Bulls Open Camp with "Brand New Team"
By Joey Johnston
As the new season began and 117 players trotted onto the practice field for Thursday morning's start of fall training camp, the USF Bulls had a lot of new faces.
In all, the Bulls have 18 transfers from a Football Bowl Subdivision program and 29 total. The changes are obvious in USF's secondary, where the Bulls welcome the likes of safety Matthew Hill (Auburn), safety Will Jones II (Kansas State), cornerback TJ Robinson (Rutgers) and cornerback Christian Williams (Miami), each of whom has the advantage of performing in spring drills.
"I feel like with the guys we've brought in, we're not going to miss a beat,'' junior defensive back Vincent "Smoke'' Davis said. "It's all about getting the reps in and building the relationships, on and off the field. But we have gotten better, no doubt.''
"We have a completely brand new team,'' senior linebacker Antonio Grier said. "Fall camp will bring us closer together. We're going to become a better team and better teammates.''
Or as USF defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer put it, "We have depth.''
Something that was in very short supply during the 2020 season.
In Spencer's last full season, when he guided the defense with Florida Atlantic in 2019, the Owls led the FBS in total takeaways (33), interceptions (22) and turnover margin (plus-21).
That's what he envisions at USF.
With the influx of defensive talent, particularly in the secondary, those plans can come to life.
"All the new guys have great ball skills,'' sophomore cornerback Daquan Evans said. "We have a motto: 'Get the ball back.' That's what we intend to do.
"The new guys, we want to treat them like I got treated when I was a freshman. Treat everybody with respect. If you need help, treat them like a brother. You have everybody's back.''
Starting the right way
When USF took the field, quarterback Cade Fortin led the breakdown session. It wasn't spirited enough for Coach Jeff Scott. Do it again, he said. The second time was better, but still not enough. Do it again. On the third attempt, there was spirit, noise and purpose.
Some sideline onlookers said they got chills.
Scott's point was made.
That's the way it needs to be all the time, every day — on the first attempt.
It was a reminder of one of Scott's pet sayings: "The way you do anything is the way you do everything.'' Little things add up to big things.
More motivation
When the American Athletic Conference released its preseason football poll Wednesday, USF was picked for 11th.
It was duly noted by USF players.
"For sure, it's motivation for us,'' Davis said. "Nobody ever won the championship in the preseason polls. That's not what we're worried about. It's about how we attack each day. They picked us at the bottom. We're trying to get to the top. We're looking forward to the future, not backward.''
Bull Pounds
When spring football began, Scott set a goal of 500 "Bull Pounds.'' If someone needed to drop weight, those pounds were added to the total. If someone needed to gain weight, those improvements were also added. The count was at 250 when spring football ended.
On Tuesday, when the players took part in the fall camp tradition "The Big Weigh In," it was at 525.
"We have gotten better — a lot better,'' Scott said. "We're proud of that effort.''
