TAMPA -- The University of South Florida football team officially closed preseason camp this morning with an hour and 30 minute practice.
The practice was supposed to go two hours, but Coach Leavitt was moving the team through drills quickly and was ahead of pace in the opening minutes of practice.
The players went straight to the weight room after practice. After the lift, they will have a full day to rest before returning to the athletic facility for a welcome back function on Sunday afternoon.
The coaching staff will have their first extended break of the preseason as well. It's a welcome opportunity for some family time before officially digging into the gameplan at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Coach Leavitt will have an official depth chart available tomorrow and GoUSFBulls.com will post that with the UT Martin game preview on Sunday afternoon/evening.
A couple very positive things stood out about the 2008 training camp.
One was the lack of rain.
The start of the first practice of camp was delayed, two other practices were cut short by approximately 15 minutes and that was it. No complete rain outs, no missed practices. In Tampa and with Tropical Storm Fay lurking, that borders on amazing.
The other positive is the lack of injuries. Lucas Darr, Jeremiah Warren and Cory Grissom all suffered ankle injuries that will have them sidelined for a couple weeks and possibly the first couple games. Quincy Okolie will be sidelined for the season, while Colby Erskin and Danny Tolley are working back from spring injuries and hope to be available this fall.
Otherwise, there haven't been any injuries beyond the general knicks and bruises that are a by-product of playing football. Let's hope the team stays healthy (knock on wood).
? Junior cornerback Jerome Murphy took a break from returning kickoffs this morning and let Dontavia Bogan take his lead spot next to Taurus Johnson. Bogan has not been a regular face on kickoffs this preseason, but he is someone that the coaches like who has received a few opportunities before.
? Speaking of Murphy, GoUSFBulls.com had a side conversation with him about Georgia running back and ESPN the Magazine cover boy Knowshon Moreno. Most assume Moreno is from the South because he plays at Georgia, but he is actually a New Jersey native like Murphy.
Murphy and Moreno grew up about 46 miles away from each other in Elizabeth and Belford, respectively. They are acquaintances through football, but they hold one other thing in common... they are both record holders.
"He owns every high school record in the state, but I own all the Little League records," said Murphy, who was a tailback as a youngster.
? Coach Leavitt was asked after practice if anyone had changed positions and his reply, "Yes, Matt Grothe. We are moving him to right offensive guard because he has great leverage."
? Sophomore DT Sampson Genus has enjoyed the transition to the defensive side of the ball and the thing he misses the least about being an offensive lineman, "snapping."
Genus is from Lake City, which is near Jacksonville and remarkably he does not remember competing against any of his USF teammates on the high school gridiron.
The only competition with a teammate he remembers was in shot put with fellow DT Terrell McClain. Asked who performed better,"Neither, we were both disqualified for going over the line."
Daily Links
? ESPN.com blogger Brian Bennett posted one more USF story from his trip to Tampa and he got coach Leavit to talk about the Olympic games:
"So I asked Leavitt how his team would handle all that. He answered by talking about the Olympics.
"Our goal is to always try and P.R. [personal record] the next game," he said. "You look at all the gold medals Michael Phelps won and -- from what I gathered, anyway -- it wasn't about the competition. It wasn't about the world record. It was about P.R.-ing every time out.
"We want to focus on getting better. That's it. I don't get caught up in that other stuff, because I get too anxious if I do that.
"What happened last year is we started 6-0 and were playing probably about as good as we can play before we dropped off. We didn't improve. If we would have improved, we probably would have won a national championship."
? Gregg Becnel posted a recap of yesterday's practice on the Tampa Tribune blog.
? Chris Harry of the Orlando Sentinel writes, "The South Florida Bulls were several hours removed from embarrassing UCF in a 64-12 pummeling.
From unranked and virtually unheard of when the season started, USF had ascended to the top 10 and by virtue of the blowout was headed toward the top of the polls and smack in the middle of Bowl Championship Series conversations.
Need To Know
? Be a part of the most anticipated football season in USF history. Single game tickets are on sale for the 2008 season and can be purchased on GoUSFBulls.com by clicking here or at Ticketmaster.com. You can also purchase single game tickets at the USF Box Office or at any local Ticketmaster location.
? Season tickets are still on sale and are the only way to get seats in the lower bowl at Raymond James Stadium. The only way to secure season tickets for the 2008 season is by calling 1-800-GoBulls. For more information, including prices and a seating map visit the USF season ticket zone.
