By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, JULY 24, 2017 – USF football spent the summer gearing up for the earliest fall camp start in program history and immediately hit the accelerator from the word go.

Head coach Charlie Strong's Bulls got right down to business Monday afternoon with an intense, two-hour session that set the tone for what will be a five-week whirlwind of 26 practices before the Aug. 26 season opener at San Jose State.

"It's good to just get out today, this being our first day, and see our guys run around," Strong said. "There was a lot of good effort on both sides of the football."

Decked out in crisp new Under Armour practice uniforms, the Bulls rocketed through individual and team drills with a purpose at the university's recreational fields, the site where USF football began its preparations for the inaugural 1997 season and for several years after before moving just south to the Morsani Football Practice Facility.

"For the first day, I would say a lot of guys came out and got after it," senior quarterback Quinton Flowers said.

Flowers, named to four national watch lists this preseason, knows the Bulls must make every moment of fall camp count because of what's expected of them this year. After setting a school record with 11 wins in 2016, USF was selected as a heavy favorite by the league's media to capture the American Athletic Conference title.

"We have expectations here," said linebacker Auggie Sanchez, one of USF's 56 upperclassmen returning for 2017. "We created expectations and as a senior on this team, I hold guys accountable. A lot of these guys that are seniors hold guys accountable and I think that's special about us."

Sanchez is one of USF's 16 returning starters on a super talented team that's looking to make more history as the program's first conference champion. Fortunately, they have a veteran coach that knows how to handle great expectations.

Strong, a two-time conference coach of the year, won back-to-back league titles with Louisville in 2011-12 on top of two national championships as Urban Meyer's defensive coordinator at Florida in 2006 and 2008. Strong is entering his eighth season as a head coach and has coached in 25 bowl games during a coaching career that is entering its 35th season.

"You have to go about your business each and every week. You have to become about it each and every day," Strong said. "That's what I always tell them, just win today and don't worry about what everybody (is saying). There's going to be a lot of noise in the system, but we just have to handle our business."

Welcome Back, Auggie
USF's defense made strides in the spring and will have a chance to really improve this fall with healthy middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez back in the mix.

Monday marked the return to the practice field for the quarterback of the Bulls' defense that spent the spring rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Now fully healthy and stronger than ever, Sanchez is happily back to barking out calls and chasing down ball-carriers with his teammates.

"It was good to be back with the guys, just to be out there running around, playing football and doing what we like to do," the St. Petersburg native said. "It was nice just to be there."

Once the season gets here, Sanchez gets to chase after some USF history of his own. The two-time all-conference pick has 303 career tackles and needs 65 to break longtime NFL standout Kawika Mitchell's school stops record.

Bulls Bits
- Quinton Flowers (Miami) showcased his ever-improving, deep passing skills Monday with a long touchdown toss to senior receiver Ryeshene Bronson (Fort Myers). Last season, Flowers set a new USF milestone with 24 touchdown passes and also broke the Bulls' season record for total offense with 4,342 yards.

- USF's defense also made by plays during team work and the turnover train started rolling with sophomore linebacker Nico Sawtelle (Jensen Beach, Fla.) making a diving interception on a tipped pass by junior cornerback Mazzi Wilkins (Tampa). Junior safety Jaymon Thomas (Immokalee, Fla.) picked off a deep pass later in the action.

- The Buffalo Bills were the latest NFL team to check out USF's talent with a scout attending practice Monday.

Up Next
USF will continue its run of four practices this week with another session Tuesday afternoon on campus. Practices are not open to the public.
 
 ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins following the program's fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls' 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 team and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, six of which, including Flowers, will return in 2017. 

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