Bulls Make Plays on Both Sides of Ball in Saturday's Scrimmage
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MARCH 30, 2019 – USF football completed its second week of spring practices by motoring through more than 100 plays during Saturday's scrimmage at the Morsani Complex.
"It's just been fun to watch the overall attitude of the whole team and how well we're working," head coach
Charlie Strong said.
Coaches on both sides of the ball quickly made their calls while the Bulls made more progress learning new offensive coordinator
Kerwin Bell's system that's packed with a variety of plays.
Quarterback
Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.) made the first big throw of the scrimmage by placing the ball perfectly down the sideline for
Randall St. Felix (Miami) to haul in a 39-yard reception. USF's second-year starter finished strong with a 10-yard touchdown pass to
Stanley Clerveaux (North Miami) and a 1-yard touchdown run during red-zone work.
All three quarterbacks led scoring drives, including a 40-yard sequence that was capped off with a 25-yard touchdown connection between redshirt freshman
Jordan McCloud (Tampa) and sophomore receiver
Zion Roland (St. Petersburg).
"All three of (the quarterbacks) are doing a really good job of picking it up. We're trying to get the tempo with it," said Strong of the new offense. "With them, it's a lot of verbiage, so now they've got to get the verbiage out and they've got to continue to just learn it."
While the offense is learning under Bell, third-year USF coordinator
Brian Jean-Mary's defense is making steady strides with a bulked-up roster. Sophomore linebacker
Dwayne Boyles (Miami) is up 15 pounds from his 2018 playing weight of 210 and used it to register at least one of the Bulls' several sacks on quarterbacks wearing non-contact jerseys Saturday.
"It's been really good that our whole team has gained some weight and they're carrying it really well," Strong said. "It's only going to help (Boyles)."
Another emerging player who made an impact Saturday was freshman defensive end
Jason Vaughn. The early enrollee from Auburndale, Fla., posted two sacks after picking off a pass while the offense put in a lot of work on short-yardage throws to get backs in space and stretch the field.
Pressure kept coming with sacks by senior ends
Greg Reaves (Bradenton, Fla.) and
Kirk Livingstone (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), two of 16 lettermen returning to USF's defense for 2019.
"Defensively, what's good for them is they don't have to learn much," Strong said. "You've got the coach back with your coordinator, so with them it's all about processing and just making sure that they can execute."
Strong's Bulls have two more weeks of practices to fine-tune things on both sides of the ball before the USF Spring Game on Saturday, April 13 at Corbett Stadium.
"Our main goal is just to improve on defense, improve on offense and for our players to get better each and every day," Strong said.
Up-and-Coming Bulls Make Plays
Screen passes were a popular call Saturday and the Bulls' backs took advantage with
Johnny Ford (Miami),
Odunayo Seriki (Apoka, Fla.) and
JaJuan Cherry (Okeechobee, Fla.) all moving the chains on 15-plus yard plays.
Seriki, a junior with impressive speed, also did damage on numerous carries, breaking off runs of 33 and 21 yards on the outside. Seriki also showcased his lower-body strength by carrying defenders during a 9-yard gain near the goal line on a drive he capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run.
"Seriki has outstanding speed. He played some for us last season and was great special teams player," Strong said. "The thing about him is he can run inside, he can run outside but then he has enough speed to run away from you."
On top of freshman
Jason Vaughn's big day, converted defensive end
Chris Carter (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) also recorded a sack. Junior cornerback
McArthur Burnett, another early enrollee from Pahokee, Fla., tallied another interception for the defense on a tipped pass in the end zone.
Bulls Bits
WILCOX HAPPY TO BE BACK: All-conference tight end Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) is happy to be back for his senior season after briefly considering the NFL Draft. "It was a pretty straightforward decision for me at the end of the day," he said. "… I just think I can show more for myself and for this university. I owe so much to this university and I just think there's a lot left on the table for us and for this program." Wilcox set USF's single-season tight end records last year with 43 catches for 540 yards and he's eager to produce in Kerwin Bell's new system, especially in the red zone. "I think there's a lot of upside and this offense is going to be very dangerous," Wilcox said. "I'm excited."- MORE INFO ON THE BACKS: Another running back who stepped up Saturday was senior Trevon Sands, who scored on a 1-yard run and picked up multiple first downs with his feet. The Miami native is one of four backs getting a good amount of reps this spring while 1,000-yard rusher Jordan Cronkrite (Miami) continues to make progress after offseason surgery. "Cronkrite will be fine," said Strong of summer workouts. "If I waited another week or so, he probably could get some work in, but there's no need in doing that because he hasn't been out here the whole spring. To bring him back at the end will be good."
NICHOLS IN ATTENDANCE: Following a flurry of former USF standouts at pro day, another big-time Bull checked out practice Saturday. Cornerback Deatrick Nichols roamed the sidelines during the scrimmage after playing in two games during his NFL rookie season for the Arizona Cardinals. Nichols is back on Arizona's active roster after signing a reserve/future contract on Dec. 31.
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.
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