Bulls Meet Fans At Enthusiastic Kickoff Luncheon in Downtown Tampa
By Joey Johnston
As USF fans arrived at the downtown JW Marriott, they were greeted by the cheerleaders and Sun Dolls. They were entertained by the Herd of Thunder band. And they engaged with Bulls football players who were seated at each of the 50 ballroom tables.
Are you ready for some USF football? After seeing the enthusiastic reaction of the 300 attendees at Wednesday's USF Football Kickoff Luncheon, there was palpable excitement and anticipation as USF enters the final two weeks before its Sept. 2 opener at N.C. State.
After early festivities, it was left for USF coach Jeff Scott to set the tone for the program and the 2021 campaign. In keeping with this season's overarching theme, a celebration of the program's 25th anniversary season, Scott used nostalgia as a teaching point.
"I want our players to know that our program was founded on work ethic,'' Scott said. "Our program was founded in grit. Our program was founded on having to earn each and every thing we have. We talk about (new facilities). We had humble beginnings. Our coaches worked in trailers — the 'Ponderosa.' Our teams played with a chip on our shoulder. I want our players to understand our DNA. We need to still find a way to have that chip on our shoulder.
"We have a great foundation for success here at South Florida. When you're building a house, you don't pour the foundation and leave it there. You build on top of it. As we celebrate these 25 years, we're still writing the chapters for this program. We're going to continue to build on top of the foundation all the players and coaches laid for us.''
Or as Scott also put it, "Before we talk about where we want to go — in this season and the seasons ahead — I think it's really important to look back at where we came from. How this program was started.''
Former Bulls linebacker Sam Barrington (a linebacker from 2009-12), the event's emcee and now a color analyst on the USF Football Radio Network, led a panel discussion about the program's history. During the presentation and before the event, the memories flowed for linebacker Marshall Smith (1996-2000), quarterback Matt Grothe (2006-09), cornerback Kayvon Webster (2009-12) and quarterback B.J. Daniels (2009-12).
Scott spoke with pride about the impending groundbreaking of USF's Indoor Performance Facility, followed by the expected construction of a standalone Football Operations Center, including a dedicated weight room and training facility. Already in place is a newly refurbished, swanky locker room in the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center.
"I don't believe in small dreams,'' Scott said. "I believe in dreaming big. I have a vision one day that we're going to build an on-campus stadium at the University of South Florida.''
The crowd applauded loudly. Smith, one of the so-called Original Group (14 players that participated in the 1996 practice-only year, then each of the next four seasons), was cheering along with everyone else.
When he arrived at USF, such facilities were unimaginable.
"You've got to understand that maybe 10 guys on our team had cell phones back then,'' Smith said. "We had a great locker room in the 'Dungeon' as they called it, at the bottom of the Sun Dome. We didn't know any better.
"Coach (Jim Leavitt) told us it was the best locker room in the country and we believed him. We couldn't go online to see what other teams had. It didn't matter to us. We had no clue. Coach Leavitt got us excited about what we did have. We were happy to be here and ready to work.''
By the time Grothe came to USF, the Bulls were upwardly mobile members of the Big East Conference. He was the architect of victories against No. 5-ranked West Virginia in 2007 – a few weeks before USF rose to the nation's No. 2 ranking – along with wins against three other nationally ranked foes. Now he's eagerly awaiting the program's next step.
"It has always been the goal (to win a conference championship),'' Grothe said. "A lot of people are waiting on that and I'm one of them. As long as we continue to grow and get quality athletes, we're going to have a shot every year of competing for the (American Athletic Conference) title.''
Webster, a Miami native, selected USF over Miami, Florida State and Florida. He remembers seeing Bulls cornerback Mike Jenkins being drafted in the NFL's first round and knowing that USF could help him achieve his biggest goals. Webster played on USF teams that defeated Florida State, Miami, Clemson and Notre Dame. He played seven NFL seasons and won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos.
"It's always a great feeling to see your old program doing some things and getting ready to move up,'' Webster said. "We beat some big-time teams when I was here and look forward to seeing USF teams doing that again in the coming seasons.''
Scott has welcomed back the USF football alumni. Many former players have come to practice to address the current squad and provide inspiration. Daniels, now on the USF coaching staff, and Barrington appreciate that outreach.
"The former players are excited about what our future is going to look like,'' Daniels said. "A lot of the alumni are completely jealous of our new locker room, but I know they love what the program is doing.''
"I think as Jeff Scott enters his second season, things are going in a phenomenal direction,'' Barrington said. "You see the signs why (USF vice president of athletics) Michael Kelly hired him. You see a team that's vibrant, a team that's energetic. And we love how he has embraced the program's history. When you talk about culture, morale and tradition, you can't establish those things without bringing the former guys around, the guys who laid the foundation and (know) how important it is to be a USF Bull.''
