Daily Links
• USF has the largest student section of all eight BIG EAST teams, tells Greg Auman, as the Bulls have 12,501 student seats allotted, 501 seats more than West Virginia.
• Auman chatted with USF offensive linemen Jake Sims, who told Auman that even though the linemen have not played together extensively, the players know each other well and the unit's chemistry will not be a problem come game time.
• The offensive line needs to perform well to make room for the running backs, and running backs coach Carl Franks says that Moise Plancher has the inside track on landing the starting job, according to McMurphy.
• Staying on the offensive side of the ball, Auman spoke with USF wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan, who told Auman that depth and talent at the position is strong, as the Bulls have several players vying for playing time who could make an impact during the season.
• Auman shares his news and notes from practice, including how some of the freshmen are doing and how the battle for the starting job at tight end is going.
• McMurphy also runs through a few other news and notes from the latest practices.
• ESPN's Brian Bennett argues that the BIG EAST has several outstanding safeties, including senior safety Nate Allen.
• Rivals.com ranks George Selvie as the 25th best player in the country.
• Fred Goodall of the Miami Herald writes that USF is looking to avoid the same fate as the last two seasons, when the Bulls came out strong but faded toward the end of the season, and that Selvie and Matt Grothe are looking for one last shot at BIG EAST glory.
• With the preseason AP poll scheduled to come out this weekend, both McMurphy and Auman write that the BIG EAST could potentially not have a team ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1995.
• Auman reports that the USF men's soccer team was picked to finish second in the Red Division of the BIG EAST behind preseason No. 1 St. John's.
• Greg Auman's Blog
• Brett McMurphy's Blog
• ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's BIG EAST Blog
• Oracle Sports Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire |
August 13 |
Daily Links
• Maikon Bonani's appearance at practice Wednesday was the story of the day for sure, and there's plenty of reading material for fans wanting to know how the kicker is doing in his recovery and his expectations for getting back out onto the field.
Check out Greg Auman's article here, as Bonani tells the media he is "blessed" for coming away from the accident with just a broken vertebra.
Fans can also read Brett McMurphy's take on the interview here, as well as a link to the full story in Thursday morning's Tampa Tribune, in which Bonani's father, Sidney, tells McMurphy that he's thankful that Maikon will make a full recovery. "God put his hands on him," Sidney said. "I savor every moment and thank God for this. God put his hands on him. I thank God every day because he's recovering."
Larry Weisbaum of USFNation.com also writes on Bonani's appearance at the morning practice, another hot day for the Bulls, although Bonani didn't mind, getting to spend the time with his teammates on the field again.
Brian Bennett of ESPN also gets in on the action, as fans can catch his take on the interview here.
• Bennett reports that the USF offensive line, thought to be one of the team's weaknesses after the unit lost several starters from the previous season, has been putting in extra work to build chemistry in time for the season.
• McMurphy writes that the USF men's soccer team was picked to finish second in the Red Division of the BIG EAST behind the team the Bulls beat last year for the conference crown at the BIG EAST tournament, St. John's.
• In case you missed Auman's chat with fans Wednesday, you can read the transcript of the entire conversation and see what fans are asking about.
• At the BIG EAST media days last weekend one of the topics discussed and still being discussed was the idea of the conference expanding to a ninth member. Hear what head coach Jim Leavitt thinks of the idea, according to Auman.
• Auman reports that an interesting opponent could be on the way for the USF men's basketball team, an opponent head coach Stan Heath knows all too well.
• Greg Auman's Blog
• Brett McMurphy's Blog
• ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's BIG EAST Blog
• Oracle Sports Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire |
August 12 |
Daily Links
• David Fox of Rivals.com reveals its BIG EAST preseason team rankings and its preseason all-conference teams as well as its preseason unit rankings. The publication picks the Bulls to finish second in the league in 2009, while naming George Selvie the league's best defensive player. Writes Fox, "After a breakout sophomore season, Selvie's numbers slipped to 13.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last season. Those are respectable totals for just about anyone else, but they didn't come close to his '07 campaign. Facing double- and triple-teams on a regular basis, Selvie is the most respected defensive player in the Big East."
Click on the links to see which USF players were picked for all-conference teams by the site.
• St. Petersburg Times correspondent Kerry Klecic reports that practices are shorter and more intense for the Bulls this fall than years past as they focus more on head-to-head competition to get ready for the Sept. 5 season opener against Wofford.
• Greg Auman runs through his notes from Tuesday's practice, including how the competition has been at right tackle as well as where a few other players were on both the offensive and defensive side of things.
• Auman will also host a live chat today at 1 p.m. for fans looking for more information on their 2009 Bulls team.
• Senior Theo Wilson has seen action at a whole bunch of different areas during preseason practice, writes Brett McMurphy, but will soon be returning punts again as he did last year, when he averaged a league-best 12.9 yards per return.
• McMurphy also writes that a whole bunch of starting spots are still open, according to head coach Jim Leavitt, as practices and the weather heat up in mid-August.
• McMurphy and Greg Auman tell us how Sports Illustrated picked the BIG EAST this year and what bowl game the Bulls will be going to, one that they were previously at.
• A couple of ESPN writers in Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman revealed their picks for the 2009-10 bowl games. Find out which one believes the Bulls will make it to a BCS game and which one.
• ESPN blogger Brian Bennett reveals what he thinks are each BIG EAST team's chances are of making a bowl game and where he believes they could end up.
• Fans can also check out ESPN's blogger debate between Bennett and Graham Watson as it relates to the BIG EAST vs. Mountain West talk.
• Auman offers up a whole bunch of links to different rankings as well as articles about the BIG EAST and its attempts to expand to a ninth member.
• If you didn't catch the news yesterday, McMurphy informs us where you can listen to USF football this season throughout the state of Florida.
• Both Auman and McMurphy also inform their readers where the USF women's soccer team was picked in the American Division in the preseason poll.
• Greg Auman's Blog
• Brett McMurphy's Blog
• ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's BIG EAST Blog
• Oracle Sports Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire |
August 11 |
Daily Links
• Greg Auman writes that kicker Delbert Alvarado knows that his team needs him as he'll handle both the kicking and punting duties this fall. "There are four steps I think about every time I go out," Alvarado said Monday. "Having faith to let go of what's in the past, faith to walk into the unknown, faith to stand for what I believe in and faith to wait for my time."
• Freshman Bradley Battles moved from running back to defensive back in Monday's practice, according to Auman, who offers readers a few other notes from the early-morning practice session that was once again held in sweltering heat.
• Both Brett McMurphy and Auman report on USF director of basketball operations Tommy Tonelli taking the boys head coaching job at Wharton High School, where he previously spent 10 years as the head coach, compiling a 213-73 record during his tenure.
• George Selvie isn't shooting for a specific number of sacks, says McMurphy, but rather is looking to just go out and dominate the opposition.
• Auman goes through his news and notes from Monday's practice based on the post-practice interview with head coach Jim Leavitt, including more praise for tight end Isaac Virgin. Said Leavitt, "Virgin's making a move. My goodness. That young man. We've got to get him in shape. It's going to take a little while to get used to all the running and things you do at tight end. We've got to give him some time, keep giving him some hugs."
• Rick Brown of The Lakeland Ledger highlights the three former USF offensive linemen fighting for a roster spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jarriett Buie, Marc Dile and Ryan Schmidt.
• ESPN's Brian Bennett reveals his preseason BIG EAST power rankings and how he thinks the league will play out in 2009.
• McMurphy also runs through his news and notes from Monday's practice.
• Bennett also discusses the state of the BIG EAST and how the loss of a slew of star players from the previous season is affecting its perception around the nation.
• Auman believes there are two weekends in September that loom large for the BIG EAST, as the league's teams play against a slew of non-conference BCS opponents. The collective outcome of those games could go a long way in determing the amount of respect the league gets. "The Big East's showing on those two September weekends should go a long way toward dictating how the conference is viewed nationally for most of the 2009 season," Auman writes.
• Bennett also writes about how the teams in the conference are facing the difficulty of scheduling five non-conference games, as opposed to the other leagues that have to schedule four or fewer.
• Greg Auman's Blog
• Brett McMurphy's Blog
• ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's BIG EAST Blog
• Oracle Sports Blog
| GoUSFBulls.com Daily News Wire |
August 10 |
Daily Links
• Greg Auman reports that quarterback Isaac Virgin moved over to tight end, where his size and athleticism was drawing praise from head coach Jim Leavitt. "He's moving fast," Leavitt said Sunday. "He can run, he's strong, he can catch. He's a tremendous athlete. We're going to look at him a lot."
• St. Petersburg Times correspondent Kerry Klecic gives readers a roundup from Sunday morning's practice, reporting that Kayvon Webster was working with the first-team defense during drills in a nickel defense. “Kayvon really looks like he's going to be working toward a starting spot this year,” said senior Nate Allen.
• USF is going by the philosophy that 100=6, according to Tampa Tribune correspondent Gregg Becnel, as offensive coordinator Mike Canales wants the team to score a touchdown for every 100 yards of total offense gained
• Becnel runs through his news and notes from Saturday's practice as well, including that running back Mike Ford is hungry for the season to start after practicing for the first time and that George Selvie and Jessie Hester were absent in order to attend their graduations.
• Among his daily news and notes about USF football, Auman reports that several newcomers were seen at Saturday's practice, including defensive end Ryne Giddens and defensive tackle Leslie Stirrups.
• Stirrups could play a bunch this season, writes Auman, who also gives a quick rundown of how several other freshmen have been performing at practice.
• With debate going on about which conference is the best, Auman takes a look at how the conferences have stacked up over the last few seasons based on their bowl records.
• Leavitt is not too concerned that USF was not ranked in the USA TODAY/coaches Top 25 poll, according to McMurphy, as long as the Bulls are ranked in the top 25 at the end of the season.
• Catch McMurphy's and Auman's full coverage of how the voting went in the poll.
• McMurphy posted a story in which he spoke with the conference coaches at the BIG EAST media days and asked them to answer several questions by only using one word, including asking them to describe both Matt Grothe and George Selvie as well as their team's chances to win the BIG EAST.
• Leavitt called junior linebacker Jacquian Williams the fastest linebacker ever at USF, reports Auman.
• Fans can also read Auman's notes from Friday's practice, including some of the position battles going on in camp.
• Those looking to see some snapshots of the practices can view a photo gallery from Saturday's practice as well as a gallery from Friday's practice.
• The Fort Myers News Press is highlighting 30 Southwest Florida college football players looking to make a significant impact with their teams, and the publication takes a quick peek at North Fort Myers High graduate Quenton Washington, who could be a starting cornerback for Leavitt's squad this fall.
• George Selvie was one of 30 players nationally named to the Walter Camp Award list, given to the top collegiate football player, says ESPN's Brian Bennett.
• Former USF offensive lineman Marc Dile, fighting for a spot on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster, has been impressing first-year head coach Raheem Morris, says Auman.
• Auman also updates us on how former USF cornerback Mike Jenkins is doing with the Dallas Cowboys, along with a few other links for your Monday morning.
• McMurphy writes that it's been 10 years since Wade Boggs hit a home run at Tropicana Field, the 3,000th hit of his career, that was caught by USF assistant sports information director Mike Hogan.
• Greg Auman's Blog
• Brett McMurphy's Blog
• ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's BIG EAST Blog
• Oracle Sports Blog
