USF Athletics

Bulls Make Plays in All Three Phases in Final Camp Scrimmage

August 22, 2018

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, AUG. 22, 2018 – With game week right around the corner, USF zoomed through its final scrimmage of fall camp Wednesday and the Bulls saw positive signs in all three phases at the Morsani Complex.

Defensively, the Bulls' relentless line continued to bring the pressure with numerous sacks. USF's kickers looked sharp in field goal situations while all three quarterbacks competing for the starting job led scoring drives during a different scrimmage format than last Saturday.

"I put them in different situations today," head coach Charlie Strong said. "We had the ball down there on the goal line, so we wanted more red zone. Then it was played in between the 40s, so that way we can go for it on fourth down."

Quarterbacks Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.), Brett Kean (Lakewood, Ohio) and Chris Oladokun (Tampa) all were efficient through the air during a pick-free practice. All three signal-callers have shined during different parts of fall camp, which makes for a tough decision on a starter. 

"They've been given enough reps and it's been evenly distributed, so now it's about us," Strong said. "Now we've got to go make a decision on what guy it's going to be."

Offensive Highlights

• Sophomore Chris Oladokun led a red zone scoring drive with a 16-yard scramble that set up a 4-yard touchdown connection with sophomore tight end Jacob Mathis, an Ole Miss transfer from Tampa.
• Junior Brett Kean also made a nice play in the red zone by finding junior receiver Darnell Salomon (Miami) in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. Kean converted on third-and-long and fourth-and-4 with passes to senior receiver Ryeshene Bronson (Fort Myers, Fla.).
• Early on, junior Blake Barnett got the Bulls near the red zone with a crisp pass to sophomore receiver DeVontres Dukes (Tampa) that helped set up a field goal. Barnett's quick decision-making led to a third-down conversion to senior receiver Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.) on the first drive of the scrimmage.
• Bruising sophomore back Elijah Mack (Punta Gorda, Fla.) posted touchdown runs on consecutive red zone drives and showcased his speed on a 12-yard sprint to the end zone on the second series.
• Freshman quarterback Jordan McCloud (Tampa) continued his promising camp with the Bulls by hitting freshman receiver Deric Dubose (Sarasota) with a perfect back-shoulder throw for an 11-yard touchdown.
• Freshman quarterback Octavious Battle (Atlanta) produced the final score of the scrimmage by throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Yafeo Davis (Tampa).

 
Defensive Highlights

• Senior defensive end Josh Black (Tampa) extended his sack streak with another QB stop early in the action. Black collected five sacks in the three scrimmages after a three-sack performance in the first outing.
• USF's defensive registered at least six sacks Wednesday on quarterbacks wearing non-contact jerseys. Other Bulls who got to the quarterback included junior tackle Brandon Boyce (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), junior end Marquies Price (Fort Valley, Ga.), redshirt freshman end Darrien Grant (Bradenton, Fla.) and freshman end Stacy Kirby, Jr. (Orlando).
• Senior nickel corner Ronnie Hoggins (Coconut Creek, Fla.) showed solid anticipation and toughness by exploding past the line during a running play that resulted in a loud 4-yard loss.
• Sophomore defensive back Donelle Thomas (Miami) forced the offense to kick a field goal by coming up with a clutch pass breakup on third-and-10 at the 21.
• Redshirt freshman defensive back Nick Roberts (Jacksonville, Fla.) produced inside the red zone by breaking up a pass in the end zone to help stall a drive.

Special Teams Highlights

• Senior Jake Vivonetto (Naples, Fla.) added to his impressive fall camp by making both his field goal attempts from 38 yards out.
• Junior Jake Stone (Apopka, Fla.) matched Vivonetto's performance by making both of his 38-yard field goal kicks.

 
Up Next
The Bulls continue their final week of fall camp with another afternoon session Thursday at the Morsani Complex.
 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
 
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