played its last two bowl games on baseball fields, but for coach Skip Holtz, Monday was his first time ever practicing in an outfield.

Not far from the corner of Jackie Robinson Avenue and Pee Wee Reese Blvd., the Bulls opened 12 days of preseason camp at the Vero Beach Sports Village, known for 50 years as Dodgertown, spring training home of the Dodgers until two years ago.

USF has full run of the five baseball fields here, and Tuesday's night practice will take place under the lights in Holman Stadium, where the Dodgers played their spring training games. After arriving Sunday night, the Bulls were reminded of the history of championships won by Dodger teams that trained on the same fields they're now using.

"It's been everything and more," Holtz said. "Remember, this was built for a professional team to come to camp. ... We had a talk last night about the history and the great sports teams that have been through this facility, the number of championships that have been won that started right here. We talked about what we're trying to build, about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and everything else. ... We're not just at a camp. We're at Dodgertown. The legends that have walked across these fields and stayed in these dorm rooms and eaten in this dining facility, that's all part of what they need to understand, the history and tradition through this great place."

Holtz and his team opened their stay in Vero Beach with a three-hour practice under blue skies and unrelenting heat, with three players -- defensive linemen Ryne Giddins and Cory Grissom and tight end Jeff Hawkins -- getting breaks from practice from overheating. Three more -- offensive linemen Jake Sims and Jeremiah Warren and fullback Chase Griffiths -- were held out of practice as a precaution against concussion after complaining of headaches.

As for football on a baseball field, as his team has enjoyed in winning bowl games in St. Petersburg and Toronto, Holtz can remember when Notre Dame played Navy at Veterans Stadium, with pitching mounds not-so-subtlely covered up on the field.

"Once you get inside these lines, as long as it's 100 yards and has a couple end zones and is 53 yards wide," Holtz said.

NEW HOME: Running back Mike Hayes, a junior college transfer who signed with USF in February but was released from his scholarship last week, said Monday that he will play this fall at Houston, near his hometown of East Bernard, Texas.

THIS AND THAT: Freshman receiver Deonte Welch continued to show promise, catching a long touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jamius Gunsby, though Holtz said he'd prefer to see the talented freshman redshirt. Much of that decision will hinge on how Welch can fare in the first scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday. ... Junior safety Jerrell Young had two interceptions in passing drills, and freshman cornerback Terrence Mitchell, making a case to play immediately this fall, saw some work with the second-team defense.

Posted by Greg Auman at 7:24:42 pm on August 09, 2010 in Football

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bulls/content/greetings-vero-bulls-outfield#comments