USF Athletics

They're Back: Strong's Bulls Open Fall Camp on Old Stomping Grounds

August 03, 2018

PHOTO GALLERY

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, AUG. 3, 2018 – Year two of the Charlie Strong era at USF officially began under the beautiful Bay Area evening sky with the Bulls getting right down to business Friday.

Equipped with 11 starters returning from last season's 10-2 squad, USF kicked off fall camp with a workmanlike two-hour practice while players zoomed all over the field in their new adidas gear.

"You had the whole summer where guys are able to get in shape and work in the weight room with our strength staff. To have the first day, I'm just excited," Strong said. "We have a really good freshman class in here. We lost a lot of seniors last year, but we return a lot. I'm just really excited about what we have and I'm looking forward to them coming back tomorrow."

Excitement started even before the first whistle when the Bulls made the walk beyond their usual practice digs at the Morsani Football Complex to USF's recreational fields. For the first nine practices of fall, Strong's Bulls will be training on the same fields where USF football began preparing for the inaugural 1997 season and for several years after.

"We love going there. That's a tradition that started this football program," said senior cornerback Ronnie Hoggins (Coconut Creek, Fla.). "We love going out there because those guys laid the foundation for this program. That's something we instilled and we appreciate those guys that laid the foundation for us."

The original Bulls are certainly proud of what the program has recently accomplished. USF secured its second straight bowl victory over a Power Five foe in 2017 and continued on a school record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25.

"The momentum carries on," Strong said. "You look at 11 wins two years ago and 10 wins last year. That's what's exciting, what we have, and just the excitement within the program."

Ball-Hawking Secondary Makes Plays
Suited up in fresh adidas jerseys and shorts, USF jumped right into 11-on-11 action to begin Friday's practice. Quarterbacks aggressively letting it rip on day 1 allowed the Bulls' swarming secondary to make plays right away.

Redshirt freshman cornerback Bentlee Sanders (Tampa) snatched a bobbled pass away from a receiver early in the action and hauled in his second interception on a deflected throw later in practice.

Fiery coordinator Brian Jean-Mary's much improved 2017 defense ranked second nationally with 20 interceptions and USF is hungry for more takeaways in Jean-Mary's second run with the Bulls.

"We always set our goals higher than what they were last year. We always want to top last year," said senior cornerback Ronnie Hoggins, who had two picks last season.

QB Battle Begins
Chris Oladokun (Tampa), Brett Kean (Lakewood, Ohio) and Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.) all made plays in their own ways at the beginning of USF's starting quarterback competition.

Oladokun and Kean both did the most damage with their feet on several smooth scrambles for first downs. Barnett, a graduate transfer from Arizona State, completed the prettiest pass of the night by finding Mackey Award candidate Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) with a perfect over-the-shoulder throw for a 25-yard touchdown.

"It's a competitive battle there. Plus, it just makes our team better when they just see another good player stepping out there," Strong said. "Those guys all respect each other, so it's going to be fun just watching them going out and competing."

Healthy Bulls Back in Action
Every Bull on the roster was anxious to finally begin fall camp and the feeling was extra special for student-athletes returning from injuries.

Senior starting left tackle Eric Mayes was a full go Friday after missing the spring with a meniscus repair he had done to his left knee.

"I felt really great today," said Mayes, who started all 12 games last year. "… Now that I'm back, I feel excited and I loved the atmosphere we had today. It was a great practice and I was excited to be back out there."

Receivers Ryeshene Bronson (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Stanley Clerveaux (North Miami, Fla.) were eased back into action during the spring and both looked healthier than ever Friday. Clerveaux got the offense going early by snagging a pair of passes early on, one in diving fashion.

As for the Bulls as a whole, Strong was happy to see his healthy squad all participate in the fall camp opener.

"I don't think that we have anyone standing on the sidelines," he said. "We have an excellent medical staff and they were able to get the guys back out and get them going."

NFL Scouts Watch the Bulls Work
The Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals were the first teams to check out USF's talent this fall with scouts attending Friday's practice.

Up Next
The Bulls quickly hit the locker room Friday night to prepare for what's ahead. USF returns to the recreational fields Saturday for another practice session at 10 a.m.

"Tomorrow morning is going to be a good turnaround," Strong said. "Those guys got to get in bed tonight, get some rest, and get ready to go to work tomorrow."
 
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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