Bulls Stay Locked In on 'Taking a Challenge to a Championship'
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MAY 21, 2020 – Just one practice into his first season as a head coach, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered
Jeff Scott and the USF football team's plans, but Scott quickly refocused the Bulls and plugged into the mission of "Taking a Challenge to a Championship."
With in-person interaction out of play for most of the spring, USF utilized technology and a strategic plan well in continuing the effort of building a culture of excellence and remaining "United From Start to Finish."
Microsoft Teams and Zoom are valuable avenues the Scott and the team have utilized to remain connected and carry on with important program tasks during social distancing.
"Really, my message to our players is everybody around the country is facing the same challenge that we have – being at home and not being able to have practice, and meetings, and all those things," Scott said. "But the way we respond to this challenge, the way that we attack it every day, the consistency that we have, the attitude that we bring could be a competitive advantage for us during this time."
Scott has learned a lot about his players' dedication during meetings that took place numerous times each week through the spring. Depending on the day, Bulls gathered online as a team, by position groups, or with coordinators to keep making progress in the new offense, defense and special teams playbooks.
Raising the level of accountability from within resulted in Scott declaring the Bulls were hitting "95 percent" on being where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be during a full schedule of team meetings and especially academic commitments throughout the spring.
"I've been really pleased with the way our guys have engaged, the way they've responded and been involved with our meetings," Scott said in May. "I feel like our coaches have done a great job of really holding our guys to a schedule each day, whenever we have been allowed to have those meetings."
Strengthening a sense of community in the Bay area and beyond remains essential business.
Scott's home webcam has been operating often, as he's interacted with nine different constituent groups, including fellow USF coaches and senior leadership. From late March to today, he's met with more than 300 donor/alumni participants on six video calls set up by the Bulls Club, the USF Alumni Association and Athletics' ticket department.
In April, Scott joined USF President Steven Currall and Vice President of Athletics
Michael Kelly for the University's Virtual Town Hall, which saw about 3,500 participants sign in to participate live.
Scott also checked in with a large USF football alumni group of nearly 100 and was a special guest during a Vinik Sports & Entertainment Management MBA class. He spoke virtually with USF's Greek leadership on campus and members of his coaching staff attended several more virtual meetings with Bulls Club and season ticket members.
"The biggest thing is, I just wanted an opportunity to communicate with them and also hear from them about some things they're interested in and want to see within our football program," Scott said.
Members of his staff have strengthened USF's bond with supporters even more during the pandemic.
Offensive coordinator
Charlie Weis Jr., defensive coordinator
Glenn Spencer, offensive line coach/assistant head coach
Allen Mogridge, special teams coordinator
Daniel Da Prato and receivers coach
Xavier Dye all have attended at least one video meeting with Bulls supporters with more coaches scheduled.
"It's just been in a different way than maybe we all envisioned, but the response has been really good," said Scott, who also spent an evening virtually with many corporate partners and sponsors.
Meanwhile, Scott has helped keep the media buzz surrounding the program's new era constant. At this point, he's done more than 35 interviews with national and local media outlets. Combined with players and coordinators, USF football has been busy with more than 50 total interviews while social distancing. The Bulls have appeared several times on all five of the major Bay area television networks and regional newspapers and have been the subject of coverage in USA Today, ESPN.com, The Athletic, Sirius XM radio and 247Sports among 12 national media engagments.
USF's 2020 season schedule – ranked as the
second-strongest in the nation on ESPN.com by Phil Steele – has remained a popular topic. Another has been recruiting success, even from home, that's leading to potentially the Bulls' strongest class in recent years.
"I think the response that we've gotten from the high school coaches and from the recruits and their families has been very strong," Scott said. "I think they can feel the energy and excitement that surrounds our program right now and that there's a lot of really good things ahead of us as a program."
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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