USF To Honor 20 Seniors Friday Night
November 19, 2015 | Football
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Bulls take on Bearcats at 8 p.m. in final home game of 2015
TAMPA, NOV. 19, 2015 – Riding a streak of five wins in its last six games and fighting for a spot in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship Game, USF (6-4; 4-2 American) will take the field at Raymond James Stadium for the last time in 2015 Friday night at 8 p.m.
The Bulls will honor 20 seniors and their families prior to kickoff of the nationally televised game vs. the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-4; 3-3 American). Among the 20 seniors honored on Friday, eight have already earned their degree from USF, seven are scheduled to graduate in December and five are on schedule to earn their degree in May. Those already holding USF degree are Steven Bench (Bainbridge, Ga.), Zack Bullock (Sebring), Mattias Ciabatti (Tampa), C.J. Garye (Tallahassee), Brynjar Gudmundsson (Wellington), Corian Hamilton (Orlando), Thor Jozwiak (Eagle Lake) and Tye Turner (Hampton, Ga.).
Among the seniors being honored are eight starters, four on defense and four on the Bulls' offensive line. Safety Jamie Byrd (Dade City) leads the Bulls with 10.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks and stands second with 74 tackles. Defensive end Eric Lee (Daphne, Ga.) is the captain of the defense and has logged career-bests with 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks on the year. Bullock (23 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss) and James Hamilton (Orlando) (26 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss) are also starters on the defensive line.
Four big anchors of the Bulls' offensive line will also be honored as center Gudmundsson, guard Jozwiak, tackle Mak Djulbegovic (Tampa) and tight end Sean Price (Citra) play their last game at Raymond James Stadium. The group has started every game in 2015 and Gudmundsson (35 starts), Price (29 starts) and Jozwiak (23 starts) are among the most experienced Bulls. They, along with senior tackle Clavion Nelson (Hollywood), have helped plow the way for what will be a record rushing season for the USF program. The Bulls enter Friday needing just 157 yards to surpass the program record of 2,436 yards. Price is all-time tight end career receptions (71) and receiving yardage (816) leader and also serves as vice president of USF's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
First-team All-conference punter Ciabatti, USF's all-time punting record holder, is also among those being honored. He has already set the career punting yardage mark with 8,161 yards, the season punting average record (44.4 ypp in 2014) and is on pace to set the career average record (currently 42.5) and eclipse the record for most punts, which stands at 198.
2015 USF SENIORS
2 Jamie Byrd S 5-11 185 Sr./Sr. Dade City, Fla. (Pasco HS/TCU/Iowa Western CC)
2 Steven Bench QB 6-2 215 Gr./Sr. Bainbridge, Ga. (Cairo HS/Penn St.)
9 Demetrius Hill DE 6-3 270 Sr./Sr. Kankakee, Ill. (Kankakee HS/Fort Scott CC)
11 Marlon Pope TE 6-4 260 Sr./Sr. Hattiesburg, Miss. (Hattiesburg HS/Miss. Gulf CC)
12 Sean Price TE 6-3 252 Sr./Sr. Citra, Fla. (North Marion HS)
29 C.J. Garye LB 6-3 231 Gr./Sr. Tallahassee, Fla. (Lincoln HS)
33 Tye Turner TE 6-3 255 Gr./Sr. Hampton, Ga. (Griffin HS)
40 Michael Hill K 5-9 180 Sr./Sr. Tarpon Springs, Fla. (Tarpon Springs HS)
42 Corian Hamilton FB 6-0 238 Gr./Sr. Orlando, Fla. (Olympia HS)
49 Mattias Ciabatti P 6-0 200 Gr./Sr. Tampa, Fla. (Hillsborough HS)
51 Tashon Whitehurst LB 6-3 220 Sr./Sr. Gainesville, Fla. (Gainesville HS)
52 Zack Bullock DE 6-3 245 Gr./Sr. Sebring, Fla. (Sebring HS)
64 Thor Jozwiak OL 6-4 318 Gr./Sr. Eagle Lake, Fla. (Lake Region HS)
65 Clavion Nelson OL 6-3 308 Sr./Sr. Hollywood, Fla. (South Broward HS)
66 Brynjar Gudmundsson OL 6-4 300 Gr./Sr. Wellington, Fla. (Wellington HS)
71 Mak Djulbegovic OL 6-5 296 Sr./Sr. Tampa, Fla. (Carrollwood Day School)
90 James Hamilton DT 6-2 308 Sr./Sr. Orlando, Fla. (Olympia HS)
91 Eric Lee DE 6-3 260 Sr./Sr. Daphne, Ala. (Daphne HS)
93 Daniel Awoleke DT 6-5 283 Sr./Sr. Lakeland, Fla. (George Jenkins HS)
Daniel Perry Video Staff – medically disqualified from competition in 2014.
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