Ten Bulls Earn All-Conference Honors
TAMPA, NOV. 29, 2017 – The No. 23-ranked USF Football team (9-2; 6-2 American) saw 10 student-athletes earn all-conference recognition Wednesday when the American Athletic Conference announced postseason honors.
Offensive guard
Jeremi Hall (Atlanta), defensive tackle
Deadrin Senat (Immokalee), linebacker
Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg) and kicker
Emilio Nadelman (Miami) earned first-team honors for the Bulls. USF's four first team all-conference selections marked the most in program history, while 10 Bulls being honored equaled the program record set last season. USF has now had 20 all-conference selections in the last two seasons and totaled 28 first team all-conference selections in 21 years of playing football.
Quarterback
Quinton Flowers (Miami), offensive tackle
Marcus Norman (Sebastian), defensive tackle
Bruce Hector (Tampa), cornerback
Deatrick Nichols (Miami) and safety
Devin Abraham (Tarpon Springs) were named second team all-conference, while center
Cameron Ruff (Tampa) earned honorable-mention honors.
Both Sanchez and Nichols earned all-conference recognition for the third time, with Sanchez earning first team honors for the first time. Sanchez and Nichols joined
Marlon Mack (2014-16) as the only three-time all-conference honorees in program history. Flowers, the 2016 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and Senat where both recognized with all-conference honors for the second time in their career.
Hall has started 24 straight games at left guard for the Bulls. The 6-5, 323-pounder was massively effective as a pulling-guard, leading a USF rushing attack that ranks second in the conference and 10
th nationally with 265.4 yards per game. USF has run for 2,919 yards and is on the verge of its second-straight 3,000-yard rushing season.
Senat finished the regular season on a tear, posting 54 tackles in his final seven games (7.7 tpg) to finish with a career-best 61 tackles on the year. His tackle output ranked second on the team despite constant double-teams and he added career highs of 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks on the year. Senat posted huge games with 12 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks vs. Houston and 13 tackles vs. Tulsa.
Sanchez led USF in tackles for the third straight season, posting 76 on the year to go along with a career-best 9.0 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. The captain and quarterback of the Bulls' defense, Sanchez was also spectacular with interception returns for touchdowns in Bulls' wins vs. Cincinnati (65-yards) and at ECU (43-yards). He also set the USF career tackle record on the year, improving his total to 380.
Nadelman set a USF season record with 20 field goals on the year and with 107 points scored stands two short of the USF season record of 109. Nadelman led the conference and ranked 24
th nationally hitting 83.3 percent (20-24) of his field goal attempts, and led the conference and ranked sixth nationally making 1.82 field goals per game. Nadelman also led the conference and ranked 10
th nationally accounting or 9.7 points per game.
Flowers shattered USF records in the Bulls' final regular season game vs. UCF as he logged 605 total yards and 503 passing yards, both performances ranking among the best in conference history. Flowers ranks second in the conference in total offense (324.7 ypg), third in points responsible for per game (17.1 ppg), fifth in rushing (88.4 ypg), sixth in rushing TD (10), fifth in passing (236.4 ypg) and fourth in passing TD (21). He became USF's all-time career total yardage leader with 11,385 yards, placing him just 46 yards shy of the American Athletic Conference career record of 11,431 held by Temple quarterback Philip Walker (2013-16). Flowers' 2,600 yards passing on the season stand just 311 yards shy of the USF season record of 2,911 yards by Matt Grothe in 2008.
Norman, the only non-senior honored, has started 20 straight games at right tackle as he nears the conclusion of his junior season. The 6-6, 308-pounder was very effective in blocking for a Bulls' rushing attack ranked 10
th nationally (265.4 ypg) and set the edge for an offense that ranks eighth nationally posting 508.6 yards per game and 16
th scoring 38.3 points per game.
Hector, led USF 7.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss to rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in the conference. Hector led a strong USF defensive line that helped the Bulls rank third in the nation in tackles for loss (8.5 tpg) and 13
th in sacks (3.0 spg). He also added 35 tackles on the year.
Nichols, led USF and ranked second in the conference with 14 passes defended and tied for second on the team with three interceptions on the year. Playing nickel, corner and safety in USF's varied defensive schemes, Nichols posted 51 tackles to rank third on the USF team and added 3.0 tackles for loss and ninth in pass efficiency defense (108.50).
Abraham led USF and ranked second in the conference with four interceptions on the year as he helped USF rank third in the nation in interceptions (18). The senior safety, who serves as the quarterback of the Bulls' secondary, added 43 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery.
Ruff, the co-president of USF's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, has started 24 straight games, including two at guard to start the 2017 season. He helped the Bulls offense total 5,595 yards so far on the year, marking the Bulls' third straight season with 5,500 or more yards and the third-best season in program history.
The No. 23/23-ranked USF football team (9-2; 6-2 American) will take a top 25 ranking and a school-record 18 straights weeks in the top 25 into the program's third straight bowl appearance. USF will await the destination of the Bulls' third straight bowl appearance and ninth overall in 21 seasons of playing football. USF ended its first regular season under head coach
Charlie Strong with nine wins, equaling the second-best mark in program history, and will seek its second straight season with double-digit wins in its bowl game.
About USF Football
USF has won nine or more games for the second straight season and will make its third straight bowl appearance and ninth in program history. The Bulls spent the entire 2017 season ranked in the top 25 and climbed as high as No. 13 in the polls. USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins (11-2) following a Birmingham Bowl victory over South Carolina. The Bulls have posted 13 winning seasons in 21 years of playing football and have five bowl victories. The Bulls have seen 28 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 28 earn first-team all-conference selection.
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