Wednesday, Aug. 6 - Updated at 11:14 a.m.
Another day of practice started with the sprint from the locker room to the top of the hill, where players were welcomed to practice with a high five from Ron McKeefery, head strength and conditioning coach. The Bulls donned a new look today, wearing shoulder pads as well as gray girdles with pads under their black Under Armour practice shorts.
A few notes:
? USF will unveil its brand new home Under Armour jersies at Fan Fest on Sunday, Aug. 10 from 3-6 p.m. This will be the first look at the new uniforms. The roads jersies were unveiled on GoUSFBulls.com on May 16.
The 2008 USF Fan Fest at Raymond James Stadium. The event is free to the public and is the best opportunity to get autographs from players and coaches, as well as interact with the entire 2008 team. Parking for the general public is free in Lot 4.
? More than 25,000 season tickets for 2008 have already been distributed and that number is quickly approaching 26,000. Last years season ticket number was 20,043. Last year on this date, USF had sold 18,049 season tickets.
? Last week at BIG EAST Media Day WR Taurus Johnson was telling reporters that Jake Griffin was the best offensive lineman in the country and the best player on the USF team. GoUSFBUlls.com asked Griffin about Johnson's comments and his response, "I hope he was laughing when he said that."
? Practice began on time as usual. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and offensive linemen took over the Western-most field, while the defensive line was in the South end zone of the middle field and special teams took the Eastern-most spot.
Quarterbacks warmed up their arms while running backs practiced skeleton plays and receivers ran routes. The offensive line performed footwork drills while the d-line attacked tackling dummies.
On special teams, Delbert Alvarado punted to Marcus Edwards, Patrick Richardson, Daniel Bryant and Nate Allen(pictured on the right), while kickoffs were sent to Dontavia Bogan, Jerrell Young and Tyson Butler.
? The first clack of shoulder pads for the 2008 season came when Coach Jim Leavitt worked on release drills with special teams.
? Eric Setser and Darryl Dudding were wearing new numbers, changing from 67 and 58 to 45 and 48, respectively. The duo was stretching with the tight end group, although that may not mean they have changed positions.
? Some position shifts included Nate Allen working on punt returns and Dontavia Bogan and Jerrell Young each with the kick return crew.
? Senior Ryan Schmidt was sporting a Mohawk today, a trend that was started last season.
? For those that are following the daily coverage, we apologize that we don't have any video today. A camera malfunction did us in. Jake Griffin, Ryan Schmidt, Matt Grothe, Carlton Mitchell and Marc Dile all stopped to talk with the media after practice and we apologize for not have any of the content to offer.
Daily Links
? Brett McMurphy of the Tampa Tribune writes, "After Delbert Alvarado's roller-coaster 2007 season, that included a Big East record 56-yard field goal and missing four of six field goals at Auburn, the University of South Florida junior kicker knows what he must do this season. "I've got to step it up," Alvarado said Tuesday."
? Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times offers up Jim Leavitt's opening comments from after practice on Tuesday.
? The boys over at USFNation.com have a ton of coverage but it's all premium, so we can't link to it here.
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.
