1st and Ten – The St.
Nicholas trio – Position? Linebacker. State? Florida.
Ooooohh, those guys are good. The state of Florida spits out
athletes like baseball players do sunflower seeds and the
linebacker position is one area where finding the best the state
has to offer will reap huge dividends down the road. Case in
point, the USF Bulls. With a trio of linebackers that could
play anywhere in the nation, the Bull defense has the makings of
being the best in the Big East. Florida boys Ben Moffitt,
Patrick St. Louis and Stephen Nicholas are consistently all over
the field and have gained a reputation similar to that of most
Florida linebackers – fast, nasty and physical. As a group, the
Bull linebackers combined for 264 tackles, 40 tackles for a
loss, 12 sacks and 8 forced fumbles. 8! Those are astonishing
numbers to say the least. Nicholas is the most well-known (if
there is such a thing for these three) of the bunch and is the
play making ring leader. The senior from Jacksonville is quick
to the football and is active behind the line of scrimmage,
racking up 38.5 tackles for a loss in his career. Moffitt was
the leading tackler last season and is a rock hard hitter, who
also has a solid work ethic. St. Louis is a ‘Miami kid’ and
those words speak volumes – he has a solid football IQ, will lay
a hat on the ball carrier and is as tough as the day is long.
Put these three together behind the Bull defensive line and the
Bull defense is sitting pretty. It’s only taken 10 years for
the Bulls to reap the rewards of being in the state of Florida,
and it’s been kids like these three that have gotten them to a
bowl game. With another year like the last one, the St.
Nicholas trio will be headed North again in December/January for
the Bulls’ second consecutive bowl game.
2nd and Seven – Game breakers
breaking games wide open – While the defense was effective
against most every team in the Big East, the offense, well, they
had a few problems. The principle problem was the fact that the
offense was Andre Hall. Don’t you mean the offense featured
Hall? No, the offense was Hall. He led the team in
rushing, receiving and scoring, but he’s gone in 2006. As such,
this offense needs a playmaker, well, they need playmakers,
plural, but at least one will suffice. Amarri Jackson is
probably the most difficult threat to stop with his size and
athleticism and the Bull offensive staff must continue to find
ways to get him the ball, outside of the passing game. RB Moise
Plancher and Ricky Ponton will run behind a solid line that
returns three starters. Jackie Chambers will play opposite
Jackson and is as explosive as any other offensive player on
this roster. Maybe it’s Jessie Hester or LSU transfer Amp Hill
who’ll get the opportunity to make the big play. So, the good
news is that there are playmaking options. Consequently,
athletic ability isn’t the issue; it’s which one can
consistently make plays to put opposing defenses on their
heels. Jackson did that against Louisville and looked what
happened in that game. No one did against NC State and looked
what happened in that game.
3rd and Three – Please, oh
please, not a QB ‘situation’ – Let’s be frank about the QB
situation the past few years at USF – it’s been lousy. No one
has taken hold of that job since former Bull star QB Marquel
Blackwell exhausted his eligibility after the 2002 season.
Senior Pat Julmiste has stuck around the program and started
games in each of his first three years, but hasn’t taken the
ball as his own. In so doing, he opened the door for Jefferson
County’s Carlton Hill to take snaps as a true freshman and on
into the spring. Hill’s potential is through the roof,
especially as it pertains to open field running skills, but his
passing abilities must improve immensely to even be competitive
in the Big East. Julmiste is the fall back plan if Hill can’t
handle the prosperity, and as a relief man, he’s not bad. This
situation will turn into a positive one if Hill can be effective
with the ball in his hands. If not? Ouch. If there’s any
indication of what teams will see this year when they face this
Bull offense, the Bull coaching staff visited both Missouri and
Texas this spring. If you don’t understand what the coaching
staff hopes to get out of those visits, you’ve got issues.
4th and One – Final four
– The secondary for the Bulls is good. The secondary for the
Bulls is deep. The secondary for the Bulls takes a back seat to
no one in the Big East. For as talented as the components are
in the secondary, it’s what each of them bring and how they fit
together that makes them, as a unit, stellar. At the corner
spots, they have lock down, physical corners in Trae Williams
and Mike Jenkins, who combined for four picks last season. At
safety, they have depth with Merritt Island’s Danny Verpaele
returning from a season ending injury in 2005 and impressive
athletic ability across the board. Last year, the Bulls gave up
only 165 yards per game and with this group that number should
shrink in 2006.