James Rowe's first love was always football — even though he played baseball at USF as a left-handed pitcher from 2005-07.

One of his roommates was Bulls defensive back Danny Verpaele and sometimes Rowe tagged along to hang out with USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham, who drew up plays and talked defensive philosophy with the young baseball player interested in learning more about football.

"We got to sit down and learn football from an old-school coach like that,'' Rowe said. "That's big-time, letting a baseball player come in and talk football. It was pretty cool.''

And it actually set in motion Rowe's career.

Rowe is now a former baseball player and a full-fledged football coach with an impressive resume. Last season, he served as defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears, marking his fifth season on an NFL staff.

But now he's back home, serving as defensive pass-game coordinator/safeties coach on head coach Alex Golesh's first USF staff.

"This is where James wanted to be,'' Golesh said. "I think it says so much when a guy has an NFL coaching position and wants to return to his alma mater. We are beyond happy to have him.''

Rowe's players echo that sentiment.

"He has been where we all want to go (NFL),'' junior safety Logan Berryhill said. "No matter what he says, we're going to listen.''

Berryhill said Rowe emphasizes learning about a quarterback's tendencies and reading his eyes, which usually allows a defensive back to take away part of the field and make the ball be thrown in a favorable area.

"He emphasizes taking the ball away, being elite in that area, to the point where we want to lead the country (in turnovers),'' sophomore safety Jaelen Stokes said. "He wants us to see the whole field, know what's going on at all times and react to what we see.''

Rowe said he has been pleased with his players, saying, "I might have the deepest room on the team, a lot of older guys in the room. We need to find creative ways to get them on the field and give them roles in the game.''

"We're pretty much confident in whoever goes into the game — all of us, really,'' Stokes said. "It's a very competitive room, but there's a lot of talent and skill. We compete every day, but we're always helping each other and trying to get better as a group.''

Rowe also played football at Cocoa High School, one of Florida's most powerful programs, but stuck to baseball at USF. He remembers being in the stands at Raymond James Stadium when the Bulls upset No. 9-ranked Louisville in 2005 and has an equally fond memory of Jessie Hester Jr. catching an overtime touchdown pass to cap USF's 2007 upset at No. 17 Auburn that helped propel the Bulls to No. 2 in the AP poll later that season.

In baseball, Rowe was on a USF baseball team that registered a two-game sweep of a Florida team that wound up in the College World Series. He pitched against many great players, including Miami All-American Ryan Braun, who became a six-time major-league All-Star and belted 352 home runs in the big leagues.

But in the back of Rowe's mind, he somehow knew he would wind up working in football.

He's happy to be a coach — and a mentor — to his USF players. He said "the time was right'' for a Bulls reunion and now he's intent on helping USF football return to its past glory.

"They have questions about the NFL and I do talk about it, but it's not so much the lights, camera, action type of stuff,'' Rowe said. "It's more about the way some guys prepare and how they are great teammates. It's about taking that next step of preparation and really working hard at being great at the game.

"I've seen the whole process — from interviewing guys at the combine to working guys out at a pro day to helping the GM and coaches decide who we're going to draft or who we're going to cut. I've seen all the in's and out's. Hopefully, I can provide them with information, help them make good decisions and prepare them for what their life would be like.''

–     #GoBulls –