| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire | February 29 |
Daily Links
? Greg Auman recaps the Bulls 84-78 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats. He writes, "USF saw a 23-point first-half lead on Cincinnati cut to two points with
two minutes left, but the veterans saved the Bulls on senior day, with
key baskets from Brittany Denson and Jessica Lawson helping USF hold on
for an 84-78 Big East win Saturday at the Sun Dome."
? Brett McMurphy also takes a look at the women's basketball Senior Day victory. He writes, "Saturday's victory gave USF 20 wins under Coach Jose Fernandez for the third time in the past five seasons. By comparison, in the program's previous 32 seasons, USF had never won 20 games and had six 20-loss seasons."
? Auman previews today's men's basketball match-up against West Virginia.
? McMurphy also offers a preview of today's showdown with the Mountaineers.
? St. Petersburg Times staff writer Joey Wright has a nice feature about former USF track & field All-American Christa Benton winning the Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K.
? Greg Auman's Blog
? Brett McMurphy's Blog
? Oracle Sports Editor Kerry Klecic's Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire | February 28 |
Daily Links
? Greg Auman previews today's women's basketball regular-season home finale against Cincinnati - where program senior Shantia Grace, Jasmine Sepulveda, Jessica Lawson, Brittany Denson, Ashley Sanders, Crystal Ayers and Kelsey Varney will be honored in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
? Greg Auman's Blog
? Brett McMurphy's Blog
? Oracle Sports Editor Kerry Klecic's Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire | February 27 |
Daily Links
? In his blog, Greg Auman drops a couple names that could be potential candiates to fill the Bulls vacancy at defensive coordinator.
? The Oracle's Will McLaughlin previews softball's trip to Gainesville to partake in the UF Softball tournament. He writes,"Throughout the first three weeks of the season, the USF softball team had the home field advantage. This weekend, the Bulls hit the road for the first time this year.
USF (10-5) will travel to Gainesville to play in the University of Florida Tournament, facing tough competition in No. 2 Florida, Texas Tech, Illinois and Pacific."
? Joel Leventhal of the Oracle previews the women's tennis team's trip to Texas, which will feature the debut of highly-touted transfer Irene Rehberger. He writes," On Friday, sophomore Irene Rehberger makes her debut for the Bulls when USF travels to Texas to face Texas A&M and the University of Texas this weekend.
Rehberger, who was granted NCAA eligibility this week after transferring from Spain this year, will face Texas A&M's Elze Potgieter at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Potgieter, who was No. 75 to begin the spring season, is struggling with a 1-5 record.
As a team, the Aggies (3-4) come into the match ranked No. 25 in the nation despite three consecutive losses."
? BIG Blogger Brian Bennett of ESPN.com list's redshirt defensive tackle Cory Grissom as one his Five Big East breakthrough candidates. He writes,"Cory Grissom, DT, South Florida: He appeared in only one game in 2008 before being shelved by an ankle injury, for which he gained a medical redshirt. Bulls coaches love him and think he has the most talent of any of their young interior linemen. Look for him to fight for a starting spot on what could be the league's best defensive line in '09.
? Bennett also conducted a Q&A with Bulls offensive coordinator Mike Canales
? Greg Auman's Blog
? Brett McMurphy's Blog
? Oracle Sports Editor Kerry Klecic's Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire | February 26 |
Daily Links
? Greg Auman takes a look at the hiring of both Mike Canales and Phil McGeoghan. He writes,"USF football coach Jim Leavitt has filled the first of three vacancies on his coaching staff, promoting receivers coach Mike Canales to offensive coordinator and hiring 29-year-old Phil McGeoghan to work with the receivers.
"He has a lot of energy and passion, and he's very knowledgeable for being so young in this business," Leavitt said of McGeoghan. "I think he can be a tremendous coach, and Mike Canales knows him very well. He'll be an extension of Mike with his players, and that was the most important thing for me."
McGeoghan's only college experience came as receivers and tight ends coach at Division I-AA Maine. He spent this past season as offensive coordinator at the Naval Academy Prep School, where many of Navy's incoming players begin before joining the college program."
? Auman in his blog, helps you to get to know newly hired wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan. In the lengthy post he let's you everything there is to know, except for maybe his favorite color. He writes," Who is Phil McGeoghan, you ask?
You probably hadn't heard his name before Wednesday night, when the 29-year-old was announced as USF's new receivers coach. My memory is an odd thing, and even though McGeoghan barely played in a brief NFL career, I distinctly remembered having a Phil McGeoghan football card at some point. Sure enough, he's in the 2002 Pacific set -- card #136. I've gotten rid of a ton of cards and think I don't have that one anymore, but I'll try to track one down in the next few days."
? Brett McMurphy features a Q & A in his blog with newly promoted offensive coordinator Mike Canales.
? McMurphy's take on the hiring of Canales and wide receievers coach Phil McGeoghan. He writes,"As expected, University of South Florida promoted wide receivers coach Mike Canales to offensive coordinator, while the Bulls hired Naval Academy Prep School offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan as wide receivers coach.
McGeoghan, 29, spent parts of four seasons in the NFL playing with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos."
? Gordie Jones, Corresponding for the Times', recaps the Bulls loss at Seton Hall.
? Before he left for Ames, Iowa, McMurphy sits down with former defensive coordinator Wally Burnham as he reflected on his time at USF.
? BIG EAST Blogger Brian Bennett writes Bulls signee Jason Pierre-Paul as a newcomer to watch this year in the confernce. He writes,"Ryne Giddens was the Bulls' highest-ranked recruit, but as a true freshman he'll probably be slow to pick things up. Pierre-Paul, on the other hand, is a junior-college transfer who has the talent to start right away. And with defenses focusing on George Selvie at the other end spot, he'll have opportunities to make plays."
? Greg Auman's Blog
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? Oracle Sports Editor Kerry Klecic's Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire | February 24 |
University of South Florida football assistant coach Kevin Patrick continues to rack in the awards this offseason for his recruiting efforts in helping USF bring in the most heralded class in program history.
"Patrick is another rising star in this industry,” writes Rivals.com recruiting staff. “The defensive end coach helped USF beat Florida State, Florida and Miami for the first time on a major four-star national recruit when he got Ryne Giddins to come aboard.”
Patrick, who will be entering his second year back with Bulls after coaching defensive ends in 1996-98, was named by Rivals.com as the BIG EAST recruiter of the year. Patrick was instrumental in gaining commitments from four-star recruits Ryne Giddins, Jason Pierre-Paul, Juju Forte and Jacquain Williams.
Previously, Rivals sited Patrick as one of the top 25 recruiters in America.
USF's 2009 class consists of four defensive ends, all of which Patrick played a key role in their recruitment. As a group, the class' defensive ends has gained notoriety by numerous recruiting services as one of best collections of talent at the position in the country.
Daily Links
? Greg Auman writes that Bulls head coach Stan Heath hopes that shooting guard Jesus Verdejo will be ready to go Wednesay when the Bulls travel to Seton Hall. He writes,"
? Auman takes a look at tonight's game when Jose Fernandez leads the Bulls to Chicago for a crucial BIG EAST match-up. He writes,"A loss at West Virginia on Saturday hurt USF's hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, so a win in Chicago, where DePaul is 12-1, would help get the Bulls back on the bubble. ... DePaul hit 14 3-pointers in its win against Syracuse, with 11 coming from guards Deirdre Naughton and Sam Quigley. USF has the Big East's second-worst 3-point defense, so that could spell trouble. The Bulls are the league's worst 3-point shooting team, hitting just 26 percent, and yet only one team has taken more shots beyond the arc."
? Brett McMurphy writes that USF and head coach Jim Leavitt continue their search to complete the coaching staff.
? A great feature from the Oracle's Kelli Polson on Bulls senior tennis player Mahmoud Hamed. Here are the first couple paragraphs; "USF senior Mahmoud Hamed will never forget the relationship he had with his grandfather, Said Abd-Rabbo.
With Abd-Rabbo's guidance and teaching, Mahmoud grew into the tennis player he is today, but their relationship carried far beyond the court.
Mahmoud's mother, Fatima, said her father always wanted a son but had three daughters. When his grandson came into the world, “it was love at first sight.”
? Greg Auman's Blog
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? Oracle Sports Editor Kerry Klecic's Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire | February 23 |
Daily Links
? Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune features Tyrone McKenzie as he tries to impress at the NFL combine. He writes,"Tyrone McKenzie has traveled from Riverview to Michigan to Iowa and back to Florida in hopes of one day becoming an NFL player.
Now Indianapolis is the most important destination of McKenzie's football career.
McKenzie, a former Riverview High and University of South Florida standout, will work out before pro scouts today at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He is rated as the seventh-best college linebacker in the nation by NFL scouts and could increase his stock with a strong performance today."
? Will McLaughlin of the Oracle recaps softball's solid weekend as the Bulls went 4-1 capturing their second tournament title in 2009. He writes," Before the season, South Florida softball coach Ken Eriksen said that pitching would be one of the team's strengths. Now, he's learning he can count on his offense.
The Bulls (10-5) used pitching and hitting en route to a 4-1 record ? a tournament-high ? at the Game Tournament this weekend at the USF softball field.
“We are getting better in certain aspects of the game,” Eriksen said. “We scored a bunch of runs on Friday, but we needed some on Saturday. We need to get ahead in the counts more often but overall, I feel like this team is moving in the right direction.”
? Auman does a Q & A with former USF linebacker and NFL draft prospect Tyrone McKenzie
? Former soccer standout Yohance Marshall gets a little recognition after playing in his first MLS exhibtion.
? Phil Neary of the Oracle takes a look at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge with Bulls going 1-2 on the weekend. He writes,"This isn't what USF baseball coach Lelo Prado envisioned for his team's first weekend of the season.
After losing to Michigan on a walk-off hit Friday, USF bounced back with a win Saturday against Purdue. But the Bulls couldn't keep the momentum going Sunday as they fell 9-7 to Indiana, finishing 1-2 at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge.
“1-2 is not acceptable,” Prado said. “We had opportunities, we had chances, we had the right guys at the plate in certain situations.”
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? Brett McMurphy's Blog
? Oracle Sports Editor Kerry Klecic's Blog
