The voice of USF Athletics routinely puts down his radio headset and picks up the pen to share his perspective on the history of USF Athletics.  

Louk has been broadcasting games for 31 years and is the resident historian in the Athletics Department hallways. 

By JIM LOUK

Voice of the USF Bulls

TAMPA, MAY 12, 2014 - There have now been exactly 201 USF Football games, and after that much time, it ought to be pretty difficult to choose the greatest ever individual performance by a Bull. 

But it really isn't.

2003 was a memorable year for USF as it marked the official beginning of football conference affiliation.  After going 9-2 the previous year and being left out of the bowl picture as a conference independent, the Bulls were delighted to join Conference USA in 2003.  It had, however, been a year of ups and downs.

On the last week of the season, USF traveled to Memphis with a 6-4 record and a 4-3 mark in the conference. They had shut out Army on the road and also had won three double-overtime games, but losses to UAB and Southern Miss were disappointments.  In addition, a scheduling change had forced the Bulls into two 1-AA games (Charleston Southern and Nicholls State), so only four of the six wins were against 1-A teams.  Even beating Memphis for a seventh overall win wouldn't get USF to a bowl.

J.R. Reed, preparing to play his last game as a Bull, had no difficulty finding motivation on that final day of the season.  “We had a great senior class and we needed to go out on the right note,” Reed recalls. “Our motivation was to win.”

Lee Roy Selmon, Jr. started at nose tackle for the Bulls that day.

“All season long our mindset was to prove we belonged in C-USA,” Selmon recalled.  “This was a game of character; our last game, in a hostile environment.  It was very memorable, very emotional. Our chance to set our stance in C-USA.”

It was Thanksgiving weekend; USF spent the holiday in Memphis in preparation for the game.  The Tigers, at 8-3 on the season, were assured of postseason play.  It was a beautiful day; clear and 46 degrees at kickoff.   Nearly 48,000 Memphis fans came to see their team get their sixth C-USA win of the year.

Instead, they got a full dose of J.R. Reed.

Reed was a senior that year.  He was a local kid, from Hillsborough High, and by that day in Memphis he had long been established as a key member of the Bulls' defensive secondary.  But, he'd never had a game like he'd have on Nov. 29, 2003.

No Bull has, for that matter.

For Reed, finishing his Bulls career on the road had an unusual twist.  He had family, a lot of family, in the stands and that included some family members he had never met before.   By the time he got to say hello to them for the first time after the game, his best day as a Bull was in the record books.

Things didn't start very well for USF that day.  Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine threw a 36-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter, and the Bulls went to the half down, 7-0.  USF was outgained 237 yards to 135 in the first two quarters. 

Reed shows up just once in the first half stat sheet.  In the second quarter, he picked off a Wimprine pass, ending a drive on the USF 21-yard line.

But the second half!  That's another story.

“We were frustrated with how we were playing. I remember Huey Whittaker in particular standing up and speaking at halftime,” Reed says. “He told the offense they would start with the ball in the second half and they had to be ready. I thought to myself, the offense isn't going to get the ball.”

And, they wouldn't, at least not right away.

Memphis's halftime lead lasted exactly 15 seconds in to the third quarter.  That's how long it took Reed to run 96 yards with the second half opening kickoff. 

“I told myself plenty of times 'I'm running this all the way back'", Reed says. "This time it worked out.”

There was no great secret to the Reed kickoff return for touchdown. “I had great blocking and I ran as fast as I could.”

“We knew special teams play was a key in this game,” said Selmon.  “We could win with special teams.  That play set the tone for the rest of the game.”

So that's one interception and one touchdown. 

And Reed was only getting started.

A Memphis field goal gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead and after a USF punt, Memphis had the ball again.  Starting at its 40, Memphis opened with a run by Darron Parquet.  But USF's Stephen Nicholas stripped the ball, and Reed picked it up at the 45 and ran it in with 8:13 left in the third quarter.

That's two touchdowns, a fumble recovery, and an interception.  And we're not done yet.

With the Bulls up 14-10, the teams traded punts until late in the third quarter.  Then, with 2:52 to go, Wimprine was intercepted at the Memphis 40.  You can imagine by who.

Two touchdowns, a fumble recovery, and two interceptions.

To the fourth quarter we go, with the Bulls up 14-10.

Thanks to the good field position from Reed's second interception, the Bulls were able to score on a short DeJuan Green run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

21-10 Bulls.

Later in the quarter, following a USF fumble, Memphis started with the ball on the USF 17-yard line.  On the second play of the drive, Wimprine went back to pass, and threw it in the end zone.

To J.R. Reed.

Two touchdowns, a fumble recovery, and three interceptions.

“That's the interception that stands out to me,” says Reed. “They were in the red zone.  I knew I could go up over the receiver and get it, but I was concerned about coming down in bounds.”

Memphis did score a late touchdown, but the Bulls left with a 21-16 win.  In addition to all the big plays, Reed also had seven tackles and three passes defensed.

As anticipated, the game turned out to be the last of the 2003 season for USF, and the last for J.R. Reed in a Bulls uniform.  A year later, he was returning kicks for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he played parts of four NFL seasons until the effects from a serious off-the-field injury curtailed his career.

“He was a guy a lot of the team gravitated to,” said Selmon of Reed. “Even as a freshman he had an edge that said, 'We are here to win.' A remarkable guy on and off the field.”

There was something about last games of the season for Reed.  A year earlier, he concluded the 2002 season with a three interception game at Houston.  But, he outdid even that on a cool afternoon in Memphis a year later.

“I focused on one play at a time that day," recalls Reed. “Had to, it was a close game.  I didn't even know my stats until after I was back in Tampa.”

201 games.  There are certainly enough great performances in that time for arguments and debate. Looking back, it would have been an even better story if Reed's big game had led the Bulls to a bowl game.  It would have been better if it came at home, so more USF fans could have seen it as it unfolded. But over a decade later, for many longtime Bulls fans, it remains the greatest individual game ever played by a man wearing the Green and Gold.

GO BULLS!