Bulls Embracing Gasparilla Bowl Experience in Bay Area
USF GASPARILLA BOWL GUIDE
MONDAY PHOTO GALLERY
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, DEC. 17, 2018 – USF is embracing the Bay area bowl game experience of action-packed days filled with football and fun before the Bulls cap off the 2018 season at Raymond James Stadium.
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl preparation ramped up Sunday with practice and a trip to Treasure Island to let loose during the
Beach Invasion. The reward for another spirited practice on Monday morning was a sunny afternoon at Busch Gardens, which the players certainly appreciated.
USF's agenda for Tuesday includes a community service event at Curtis Hixon Park and spreading cheer to children during hospital visits prior to afternoon practice. Fans can join the Bulls for the bowl game pep rally at Armature Works on Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. and watch the program take on Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday night. Kickoff at Ray Jay is set for 8 p.m. and the Bulls' fourth straight bowl appearance will be televised across the country on ESPN.
"I'm really excited about it. The players are excited about being at home," head coach
Charlie Strong said after Monday's practice. "They get around the town. They know Tampa, they've been here a long time, but more than anything just to have the bowl experience, we're happy to be a part of it."
Under the lights on Thursday night, USF can tie a program record with its third straight bowl game victory after defeating Power Five foes South Carolina and Texas Tech the past two years in the Birmingham Bowl. Leading the charge this season will be 2017 bowl game hero
Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.) and the winningest senior class in USF history with 36 victories over the past four seasons.
"The biggest thing is just sending our seniors out the right way," said junior linebacker
Greg Reaves (Bradenton, Fla.).
Motivated Defense Getting Ready for Marshall
Bowl week is a busy time for USF, but Strong said it's all about focus in order for the Bulls to bring home the program's seventh postseason win.
So far, the Bulls have remained locked in mentally, which resulted in productive practices that have the coaches pleased.
"The morale has been good and that's always the thing. You always want to make sure that your guys are up for the bowl game," defensive coordinator
Brian Jean-Mary said. "Everybody always hears it every year – it's the team that's the most motivated that they feel like has the advantage. I really feel like our guys are motivated to go out there and play a good game, especially on defense."
Motivation also comes with much respect for Marshall and its capabilities on offense. The Thundering Herd (8-4, 6-2 in C-USA) is being led by conference co-freshman of the year Isaiah Green, who has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all nine of the games he's played in this season.
Marshall also has a standout senior receiver in Tyre Brady and numerous playmaking backs. The last time out, redshirt freshman Brenden Knox rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in the regular season finale at Virginia Tech. Learn more about Marshall
HERE.
"They have a really good mobile quarterback, some very, very explosive receivers and I think they're very, very happy with their run game," Jean-Mary said. "…They're like a lot of offenses in this conference – very explosive and can really put some points on the board if you're not doing your job on defense."
Burke Takes Control of Offense
With Sterlin Gilbert becoming the head coach at McNeese State, Coach Strong has dished out play-calling duties to interim offensive coordinator
Justin Burke for the bowl game.
Burke has coached tight ends and special teams since arriving at USF with Strong prior to last season and the two have quite a history together before becoming Bulls. In his final season at Louisville, Burke played for Strong in 2010 before serving on the Cardinals' staff from 2011-13. Burke also was on Strong's Texas staff from 2014-16.
"I know Justin and Justin played quarterback for me," Strong said. "He worked with us at Louisville and was at Texas with me, so I made the decision that he's going to be the play-caller."
Bulls Bits
BARNETT UPDATE: Strong said USF is still in wait-and-see mode regarding starting quarterback Blake Barnett's availability for the bowl game. The junior from Corona, Calif., missed two of the final three regular season games due to injuries. "Blake has been able to move around some and we'll just see," Strong said. "We still have some time before we go play that game. We'll see exactly where we are." Heading into the Gasparilla Bowl, Barnett has thrown for 2,498 yards and needs 172 more to move into fifth on USF's single-season passing chart. Barnett has posted three 300-yard passing games and needs one more to tie Quinton Flowers' top USF season mark set in 2017.- HAMPTON REAPING THE REWARDS OF HARD WORK: Mike Hampton earned all-conference honorable mention recognition in his first season as a starting cornerback and said the secret to his success was simple – improving his ball skills and working tirelessly with receivers in one-on-one drills in the offseason and after practices. "I'm finally realizing all the hard work I did paid off," he said. "It's a great feeling." Opposing teams haven't had great success throwing in Hampton's direction. The sophomore from Tampa ranks 10th nationally with 1.4 passes defended per game (17 total) and he's tied for second on the team with two picks. Hampton needs three more pass breakups to match Bernard Brown's program season record of 18 set in 1999.
- VERSATILE REAVES LIKES BEING THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Moving from defensive end to middle linebacker was a difficult task Greg Reaves has embraced with open arms that have been filled with ball-carriers. Since taking over for injured Nico Sawtelle at middle linebacker, the junior from Bradenton, Fla., has totaled 52 tackles in six games, including a career-best 12 at Houston, 10 at Cincinnati and 10 more against UCF. "It's kind of starting to slow down a little bit," said Reaves, who is averaging 8.7 stops per game as a middle linebacker. "I'm really starting to like it a lot more."
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
In just its 22nd season of football, and 19th at the FBS level, the USF football program has earned 10 bowl appearances, including a current run of four straight, and owns a record of 6-3 in bowl games. The Bulls have appeared in the national top 25 rankings in each of the past three seasons, including a program record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25, and in 2018 reached the program's 150th win faster than any FBS program in state of Florida history. USF has posted a pair of 10-plus win seasons in the last three years, including a program-record 11 wins (11-2) in 2016, and logged 15 winning seasons overall. Since first taking the field in 1997, the USF program has reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings (2007), seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 29 earn first-team all-conference selection.
