TBO on Bulls scrimmage

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Bulls work on squad's depth

By MICHAEL MANGANELLO

The University of South Florida ran about 100 plays in its first football scrimmage of the fall Saturday, though the expected starters only played for about 12 snaps, coach Skip Holtz said.

Holtz said Friday that the most important aspect of the scrimmage would be to build depth. He stuck to the plan Saturday, with the second and third teams getting about 45 snaps each.

"Probably the best analogy for me to use, this is our first preseason game, you've got to start making some decisions on your depth chart," Holtz said. "You need to make some decisions who you're going to start working with."

USF was dealt some adversity just seven plays into the scrimmage when Holtz announced to the protestations of his team that because of weather in the area, the team would have to head back into the locker room.

When the team returned to the field nearly 90 minutes later, it was without starting left tackle Mark Popek, who sustained a minor head injury before the delay.

Popek was one of only two USF players to leave the scrimmage early, with cornerback Ernie Tabuteau (back spasms) the other.

The offenses were not running red zone plays, instead turning around and moving back in the other direction once they reached the red zone. As a result, there was only one scoring play, a 41-yard connection between freshman quarterback Matt Floyd and redshirt freshman wide receiver Deonte Welch, who caught three passes. Floyd also committed the only turnover of the game, throwing a pass that was intercepted by George Baker on a deep pass attempt to Stephen Bravo-Brown.

Bobby Eveld nearly threw a 37-yard touchdown pass of his own, but A.J. Love was dragged down on the 1-yard line after an impressive catch on a jump ball.

"(Eveld and Floyd) did a really nice job," Holtz said. "They turned, they protected the ball for the most part. I thought they did a really nice job running the offense. They're both still young, they both need to continue to keep coming, but I think they're doing some really good things."

Eveld was 12 for 20 for 150 yards, while Floyd was 18 for 25 for 161 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

USF was without starting quarterback B.J. Daniels, who was held out with a minor hamstring injury, instead spending the majority of the scrimmage standing next to Holtz.

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More scrimmage news...from the USF official site:

Courtesy USF:

VERO BEACH, Fla. – The University of South Florida held their first scrimmage of 2011 fall camp in front of an estimated crowd of 400 fans on Saturday at Vero Beach Sports Village. The Bulls, who are on the 10th day of their fall training and their eighth day in Vero Beach, were looking forward to getting some live reps. Unfortunately, due to some weather in the area, the scrimmage, which had just gotten underway, was delayed for about an hour-and-a-half. But, when the Bulls returned to the field, they maintained the enthusiasm they've had during the entire camp and were able to get some good work in.

"I was really proud with the attitude of this team, the way they came out here, the little adversity that we had having to go back inside for about an hour, hour-and-half," head coach Skip Holtz said following the workout. "They came back out here, they didn't let it drag, they were upbeat, they were up-tempo. I think the attitude was great, the hitting was great. "

Overall, the Bulls ran in upwards of 100 plays during the workout and with junior QB B.J. Daniels sitting out the scrimmage to rest an injury from earlier in camp, the other quarterbacks received the majority of the work.

"I thought they did a really nice job of running the offense," Holtz said of sophomore Bobby Eveld and true freshman Matt Floyd. "They're both still young. They both need to continue to keep coming. I think they're both doing some really good things. I think Bobby's a little bit ahead of Matt right now just because he's got a whole other year in the program, but Matt, for a true freshman doing what he's doing, has really been impressive."

With the ones taking a few reps and the twos and threes getting a majority of the snaps, there will be plenty of opportunity for the Bulls' coaching staff to evaluate where each player fits into the puzzle. Defensively, coordinator Mark Snyder felt like there were a number of guys that played well today and with the offense moving quickly from play-to-play to simulate what they'll see from opponents this season, he feels like the defense is getting better by the practice.

"It's been great," Snyder said. "We're getting better each practice. There is amount of difficulty there. It puts stress in your life and you have to know your assignment. We're very multiple on defense, as you guys know. You have to think on your feet. We're handling each day better and better."

Offensively, coordinator Todd Fitch was pleased with what he saw from his group as well.

"I liked a lot of things about it," said Fitch. "The tempo, the kids, the conditioning looked like we were in good shape. We made some plays down the field. This was a great scrimmage because we got to evaluate some personnel. From here, we'll start getting more situation-based. I think we'll have a good run game. Our line is jelling. Now, we'll start honing in on situations that will make us successful in games."

Overall, coach Holtz was pleased with the day's work. The team got out of the scrimmage relatively healthy with only a handful of injuries. But, the effort and enthusiasm that coach Holtz demands was prevalent and as the players are getting more comfortable, they're talents are starting to show.

"A lot of great individual efforts out there," Holtz concluded. "There's some talent on that field and I'm just excited to put it all together."

NOTES: The Bulls will have Sunday off from practice and will spend the day meeting and watching the film of the scrimmage ... the first six events of the Bulls Olympics were pushed to Sunday due to the scrimmage's weather delay ... the Bulls will now partake in all 10 Olympic events on Sunday.

more camp notes HERE