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VERO BEACH, Fla. – When USF took the field in 2010, it did so with a relatively inexperienced group of wide receivers. Gone was 2009 standout Carlton Mitchell, who chose to enter the NFL Draft. Gone was Jessie Hester, who finished his career with over 100 catches and over 1,000 yards. Gone were two of the top returners, A.J. Love and Sterling Griffin to injury. There were basically three players back at receiver who had caught a pass in live action. Needless to say, there was an opportunity for players to step in and gain experience.
"It actually was a blessing in disguise, you could say," said Love, who was granted a sixth year by the NCAA and will return to the lineup this fall. "It gave those guys an opportunity to get the experience and it's carrying over. The offense is five or six steps passed where we were last summer."
Junior Evan Landi was one of the top contributors last season after making the full-time switch from quarterback. He ended up finishing second on the team in receptions and could see the difference between the beginning of the year and the end.
"We gained a lot of experience," Landi stated. "A lot of times you go through practice and workouts, but there's nothing like game experience. So, for those of us that had the opportunity to play in a lot of games last season, that really helped us going into winter, spring and this past summer."
A year later, the USF receiving corps, while still young, has much more game experience than they did the year before, and the depth and versatility is starting to show. The group of returners from 2010 have played in a combined 80 games, and with the experience of Love and Griffin back in the fold, they add another 46 games combined.
"We've got some older guys that have played some football for us getting healthy and they're getting reps," wide receiver coach Phil McGeoghan explained. "They're understanding what to do with their assignments. They're understanding where we're trying to attack defenses. They're starting to understand the scheme. You've got some young talented guys, who are pushing that group to be even better, so right now, we're very optimistic about that group."
The optimism and expectation grows because of the increased experience. The older receivers talk about now knowing what to do, so they can focus on how to do it. In turn, McGeoghan is using the older players to show the younger ones how to take coaching, what needs to be done fundamentally to improve and the type of work ethic it takes to be a solid receiver.
"I think the guys like A.J. Love, Sterling Griffin and Evan Landi and the way they attacked the workouts in the summertime with Mike Golden showed the younger ones how to work," McGeoghan added. "They take the coaching. I think the young guys see that and they see they need to work on their deficiencies to improve. I think it's contagious."
With the group coming together in camp, the receiver position has a chance to become an asset for the USF offense, and if they continue on this trajectory, they'll be able to put that recently gained experience to good use.
NOTE: The 2011 Bulls Olympics was unfortunately canceled due to severe weather on Sunday evening ... after a day off from practice, the Bulls will work out twice on Monday, one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 7 p.m.
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