Scott And Bulls Remain Forward Focused
By Joey Johnston
USF football coach Jeff Scott calls it a "windshield mentality.''
"If I drive home tonight staring in my rear-view mirror, I'm going to run off the road,'' Scott said. "It's all about what's in front.''
That explains the singular focus of Scott, whose Bulls (1-5, 0-2 AAC) face the Temple Owls (3-3, 1-1 AAC) on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium. USF is coming off a heartbreaking 32-31 home defeat against Tulsa, but that's gone. Now it's all about Temple.
The windshield mentality also explains Scott's optimism in the future of USF football, despite a rapidly changing landscape in college sports. He's concentrating on what the Bulls must do for improvement each day, not reacting to the nuance and speculation of each day.
"If I just sit here and do this (rapidly looking from side to side), I'm going to get dizzy looking around, right?'' Scott said. "Let's worry inside out. I know my job and the reason I'm here and the reason why our administration's focus … is how can we improve this program?
"The potential of this program is a lot bigger than where we are right now, right? We have to run our own race. We've had a program for 25 years and it has been a different race than anybody else in the country. At the same time, I'm very confident that we have a bright future. I'm very confident in the leadership and the opportunity.''
Scott said he heard about the reports of potential membership additions to the AAC from his wife just before he went to bed Monday night. His reaction?
"Hey, that's the world we live in.''
It's a world of conference realignment and the transfer portal. It's Name, Image and Likeness. It's potential NCAA restructuring and possible eligibility reform for student-athletes. Oh, and there are also the continual implications from COVID-19.
"Every day you wake up, there's something new,'' Scott said.
For Scott, there's one constant. What can USF football do for improvement and positioning itself for the brightest possible future? That's the only element where he has some semblance of control.
"Our goal is to build a program that can have sustainable success and win a conference championship — whatever conference we're in,'' Scott said.
How does it happen? Leadership and commitment.
Scott said he likes the alignment of leadership — from the president's office to the Board of Trustees to Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly to the football staff. The consistency of that leadership is crucial.
"When I got here before the 2020 season, I was the fifth head coach in 12 seasons here,'' Scott said. "Think about that. When Michael Kelly took over in 2018, he was the third AD in five years.
"This is the opportunity we have now. We feel very confident with the leadership and the alignment. We've just got to invest the time and the resources. We're going to look up — two, three, four, five years from now — and we're going to feel really good about where we are. That's the way I think. I don't get caught up in where we are now.''
Instead, Scott said he's focused on where USF football is going. He's enthused by the groundbreaking of a new $21-million Indoor Performance Center — "the first physical football facility enhancement in 15 years,'' he said — and the promise of an on-campus stadium.
"To me, that's the mindset of moving forward and preparing to be in a better position,'' Scott said. "There's a saying I've heard before: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time to plant a tree is now. That's the mindset I have. This isn't the end of college football realignment.
"I feel fortunate that I'm the coach who gets to be here during this time of growth. I feel like this program has been waiting on that the last couple of years, to get everybody on the same page to have the alignment and go take action. That's exactly what we're doing.''
