by Charlie Terenzio, USF Athletics Communications

2010 Senior Moments: Favorite Memory

Entering the 2010 season, the University of South Florida football team was known for fast starts and big wins as it was built from the ground up in just 13 years. But, year 14 brought about change as Skip Holtz was introduced as the school's second head football coach.

For a group of seniors, that meant finishing off their playing careers under new direction. Knowing it was their last go-around, they took what could potentially be a difficult situation and decided to do their part to make it as successful a transition as possible.

"We knew that as seniors, we were all going to have a new coach and we were all going to have to be leaders," senior defensive end Craig Marshall said, "because it's hard for the younger players to buy-in to what a new coach is saying."

Instead of leading with an iron fist, the son of the legendary Lou Holtz looked to his senior leadership to help make the program turn the proverbial corner, and challenge for a BIG EAST Championship.

"We talked about it from the beginning," Holtz said.  "If I was going to put them in a leadership position, then I was going to hold them to a higher standard."

Holtz did just that, entrusting a group of 19 seniors that helped take a program new to BCS membership and put it on the map during their careers at USF.

"Everyone has position meetings, but my positional meeting was that senior class," Holtz said. "Those were the guys that I rely on, that I count on."

The names were not as familiar as the Selvies, Grothes, Allens and McKenzies, but this group knew it would take an entire team effort to take the program where they wanted it to be.

Following the coaching change in January, and before the new regime was even appointed, the seniors took it upon themselves to bring everyone together and get themselves ready for their final season in the green and gold.

Senior cornerback Mistral Raymond, a former walk-on turned team captain, was one of the players who stepped up and decided that their last year at USF would not be one of transition and separation, but one of improvement as a team.

"We didn't wait for the new staff to come in to decide that we were going to lead this team," said Raymond.  "We knew that it was our last go-around as seniors, and we wanted to make sure it was a successful season that we would be proud of."

Raymond, along with roommate linebacker Sabbath Joseph, decided that it would have to be the 2010 senior class that led the Bulls throughout the season, regardless of who was named head coach, and that is where the journey began.

Holtz was eventually named head coach, and his first order of business? Meet with the seniors.

"When Coach Holtz and his staff came in, the first thing he did was meet with all of the seniors and he let us know that he was going to put the power in our hands," added Joseph.

Throughout the spring, and the summer offseason, the group of seniors remained dedicated to one goal, competing for the BIG EAST Championship. Entering training camp in Vero Beach, the seniors helped to push the younger players and inspired each other to be better than ever.

The end result of camp? A closer team than they had ever had before.

"Camp brought more of a team atmosphere back to the locker room, and out to the field," sixth-year senior running back Mo Plancher said. "Now, when the offense is on the field, the defense is up and rooting for us, and when the defense is on the field, the offense is cheering them on. It is like a family for us."

The team entered the season, and faced a setback as they lost to in-state power Florida in the second week of the season, and with the disappointment, the team looked to their senior class for inspiration.

"We've gone through a lot as a group and as a team over the past year and they did a really good job of stepping up and getting everybody on the same page," sophomore linebacker Mike Lanaris said.

The team went on to win their next two games, but dropped their first two BIG EAST games of the season, and it looked as if a season full of promise would turn to disappointment.

"When we lost those two games, the biggest moment came when Coach Holtz, Mistral Raymond and Sampson Genus got up in front of the team and just talked about life," senior linebacker Jacquian Williams said. "We knew that in that next game the seniors needed to step up."

And step up they would.

The Bulls, led by their senior class, won five of their next six games, including a pair of overtime contests. They won on the road at Cincinnati and Louisville, places the program had never won before.  Then, last week, USF knocked off another one of the "Big Three" as they defeated the Miami Hurricanes in overtime on their own field, a year after going to Doak Campbell Stadium to take down Florida State.

With two games left in their careers, the seniors are on the brink of matching USF's all-time victory record. The group has won 32 games over the last four years, and with the regular-season finale against Connecticut and a bowl game left to play, they have a chance to match last year's seniors, who won 34 games over a four-year span.

Despite the new coaching staff, it has been the seniors that have led another successful season at USF, and according to coach Holtz, they've laid the groundwork for things to come.

"I think these guys are setting a great foundation for how you build a program."