USF Athletics

Defense Making 'Gains' as Bulls Strengthen Physical Brand for Season

August 25, 2020

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, AUG. 25, 2020 – USF's intense start to Tuesday's practice showed the Bulls are determined to develop the toughness it will take to push past opponents during the 2020 season that kicks off a few Saturdays from now.

Head coach Jeff Scott pumped up the volume on the 18^th day of preseason preparations right away by putting players through several rounds of the "Bull Drill." Three offensive linemen battled in the trenches with three defenders confined by a 5-yard wide perimeter as running backs had three plays to move the ball 10 yards and reach the end zone.
 

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D-Line flexing some ?? in Bull Drill. #US2F?? pic.twitter.com/C0bSrTlc4k

— USF Football (@USFFootball) August 25, 2020

Both sides of the ball celebrated tough man triumphs during the many sequences and the Bulls' physical brand of football continued until Scott` sounded his electronic whistle at the end of the morning practice. Breaking through barriers of pain and fatigue is a major focus for a program gearing up for grueling games that begin Saturday, Aug. 12 against The Citadel at Raymond James Stadium.

"Any great defense I've been around, you have that (toughness) element," defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. "That's something you have to work on constantly and something that we're working on right now.".

Hard work paid dividends for USF's stingy first-team defense that totaled three takeaways and surrendered just three points through 51 plays of last Saturday's scrimmage. For Spencer, the performance by the defense as a whole marked notable progression from the prior week of game-like reps he calls "golden."

"We have made gains since then," Spencer said.

That's very good news for a group in the midst of trying to master Spencer's multiple scheme in warp speed after most of spring ball was canceled due to COVID-19. The defense is "still a work in progress," but USF's creative coordinator is seeing his Bulls really start to build momentum in key areas.

Returning starters KJ Sails (Tampa), Mike Hampton (Tampa), Nick Roberts (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Bentlee Sanders (Tampa) are leading an established secondary well. Veteran experience also is being shown by Vincent Davis (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the deepest department of the defense.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Boyles (Miami) and Antonio Grier (Atlanta) keep impressing Spencer as solid anchors of a linebacker group while Andrew Mims (St. Johns, Fla.) is emerging as a go-to Bull in the middle for the season ahead.

"We're improving every day," said Mims of the defense's evolution this preseason.

While Spencer's "very unusual, very unique" scheme allows the Bulls to confuse opponents with multiple looks, they all know where their eyes will have to be on Sept. 12. "Complete dedication" will be required to defend The Citadel's triple-option offense that will serve as a great test ahead of Navy's arrival at Ray Jay down the road on Nov. 21.

"If we want to do what we want to do in this conference, we have to do well against a similar (style) opponent in the conference," Spencer said. "It forces you to work on some base thoughts, some base schemes, playing off load blocks, just football fundamentals that are different preparing for them than anybody else."

The New No. 10 in Middle of D-Line
Senior defensive tackle Kevin Kegler (Madison, Fla.) previously wore No. 90 but now he's sporting No. 10 for a special reason.

"I watched a leader in front of me arrive with that number," Kegler said. "It's kind of been fun trying to fill that position of a defensive lineman."

Kegler was speaking of defensive tackle Deadrin Senat, who donned No. 10 and was an all-conference defensive tackle for the Bulls in 2017 before heading to the NFL as a third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.

"He never took a day off, very committed," said Kegler, a true freshman in 2017. "He also brought energy to the meeting room, practice and he's a very fun guy to hang around in practice and outside of practice… I pretty much followed him."

Bringing 33 games of experience (14 starts) into 2020, Kegler hopes to make Senat and Bulls Nation proud as a leader of the "dynamic" defensive tackle group that also features fellow seniors Kelvin Pinkney (Sarasota) and Blake Green (Bradenton, Fla.).

"We have a lot of different body types and different people for different packages," Kegler said.

Mims Stepping Up at MIKE Linebacker
Starting his USF career as mainly a special teams player, junior linebacker Andrew Mims (St. Johns, Fla.) made an impact in nine games (one start) at linebacker last season, including a 13-tackle performance against Memphis.

This fall, the former Bartram Trail High School standout has shown his new coordinator he's capable of much more. One example popped up Tuesday when Mims stayed locked in on a tipped pass at the line and came down with an interception in the red zone.

"Andrew Mims has come up," Glenn Spencer said. "He's gonna have a bigger role than he had here previously."

Mims said he's "really enjoying" his increased opportunity in the middle of USF's new defensive scheme. He also fully embraces what Spencer envisions the Bulls doing on that side of the ball this season.

"He really just wants us to play fast. That's his biggest emphasis – fast and with effort," Mims said. "He emphasizes every day – effort, effort, effort."
 

About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23^rd season (20^th 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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