Bulls Welcome Six Early Enrollees To Campus
Bulls' 2018 signing class currently ranked No. 1 in The American by Rivals
TAMPA, JAN. 8, 2018 – The USF football team welcomed six members of its 24-man early signing class to campus Monday as the spring semester got underway.
The six early enrollees will join head coach
Charlie Strong and the Bulls in spring practice, which is expected to begin in early March. USF is coming off the first back-to-back 10-win seasons in program history after finishing 10-2 following its second straight bowl victory, a 38-34 win over Texas Tech in the Birmingham Bowl.
The Bulls 2018 signing class is currently ranked No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference and 45th nationally by Rivals, while 247Sports ranks 21of the Bulls' 24 signees as three-star recruits. USF's 24 early signees tied Temple for the most in The American and ranked as the second-most among Power 6 conference teams behind Minnesota, which signed 25 in the early period.
The Bulls will return six starters on offense for 2018, including three of their top four receivers and three offensive line starters, led by second team all-conference pick
Marcus Norman (Sebastian) at right tackle. On defense, USF will return five starters, including defensive end
Greg Reaves (Bradenton), who led the Bulls with 14.0 tackles for loss in 2017, and three starters in the secondary.
Three defenders, two offensive players and a punter are joining the Bulls as early enrollees from the 2018 signing class. On defense, USF welcomed defensive ends
Dwayne Boyles (Miami, Fla./Miami Central) and
Stacy Kirby (Orlando, Fla./Jones HS) and linebacker
Antonio Grier (Atlanta, Ga./Mays HS). On the offensive side of the ball, USF welcomed running back
Brian Norris (Chiefland, Fla./Chiefland HS) and wide receiver
Zion Roland (St. Petersburg, Fla./Admiral Farragut HS). Punter
Trent Schneider (Sydney, Australia), the only non-freshman in the 2018 class to date, also joined USF this spring after playing one season at Santa Barbara City College.
USF is expected to add additional players to the 2018 signing class when the late signing period begins on Feb. 7.
EARLY ENROLLEES
Star Rankings
POS. HT WT. YR HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
Dwayne Boyles DE 6-3 225 Fr. Miami, Fla./Miami Central HS
Antonio Grier LB 6-1 220 Fr. Atlanta, Ga./Mays HS
Stacy Kirby DE 6-3 245 Fr. Orlando, Fla./Jones HS
Brian Norris RB 6-2 220 Fr. Chiefland, Fla./Chiefland HS
Zion Roland WR 5-11 184 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla./Admiral Farragut HS
Trent Schneider P 6-0 190 So. Sydney, Australia/Santa Barbara City College
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 13 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and has spent a program-record 19 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. The Bulls won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and have posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 28 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 32 first-team all-conference selections.
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