Weis Jr. Having a Blast With Bulls' New Up-Tempo Offense
Gallery: (8-18-2020) Football Camp 0818
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 18, 2020 – Two of the brightest offensive masterminds in college football have united to shape and mold talented USF into a fast-tempo scoring machine.
When it comes to cooking up the explosive plan, offensive coordinator
Charlie Weis Jr. has had a blast collaborating with head coach
Jeff Scott since both new Bulls arrived in Tampa.
"We've spent a lot of time together. We had a lot of time during the lockdown and all that stuff," Weis said. "That was a great time for Coach Scott and I to combine our heads and get things going. It's been really fun."
Sitting in one coaching chair has been Weis, who spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator/QBs coach under Lane Kiffin at FAU. Last season, the Owls captured the Conference USA crown with an offense that averaged 36.4 points and 448.6 yards per game.
Aside from working with Kiffin at FAU and prior to that at Alabama, Weis has the benefit of having a longtime coach known for his offensive prowess as a father, particularly winning Super Bowls with a quarterback named Brady that is also now making his mark in the Bay area. G
rowing up around the game, the 27-year-old Weis has gleaned details from football gurus like Nick Saban and Steve Sarkisian at Alabama (2015-16) and staffs from the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots.
Right next to Weis in the USF film room is Scott, who previously went 70-5 as co-offensive coordinator at Clemson, which averaged 40 points and 500 yards on the regular since 2015. Record-breaking offenses helped the Tigers win five ACC titles and two national championships during the span.
"Usually, Clemson and Alabama people don't get together a whole lot and talk football," Scott said with a chuckle referencing programs that have won four of the last five CFP National Championships. "We feel like we can be the first hybrid of some Clemson offense, Alabama offense, bringing that here to Tampa. At the end of the day, he's gonna run it, he's gonna call it."
Weis has seen USF's tailor-made offense make notable progress when it comes to putting the plan in to action since fall camp kicked off on Aug. 7. The key has been not throwing the entire playbook at the Bulls just yet, so they can play fast and not think too much on the practice field.
"Coming in here, you get one fall camp and you're playing the season," Weis said. "We definitely wanted to make sure that we made things as simple as possible for our guys."
Running backs sure enjoyed Weis' calls during the first scrimmage of the fall that took on a run-heavy approach at Ray Jay.
Darrian Felix (Fort Myers, Fla.),
Kelley Joiner Jr. (Clermont, Fla.) and
Odunayo Seriki (Apopka, Fla.) combined for four of the Bulls' six scores on the ground. Freshman
Brian Battie (Sarasota) also had a solid scrimmage and continued his impressive fall camp with more long gains in practice Tuesday.
"We have four or five guys who can make big plays down the field," Weis said. "That's one thing I think is very important, especially playing in a tempo offense. You gotta have guys who can finish drives and generate explosive (plays) for you."
Receivers also are relishing their roles in the new offense, especially
Randall St. Felix (Miami). The 6-foot-2 junior came down with numerous jump-ball opportunities Tuesday and more will be up for grabs this season with some of the coaches' fresh offensive concepts.
"I get a lot of one-one-one balls," St. Felix said. "All the boundary receivers get a lot of one-one-one balls, back-shoulder balls."
As for the quarterbacks being coached by Weis, he likes what he's seeing from the position, particularly all three Bulls currently in the running for the starting spot –
Jordan McCloud (Tampa),
Cade Fortin (Suwanee, Ga.) and
Noah Johnson (Tampa).
"Each and every one of them has gotten better every single day," Weis said. "…All three have different skill sets, different abilities. I think we can use all of their strengths in different ways."
Receivers Making Plays
Another Bull who came down with a jump ball Tuesday was 6-foot-4
DeVontres Dukes, who has "done a great job so far in camp," according to Weis.
Several other receivers have made a positive first impression on their new OC.
Bryce Miller (St. Peterburg, Fla.) is currently wowing the Twitter world with video of his one-handed catch in practice Tuesday. The junior slot man has made several diving snags throughout camp and has been a go-to guy who moves the chains over the middle.
"Bryce has done a good job, being Mr. Consistent, catching the ball and generating some explosive (plays) as well," Weis said.
Sophomore
Terrence Horne Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) has caught Weis' eye while stretching the field with his blazing speed that appears fully back in high gear. Also a dynamic kick return man, Horne is poised to play a key role for the Bulls nearly two years after an ACL injury that slowed his progress last season.
"Just as fast, if not faster," said junior left tackle
Donovan Jennings of Horne's current form. "I'm excited to see him back."
One more receiver Weis mentioned by name Tuesday was junior
Latrell Williams (Lake City, Fla). The former Tennessee Volunteer sat out last season after transferring from Independence (Kan.) Community College.
"Latrell is a guy that can burn people and go down the field," Weis said.
"He's real fast,"
Randall St. Felix added. "He knows how to get off the ball quick."
Bulls Bits
MORE LOVE FOR O-LINE: Three days after Coach Scott praised the Allen Mogridge-led offensive line, Charlie Weis Jr. applauded the group's collective performance in the first fall scrimmage. Aside from giving up just one sack, the O-line paved the way for six rushing touchdowns. "I was very encouraged up from with our offensive line play," Weis said. "… I thought all summer they were one of the hardest-working groups. Just seeing it in action, in a scrimmage situation and practice, it's been very encouraging how those guys are playing."
ST. FELIX FEELING FASTER: Junior Randall St. Felix's overall playmaking ability has been very apparent in fall camp, bringing back fond memories of 2018. As a freshman, the Miami native set a USF record with four 100-yard receiving games and ranked ninth nationally with a 20.6 yards-per-catch average. "I feel like I got faster. I lost a couple pounds from last year," said St. Felix, who noted he's now 205, a 10-pound difference than in 2019.- BIG FOCUS ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Don't be surprised to see the Bulls having success on special teams this season. Throughout fall camp, the important phase of the game has been a huge point of emphasis. Last Saturday, Scott made sure the Bulls got plenty of live action in on kickoff, kick return, punt and punt return during the scrimmage at Ray Jay. USF devoted a good chunk of Monday's practice to special teams and punt coverage was on the agenda Tuesday. Bulls back practicing returning punts included KJ Sails (Tampa), Kelley Joiner (Clermont, Fla.), Johnny Ford (Miami) and Bryce Miller (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Read all about how new special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato wants to maximize athletic USF's potential HERE.
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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