QB Hill Elevates USF's Hopes

[JeffreyBEllis]

Rightfully so, the USF fan base seems to look favorably upon the era of Marquel Blackwell's tenure at the Bulls quarterback in a messianic light.

However, I think that Carlton Hill has the potential to supercede Blackwell in terms of his significance and stature within the USF intercollegiate football program.

Congratulations on an exceptional recruiting class, Coach Leavitt!

Carlton Hill

RECRUITING

QB Hill Elevates USF's Hopes

By BRETT McMURPHY, bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Feb 3, 2005

TAMPA - South Florida coach Jim Leavitt welcomed the visitor inside the Bulls' football trailers last year and invited him in his office.

``I don't want to tell you much,'' Eric Hinson said. ``Just put in this tape.''

Suddenly appearing on television was a quarterback doing things Leavitt had never seen before. Monticello Jefferson County junior Carlton Hill was running, throwing, doing pretty much anything he wanted.

Leavitt stopped the tape after a few minutes and asked Hinson, Hill's high school coach: ``You sure he can't come out this year?''

Leavitt, of course, had to wait a year for a chance at getting Hill. At 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, the wait ended when USF received Hill's faxed letter-of- intent.

``From that moment [we saw the film], we were on him,'' Leavitt said. ``When I saw that film, I knew he was that good.''

After a string of frustrating runner-up finishes to land a top-flight quarterback in past years - including Cornelius Ingram (Florida), Brent Schaeffer (Tennessee), Adrian McPherson and Chris Davis (Florida State) and Jay Davis (N.C. State) - the Bulls beat out Miami to be King of the Hill.

``It really feels good,'' Leavitt said. ``It really does. It's a nice feeling because we worked so hard.''

The Bulls also expect to add one of the nation's top defensive ends today or Friday. Miami Carol City's Ricky Jean- Francois will sign with the Bulls over LSU, his father said late Wednesday night.

He is rated the state's sixth- best player and nation's No. 3 defensive end by Rivals.com.

``Me and his mom don't want him to go to LSU,'' said his father, Celhomme Jean- Francois. ``Ricky was happy with South Florida. Those people [at LSU] washed his brain. That's not going to work. They make a mistake.

``We want him to go to South Florida. We want him to stay home in Florida. We want him to go where he's safe. South Florida has nothing to worry about.''

The addition of Jean-Francois would give the Bulls their biggest-caliber offensive (Hill) and defensive recruits in school history - in the same class.

Hill, a PrepStar All- American, threw for nearly 3,400 yards the past two years at Jefferson County with 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also ran for nearly 1,600 yards and 27 TDs.

Hill, who turns 20 in May, is ready to contribute immediately.

``I thought real hard about redshirting, but I feel I'm ready to play,'' the 6-foot-3, 210- pound Hill said. ``Because of my age I don't want to waste any time.

``The coaches say they want me to be the guy. I know I've got to compete, that would have been like that anywhere I would have gone. I chose South Florida because I could make the biggest difference here.''

Hill - called the ``crown jewel'' of USF's 23-player class by Scout.com's Jamie Newberg - was among 13 offensive players signed, including four wide receivers and three tight ends. USF also picked up nine defenders, including five defensive backs.

The Bulls also landed one of the nation's top kickers in Mike Benzer, who is expected to replace Santiago Gramatica.

USF's class included 18 high school seniors. Of those, 12 earned all-state honors - quarterbacks Matt Grothe (Class 4A first team) and Hill (1A first team), running back Moise Plancher (5A honorable mention), wide receiver Ishmeal Grant (1A first team), offensive linemen Chris DeArmas (6A third team) and Danny Tolley (3A first team), defensive lineman George Selvie (3A second team), cornerback R.J. Anderson (4A first team), defensive back Tyller Roberts (6A first team), Benzer (5A second team), free safety Jerome Murphy (New Jersey second team) and tight end Ben Busbee (Alabama 6A honorable mention).

Also, six recruits - Hill, Grothe, Anderson, DeArmas, wide receivers Taurus Johnson and Jessie Hester - were ranked among The Tampa Tribune's top 50 state recruits.

Leavitt said it's too early to evaluate the class, rated the fourth-best in the Big East and the nation's 50th-best class by Rivals.com.

``I'm so excited about this group,'' Leavitt said. ``There's so much hype about the recruiting class. Honestly, who ends up being the great players? How players develop is such a big thing. But we've got some awfully good football players.''

And the Bulls could add another great one in the next 48 hours with Jean-Francois.

Tribune correspondent Gregg Becnel contributed to this report.

[beastiebull]

Hill getting the hype.

Grothe flying under the radar.

Gonna be interesting....