Four Bulls Sign NFL Free Agent Contracts, Several Invited to Rookie Minicamps
Four Bulls had signed NFL free agent contracts and another six were invited to rookie minicamps as of 5:00 p.m. on April 30.
TAMPA, APRIL 29, 2018 – It took little time after the conclusion of the 2018 NFL Draft for several undrafted USF players to ink free agent contracts with NFL teams. As of early Sunday evening, four Bulls had signed free agent contracts to join NFL teams and another had been invited to rookie minicamp.
Quarterback
Quinton Flowers (Miami) was locked down quickly by the Cincinnati Bengals shortly after the conclusion of the draft. Other Bulls to sign contracts included defensive back
Deatrick Nichols (Miami) with the Arizona Cardinals, defensive tackle
Bruce Hector (Tampa) with the Philadelphia Eagles and defensive end
Mike Love (Clearwater) with the Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, several Bulls accepted invitations to rookie minicamps, including running back
D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee) and punter
Jonathan Hernandez (Bradenton) with the New Orleans Saints,
Devin Abraham (Tarpon Springs) with the Oakland Raiders, offensive lineman
Jeremi Hall (Atlanta) with to the Chicago Bears, linebacker
Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg) with the New York Giants and running back
Darius Tice (Miami) with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bulls had two players selected in the 2018 NFL Draft as defensive tackle
Deadrin Senat (Immokalee) was taken in the third round by the Atlanta Falcons and wide receiver
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (St. Petersburg) was taken in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers. USF saw its third straight draft with multiple Bulls selected and upped its total number of NFL Draft picks to 30 in 21 years of the program.
Flowers finished his career with 42 USF records, including USF and American Athletic Conference career marks for total offense (11,802) and USF career records for rushing yards (3,672), rushing touchdowns (41), passing touchdowns (71) and total touchdowns (112). He capped his illustrious USF career by claiming his second straight Birmingham Bowl MVP honors after accounting for 417 total yards and five touchdowns in the Bulls' 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. Flowers is just the fourth player in FBS football history to post 8,000 passing and 3,500 rushing yards on their career and one of only six players in FBS history to pass for 60 or more touchdowns and rush for 40 more. He ranks ninth all-time in FBS history, and first among quarterbacks to play in the state of Florida, in quarterback rushing yards (3,672).
A consummate winner, Flowers helped lead USF to a 21-4 record over the last two seasons and three straight bowl games. His 30 career victories as a starting quarterback tied the USF record and his .769 winning percentage (30-9) shattered the previous mark. Named the 2017 Florida Offensive Player of the Year (Miami Herald) and the 2016 American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Flowers set USF records with 18 career games with 300 or more total offensive yards, including a game record 605 yards at UCF last season, and owns the USF season rushing record with 1,530 yards in 2016.
Hector was a second team all-conference selection in 2017 after totaling 38 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss and a team-leading 7.0 sacks to go with a forced fumble and a blocked kick in 12 starts. He is tied for fourth all-time at USF with 18.0 career sacks as he led or tied for the team lead in sacks in each of his final three seasons. Hector logged 90 tackles, 28.0 tackles for loss, three pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick on his career in which he saw action in 43 games and made 24 starts.
Johnson finished his USF career as the Bulls' all-time leader in career all-purpose yardage (4,186). He also set records for a USF running back for career receptions (73) and receiving yards (909). Johnson ran for 796 yards and seven touchdowns in his senior season to finish with 1,796 rushing yards on his career to rank eighth all-time at USF. He accounted for 29 total touchdowns on his career, including 16 rushing, 12 receiving and 1 punt return.
Love saw his draft status climb with outstanding performances at the USF Pro Day and individual workouts. He totaled 11.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 28 tackles and three pass breakups while starting all 12 games in 2017. Love recorded the game-winning sack in the Bulls' 2017 Birmingham Bowl triumph over South Carolina. He totaled 19.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and 65 tackles on his career that saw him start 21 games.
Nichols is just the third Bull to earn all-conference honors three times on their career, including first team selections in 2015 and 2017. Playing cornerback, nickel and safety at points during the 2017 season, Nichols finished third on the team with 56 tackles and led the team with 15 passes defended while collecting three interceptions. He finished his USF career with 11 career interceptions, which ranks third all-time at USF, as well as 24 pass break-ups and 35 passes defended, which both rank fifth. Nichols also tallied 175 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss on a USF career in which he started 39 games.
Abraham was a second team all-conference selection in 2017 and finished his career with nine interceptions, which rank fifth on the USF career charts. The safety played in 46 games and made 37 starts in his USF career, leaving with 168 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He led USF with five interceptions in 2017 and ranked third among USF players with 48 tackles.
Hernandez was a two-year starter for the Bulls after transferring from Florida State and joining USF as a walk-on. He punted 61 times for a 43.4 yard average in 2017, coming just shy of the USF season record of 44.4 to rank second all-time on the season charts. Hernandez averaged 42.3 yards per punt on his USF career, again coming just shy of the USF career mark of 42.5 and ranking second on the career charts. He played in 25 games, punting 124 times for 5,246 yards with 38 balls downed inside the 20 and 26 punts of 50 or more yards on his USF career.
Hall was a first team all-conference selection in 2017 as he started all 12 games and helped pave the way for the Bulls to rank eighth nationally running for 264.1 yards per game and sixth in total offense at 513.0 yards per game. Hall started every game the last two seasons for the Bulls as USF posted a 21-4 record and won back-to-back bowl games.
Sanchez was a three-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors in 2017. He led the Bulls in tackles in three straight seasons and left USF as the Bulls all-time leading tackler posting 388. He also tied the USF career starts record starting 50 straight games at middle linebacker for the Bulls. He led USF with 84 tackles in 2017 and added 10.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and two interceptions, returning both for touchdowns. Sanchez's 120 tackles in the 2016 season stand as the second-most in program history. He also posted 117 tackles in 2015. Also strong in the classroom, Sanchez was named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. He earned a communications degree with a 3.58 grade-point average and was on pace to earn a master's degree in physical education with better than a 3.9 GPA this spring.
Tice ran for 943 yards on 178 carries (5.3 ypc) while tying the team high with 11 rushing touchdowns in his senior season. He ran for a career-best 141 yards and a touchdown at Tulane, one of three 100-yard rushing games on the year. Tice finished his career with 1,817 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He also caught 18 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.
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 14 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and has spent a program-record 20 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. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has 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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- #GoBulls –
