Towering Tight Ends Doing Damage in Up-Tempo Attack
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 9, 2017 – USF's evolving up-tempo attack features an impressive of mix of speed, athleticism, toughness and a pair of tight ends that can do major damage against defenses.
Through 12 fall practices,
Mitchell Wilcox and
Elkanah Dillon, the two largest skill players on the field, are making their presence known with crushing blocks and acrobatic catches for big gains.
"We're just working through the plays and starting to jell on offense, it's going well," said Wilcox after Wednesday's morning session at the Morsani Complex.
Year 1 of having Wilcox in the mix certainly went well last season for a USF offense that set nearly 40 individual and team records. Aside from springing several long runs with his pads, Wilcox used his soft hands to average 23.2 yards per catch on the way to second team all-conference honors as a freshman.
Listed at 6-feet-4 and 250 pounds, Wilcox (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) is making even more of an impact in fall camp as a Mackey Award candidate.
"He plays with physicality and I think he gives our offense an edge," tight ends coach
Justin Burke said. "I think there's some nastiness to him that really resonates with a lot of our guys. They take the queue from him."
USF's offense continues to stay in command when Dillon gets to do his thing as well. The 6-feet-5, 267-pound junior from Ocala, Fla., is steadily progressing this fall after hauling in the game-winning touchdown pass in the Birmingham Bowl.
"He's got some special talent that not everybody has," Burke said. "He's got the length, he's got the bulk. Now it's just a matter of getting him confident in knowing he's the biggest, baddest guy on the field."
Behind Wilcox and Dillon, USF added even more tenaciousness at tight end with the signing of freshman
Frederick Lloyd Jr. (6-5, 200). The former all-state selection out of Tifton, Ga., fearlessly went over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown catch in last Saturday's scrimmage and he's quickly earning his position coach's praise.
"He's never backed down," Burke said. "I think that's the biggest thing about Fred, he's come in and been tough."
Defending USF's monster tight ends isn't getting any easier either with new offensive coordinator
Sterlin Gilbert taking full advantage of their versatility.
"They give you the flexibility to have them out (wide), have them in and have them in the backfield," Burke said. "We're going to do everything with them."
Burke Bringing It All to Tight Ends
A former quarterback at NC State and Louisville from 2006-10,
Justin Burke has turned into a technician when it comes to coaching USF's tight ends.
Entering his seventh season working under
Charlie Strong, Burke isn't overlooking any details he can provide to the Bulls.
"The little things - route running, crisp routes and even little things after the play, like rolling and showing the ball to the ref,"
Mitchell Wilcox said. "Things you wouldn't normally think about. He goes above and beyond with that."
Big Names Spend Time With Bulls
Heading into Wednesday's practice, USF headed to the field as much wiser Bulls after gaining gems of knowledge from two big names in the sport – Derrick Brooks and Lou Holtz.
A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star linebacker, Brooks sported his gold Hall of Fame jacket while speaking to the Bulls in their meeting room on Tuesday.
Brooks played for the Bucs from 1995-2008 and talked about how to handle great expectations like conference favorite USF is dealing with this fall. Brooks looked back on Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XXXVI champion team that had a target on its back the very next season.
"That translates to us with the season we had last year and people putting us on a high pedestal,"
Elkanah Dillon said. "We have to climb the mountain again, and not get complacent and fall off."
Holtz took Strong up on his special invitation to join the Bulls on Wednesday, traveling to campus from his home near the Orlando area. Strong spent six seasons on Holtz's staffs at Notre Dame and South Carolina.
"(Holtz) said, 'What is important right now?' That's a big piece because people could look ahead," Dillon said. "… Worry about practicing today and getting better at your own craft, and what's really important at that moment."
Holtz was a head coach in the college game for 33 years, guiding Notre Dame to a national title in 1988, and made sure to touch on other winning qualities a team needs to possess – setting goals, doing right on and off the field, as well as embracing the responsibility of being a good teammate.
After his chat, Holtz watched the Bulls work at practice to cap off a special two days of visits for a USF team that appreciated every word.
"Coming from those two guys, they both have achieved so much, so you know it means something," Dillon said. "They're not going to tell you that for no reason, so it's something you should take seriously."
Prime Time Thursday Game Times Set
ESPN has announced games times for both of USF's Thursday night home games this season.
USF's highly anticipated conference clash with defending American Athletic Conference champion Temple will kick at 8 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Raymond James Stadium. Ray Jay also will be rocking on Nov. 16, when USF closes out its home campaign with a test against a Tulsa team that won 10 games in 2016. That game will also kick at 8 p.m. and both games will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Bulls Bits
- Scouts from the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets were at practice Wednesday, a day after a representative from the Miami Dolphins caught the action.
- USF's defense got the takeaway train rolling Wednesday with interceptions by linebackers Jimmy Bayes (Immokalee, Fla.) and Danny Thomas (Fort Lauderdale), along with freshman defensive back Donelle Thomas (Miami).
- USF's offense showed off its passing attack, starting with Quinton Flowers' 25-yard TD strike to Trevor Steinke (Lutz, Fla.). Chris Oladokun (Tampa) followed with a 20-yard TD passes to freshman Kevaughn Dingle (Miami) and Ryeshene Bronson (Fort Myers). Brett Kean (Lakewood, Ohio) got involved with a 46-yard TD toss to freshman Jernard Phillips (Miami) after Flowers threw a 57-yard scoring strike to Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.).
Up Next
USF continues its run of six straight days of practice this week with another morning session Thursday at the Morsani Complex. Practice is closed to the public until Saturday's
Fan Day opportunity.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins following the program's fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls' 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 team and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, six of which, including Flowers, will return in 2017.
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