South Florida 2012 Recruiting

2012 South Florida Bulls ... Head Coach: Skip Holtz

South Florida Bulls

2011 Record: 5-7

Sep. 3 at Notre Dame W 23-20
Sep. 10 Ball State W 37-7
Sep. 17 Florida A&M 70-17
Sep. 24 UTEP W 52-24
Sep. 29 at Pitt L 44-17
Oct. 8 OPEN DATE
Oct. 15 at Connecticut L 16-10
Oct. 22 Cincinnati L 37-34
Oct. 29 OPEN DATE
Nov. 5 at Rutgers L 20-17 OT
Nov. 11 at Syracuse W 37-17
Nov. 19 Miami L 6-3
Nov. 25 Louisville L 34-24
Dec. 1 West Virginia L 30-27

2010 CFN Prediction: 8-4
2010 Record: 8-5

Sept. 4 Stony Brook W 59-14
Sept. 11 at Florida L 38-14
Sept. 18 OPEN DATE
Sept. 25 WKU W 24-12
Oct. 2 Florida Atlantic W 31-3
Oct. 9 Syracuse L 13-9
Oct. 14 at West Virginia L 20-6
Oct. 22 at Cincinnati W 38-30
Oct. 30 OPEN DATE
Nov. 3 Rutgers W 28-27
Nov. 13 at Louisville W 24-21 OT
Nov. 20 Pitt L 17-10
Nov. 27 at Miami W 23-20 OT
Dec. 4 Connecticut L 19-16
Meineke Car Care Bowl
Dec. 31 Clemson W 31-26
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 The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 South Florida Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. TE Sean Price
6-4, 225, Scout.com 7th ranked, four-star tight end. Price is an elite tight end when talking hands and creating mis-matches. He can really separate from linebackers and get down to field to make big plays vertically. He has played more of a big wide receiver role most of his career, so he will need to work on blocking, playing off the offensive tackle, and getting off the ball when lined up on the line of scrimmage. He is very athletic, he loves to compete, and he's talented.

2. WR D’Vario Montgomery
6-3, 211, Scout.com 22nd ranked, four-star receiver.

3. OG James Hamilton
6-4, 335, Scout.com 29th ranked, three-star guard.

4. CB Chris Bivins
6-0, 170, Scout.com 41st ranked, three-star cornerback.

5. OT Kameron Davis
6-5, 290, Scout.com 81st ranked, three-star tackle.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... The lines. Skip Holtz has the skill players in place after loading up over the last few years, and the defensive front was addressed heavily three years ago. Now the D could use a boost up front for down the road, while the offensive line has a depth issue that has to be addressed as soon as possible. Holtz is mining the JUCO ranks and is going outside of the state to bring in talent.

Team Concerns For 2012: The secondary loses a few key starters and needs more options for nickel and dime packages. Holtz is has a few JUCO transfers coming in to help right away, but this will be a need area to upgrade over the next few classes. The defensive front needs more players for the rotation, and this class should bring them.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: What’s next after the awful 1-7 run after such a strong start? The defense was among the best in America at getting into the backfield, and the run defense was terrific. The front seven will once again be outstanding with Ryne Giddens back at one end and the entire linebacking corps returning including leading tackler DeDe Lattimore. The secondary loses FS Jerrell Young and CB Quenton Washington, but it should still be a good year for the pass defense thanks to the pass rush. QB B.J. Daniels is a crusty veteran who has to be consistent, and he’ll get the chance to shine with a good line coming back and all his weapons returning. RB Darrell Scott bolted a year early for the NFL, but Demetris Murray can pick up the slack.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Receivers. The offensive line got a huge boost with Max Lang, Darrell Williams, and Boo Simon all good tackle prospects who should be the anchors up front in the next three years, and the defense got some help with Corian Hamilton and Chris Garye two strong safety prospects, but the stars of the class are at receiver with Andre Davis a local product who should become a special No. 1 target. Ruben Gonzalez and Alex Mut are also nice gets who’ll boost up the Skip Holtz passing attack.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 47. That Class Was Heavy On ... Skill players. Skip Holtz had roughly five minutes to work, but he still kept most of the key players Jim Leavitt originally pitched. Jamius Gunsby is a big, athletic playmaker of a quarterback who'll get a few years to develop, while Marcus Shaw and Tiger Powell are good looking speed backs who could find roles early on if JUCO transfer Michael Hayes and his 4.3 speed doesn't take over the workload. Jamaal Mantague and Deonte Welch might not be five-star receiver prospects, but they're going to be good. Defensively, JUCO transfer Claude Davis will be asked to step in right away and fill a gaping hole at one end, and top corner Terrence Mitchell will get a chance to see time in the rotation.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 25. That Class Was Heavy On ... The defensive line. Can you say epic haul? Jim Leavitt is retooling his defensive front on the fly, with a mix of talented ends and tackles from junior college, post-graduate schools, and high schools. George Selvie, Aaron Harris, and Terrell McClain won’t be around forever, so it was important to bring new reinforcements to ensure the success of the defense for the foreseeable future. DT Leslie Stirrups was supposed to be one of the cornerstones of the 2006 class, but is just now making it to Tampa after problems with grades.

Dec. 2 West Virginia 30 … at South Florida 27  

CFN Analysis: After beating Notre Dame to start the year, and after going 4-0, would anyone have ever believed the Bulls would finish out of the bowl picture and losers of seven of their last eight? … Five games were decided by six points or fewer and four of them were lost by a field goal. The positive spin for Skip Holtz is that his team was really, really close to having a good year. … The pass rush had its moments, but it allowed QB Geno Smith to get way too much time to throw. Even so, until the last seven minutes, the D did its job. … B.J. Daniels only completed 21-of-44 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown with a pick, but he ran for 23 yards and a score.

(AP) TAMPA, Fla. -- West Virginia (No. 23 BCS, No. 22 AP) did its part to earn a spot in the Bowl Championship Series, clinching a tie for the Big East title by beating South Florida.

Now, the Mountaineers (9-3, 5-2) need some help to make this an even sweeter season under first-year coach Dana Holgorsen.

Tavon Austin returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, Pat Miller scored on a 52-yard interception return and Tyler Bitancurt kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Mountaineers their first victory in Tampa since 2005 and a portion of the conference title for the second straight year.

"I wasn't thinking about much of anything. I was just trying to stay calm and focused," Bitancurt said. "I've kicked one to win a game as time expired, but never to win a Big East championship." West Virginia pulled even with Louisville in the conference standings and likely will receive the league's automatic BCS berth if Cincinnati beats Connecticut on Saturday to create a three-way tie for the league title.

Louisville earned its share of the crown by beating USF last week. The Cardinals hold the tiebreaker over West Virginia if the race ends in a two-way tie, but the Mountaineers likely will receive the coveted BCS berth if Cincinnati beats UConn at home to force a three-way deadlock.

Under that scenario, the league's BCS spot goes to the team that's ranked highest in the final BCS rankings. That should work out for West Virginia, the only one of those teams that was ranked this week.

"Cincinnati is a good team. They're well coached. They don't need our words of wisdom to want to win the game and be co-Big East champs as well," Holgorsen said. "I think they'll be playing pretty hard."

USF (5-7, 1-6) finished its season on a three-game losing streak and failed to qualify for a bowl bid for the first time in seven years.

Four of USF's losses came in the closing seconds of games the Bulls easily could have won.

"You can't ask this team to play with any more passion and any more heart," coach Skip Holtz said. "I've had teams in my past with better records. I don't know that I've had a team that has probably taught me more through handling adversity and perseverance and having a positive attitude."

Geno Smith set up Bitancurt's third field goal of the night with a 26-yard completion to Stedman Bailey on fourth-and-10 from the USF 42. The junior from Miami also led an 11-play, 78-yard drive that Dustin Garrison finished with a 5-yard TD run to make it 27-all with just more than 5 minutes to go.

The Mountaineers, who fell behind when JaQuez Jenkins returned one of USF's two interceptions 24 yards for a 27-20 lead, began the winning drive from their own 26 after the Bulls' B.J. Daniels drove his team into field goal range before Najee Goode forced a fumble by the quarterback.

Daniels returned from a shoulder injury to throw for one touchdown and run for another. He scored on a 1-yard sneak 5 minutes into the fourth quarter and finished 21-of-44 passing for 226 yards. Darrell Scott rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries for the Bulls.

Smith completed 23 of 35 passes for 237 yards and was intercepted twice. Garrison finished with 87 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

South Florida, wrapping up its second season under Holtz, lost seven of eight following a 4-0 start that included a win at Notre Dame. That victory lifted the Bulls into the top 25 for a four-week stay that ended when they dropped their Big East opener. The third losing season in the school's relatively brief football history ended a streak of six consecutive bowl appearances.

USF went 5-6 in 1997 -- the year former coach Jim Leavitt began the program from scratch -- and again in 2003, the Bulls' first season in Conference USA.

Daniels started for USF after injuring his throwing shoulder against Miami on Nov. 19 and sitting out last week's 34-24 loss to Louisville. West Virginia had 10 sacks -- four by tackle Julian Miller -- during its win over Pitt, but the Mountaineers were not nearly as effective rushing the passer Thursday night.

Normally a threat to run as well as throw, Daniels only scrambled by necessity. His 20-yard TD pass to Sterling Griffin trimmed a 10-0 deficit to three points in the second quarter, although it took instant replay to get the points on the scoreboard. Griffin initially was ruled out of bounds, but a replay showed the receiver got one foot down in the end zone as he was gaining possession.

The Mountaineers made a number of mistakes that helped the Bulls stay close early.

In addition to settling for a 23-yard field goal after a false start penalty on fourth-and-goal from the USF 1, linebacker Jared Barber dropped a possible interception during the drive that produced USF's first touchdown. Bitancurt missed a first-quarter field goal try that followed a short punt.

Devon Brown fumbled at the end of a 21-yard catch and run early in the third quarter, with USF recovering at its 2-yard line to deny the Mountaineers another scoring opportunity. Smith's only interception, some poor tackling and a pass interference penalty in the end zone led to Maikon Bonani's 20-yard field goal that trimmed USF's deficit to 20-13 late in the third.

West Virginia finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak, beating Cincinnati 24-21, Pittsburgh 21-20 and going down to the wire again Thursday night.

"Real simple. For three weeks in a row, we've put ourselves in precarious situations and figured out a way to win the game in the end. Just give the guys a bunch of credit for hanging in there, continuing to play and not caving in," Holgorsen said. "The way we pulled it out is who this team has become. We figure out ways to win."

Nov. 25 Louisville 34 … at South Florida 24
CFN Analysis: It’s going to take a win over West Virginia just to become bowl eligible in a season full of collapses. The Bulls have now lost six of their last seven, and this one might hurts because the defense died. … Up 17-3 it seemed like everything was in place to pull off a win and save the season, but instead the mistakes started coming, the defense didn’t come up with the key stop it needed, and the team was outscored 34-7. … Bobby Eveld did a nice job in place of B.J. Daniels, completing 20-of-35 passes for 210 yards and a score with a pick, but he failed to get the offense moving in the fourth quarter and he couldn’t come up with the rally. The game isn’t on him, though. This was on the D. 

Nov. 19 Miami 6 … at South Florida 3
CFN Analysis: This was a disastrous loss for USF, even though it wasn’t in conference play. The loss of QB B.J. Daniels to a shoulder injury was the one thing the team couldn’t afford with Louisville and West Virginia coming up and a win needed to get bowl eligible. Even with five losses in the last six games, there’s still time to turn things back around even if Daniels can’t go. … The pass rush destroyed Miami, but it couldn’t get the one stop it needed in the final moments. The Bulls finished with 11 tackles for loss and six sacks, while DeDe Lattimore finished with ten tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss. … Bobby Evels completed 5-of-9 passes for 36 yards, but as long as Daniels is hurting, it’ll be up to Darrell Scott to get the running game going behind an O line that’s been having problems. The ground attack has to take over.  

Nov. 12 South Florida 37 … at Syracuse 17
CFN Analysis: Finally, South Florida started playing like it’s supposed to. After losing four straight, all in the Big East, B.J. Daniels took the team on his shoulders throwing for 254 yards and running for 117 yards and a score. The Orange didn’t have any way of stopping him. … Demetris Murray added a nice balance to Daniels with 86 hard yards and two scores. He did a nice job of working inside and out. … The ten penalties were a bit too many, but the turnover problems stopped with just one fumble. … The defense wasn’t a rock, but it was good enough to get by and it held firm against the run. … The season starts now. With three straight home games, starting out with Miami and followed up by Louisville and West Virginia. It’s going to take more than Daniels to go on a winning run.  

Nov. 5 at Rutgers 20 … South Florida 17 OT
CFN Analysis: The Bulls are so close to having a decent year, but this is the third straight winnable game they gave away after dominating on the defensive front and doing just enough offensively to get by. The defensive front was awesome, finishing with five tackles for loss, 12 assisted tackles for loss, and four sacks led by De De Lattimore’s 11 tackles and two sacks, but the special teams breakdown allowing a kickoff return for a score in the fourth was too devastating to overcome. Rutgers had all the momentum from then on, including the final drive in regulation to force overtime. This was devastating, and now USF is 0-4 in conference play and dead last in the standings with a trip to Syracuse up next. The final three games are at home and there’s time to turn things around. The rushing offense leads the league and the defense has been fantastic, but there hasn’t been anything to show for it.

Oct. 22 Cincinnati 37 … at South Florida 34
CFN Analysis: And now the wheels have come off. At home, with a late lead, and a defense that’s athletic enough and talented enough to come up with a big stop, it failed. The secondary couldn’t keep the Bearcats under wraps and the defensive front couldn’t contain Zach Collaros when it needed to get into the backfield. B.J. Daniels was brilliant, throwing for 409 yards and three scores while running for 54 yards, but he doesn’t play defense. The four turnovers were a disaster and there was only one sack, but things aren’t that bad despite the big slide. 0-3 in the Big East is ugly, but if all the parts can play well at once, the year can turn around in a hurry. With Rutgers and Syracuse up next, the Bulls have to keep the mistakes to a minimum, which wasn’t a problem over the first half of the year. 

Oct. 15 at Connecticut 16 … South Florida 10
CFN Analysis: South Florida destroyed the UConn offense at times with the great pass rush, and the Bull ground game worked well with B.J. Daniels, Darrell Scott, and Demetris Murray forming a three-headed monster on the ground, but three Daniels turnovers four turnovers as a team, along with nine penalties, were just enough to equal a tough loss in a winnable game. After sitting around for two weeks after the loss at Pitt, this was not the performance Skip Holtz wanted. The home game against Cincinnati is a must win with the way the Bulls are playing on the road and with Rutgers and Syracuse up next on the road. To win, the Bulls have to start winning the turnover margin again and the Daniels has to stop screwing up.

Sept. 29 at Pitt 44 … South Florida 17
CFN Analysis: Where was the fire for USF? It was like the energy level was at 3 compared to the flying around, ultra-aggressive defense rocked over the first three weeks. The pass rush wasn’t there, there were too many missed tackles, and the D couldn’t get off the field as Pitt held on to the ball for 36:10. USF actually moved the ball a bit with a good, balanced day with Darrell Scott averaging 6.3 yards per carry and B.J. Daniels running for 43 yards and a score and throwing for 223 yards. The offense might not have been great, but it can’t be blamed. This was on the defense that didn’t bring it’s a game, and it needs to be a much different story at UConn next week.

Sept. 24 at South Florida 52 … UTEP 24
CFN Analysis: The offense picked up where it left off against Florida A&M, and it’s hitting its stride at just the right time with Big Eat play and a trip to Pitt coming up on Thursday. B.J. Daniels is having a special year and was nearly perfect with 130 rushing yards and a score, highlighted by his 71-yard dash, and he threw for 202 yards and two scores. The pass rush continues to be great and the takeaways continue to come with three picks helping make this a blowout. The team couldn’t be playing any better. 

Sept. 17 at South Florida 70 ... Florida A&M 17
CFN Analysis: This was nothing more than a scrimmage for the Bulls, but it was still good to get all the pieces rolling on the way to a 3-0 start. UTEP isn’t miserable, but consider it a total shock if USF isn’t 4-0 before kicking off Big East play against Pitt. B.J. Daniels too target practice, completing 21-of-31 passes for 382 yards and four scores, while Darrell Scott looked like the mega-recruit he once was for Colorado with 146 yards and three scores on 12 carries. The nine penalties were a bit much, but that’s nitpicking for a game like this; the Bulls emptied the bench and didn’t have any problems walking away with the breather. Now it’s about being consistent. Daniels has to be a playmaker week in and week out. 

Sept. 10 at South Florida 37 … Ball State 7
CFN Analysis: There was hardly any hangover from the Notre Dame win, with the defense dialing it up a few notches holding the Cardinals to just 225 yards and didn’t allow a score until the game was well out of reach. DeDe Lattimore was terrific with a sack, seven tackles, and a tackle for loss, and the punting game was fantastic with Justin Brockhaus-Kann averaging 45.8 yards per kick, putting Ball State in poor spots time and again, but the real excitement is over a 359-yard passing day from B.J. Daniels. He’s not going to put up big numbers on a regular basis, and the Cardinal defense is hardly a brick wall, but he had a huge day, while running back Darrell Scott came up with 82 yards and a touchdown. The Bulls will be 4-0 with layups against Florida A&M and UTEP up next before going to Pitt, and Daniels will get even more time to and more chances to gear up for the start of the Big East season at Pitt. 

Sept. 3 South Florida 23 … at Notre Dame 20
CFN Analysis: The Bulls didn’t exactly do much on offense with a mere 128 passing yards and 126 on the ground, but there weren’t any turnovers. The nine penalties were a problem, but considering the rain delays and with the major momentum swing after the first stoppage, the Bulls did more than okay. The story is more about how the Irish messed things up, but USF did its part to force the errors. No matter how it might have looked and no matter how mediocre the offense was, a win at Notre Dame is a win at Notre Dame. Now it should be smooth sailing for the next three weeks before going to Pitt. Yes, this was a statement game for Skip Holtz’s program. 

The 2011 Class Is Heavy On … Receivers. The offensive line got a huge boost with Max Lang, Darrell Williams, and Boo Simon all good tackle prospects who should be the anchors up front in the next three years, and the defense got some help with Corian Hamilton and Chris Garye two strong safety prospects, but the stars of the class are at receiver with Andre Davis a local product who should become a special No. 1 target. Ruben Gonzalez and Alex Mut are also nice gets who’ll boost up the Skip Holtz passing attack.

Five South Florida Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. WR Andre Davis
Davis is going to be a quarterback favorite on the next level. He runs very good routes, he really dips his hips well when getting in and out of his routes, and he plays at a steady speed. He is not a burner that will consistently run away from defenses, but he does get separation, he does have reliable hands, and he does know how to get open. He needs to work on being more explosive and getting stronger.

2. OT Max Lang
6-5, 280, Scout.com’s 49th ranked offensive tackle

3. LB Edsel Caprice
6-2, 200, Scout.com’s 55th ranked outside linebacker

4. WR Ruben Gonzalez
6-3, 185, Scout.com’s 81st ranked receiver

5. WR Alex Mut
He is a terrific all around athlete with light feet and solid speed. Mut will catch everything thrown his way and runs precise routes with a keen understanding of the position. Mut lacks the ability to make players miss in space, he should be a possession type. He has shutdown top opposing WRs while playing CB.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Matt Floyd QB 6-1 191 Milton, Fla./Milton
Mike Juene LB 6-0 215 Jacksonville, Fla./Independence CC
Antoine Pozniak LB 6-1 210 Jersey City, NJ/ Oak Ridge Acad.
Darrell Williams OL 6-4 245 Orlando, Fla./Evans
Alex Mut WR 6-2 185 Port Charlotte, Fla./Charlotte
Edsel Caprice LB 6-1 195 Cape Coral, Fla./Cape Coral
Kenneth Durden DB 6-1 162 Valdosta, Ga./Lowndes
Max Lang OL 6-5 268 Orlando, Fla./Boone
Ty Turner FB 6-2 245 Griffin, Ga./Griffin
Ruben Gonzalez WR 6-2 194 Tampa, Fla./Robinson
Thor Jozwiak OL 6-3 290 Eagle Lake, Fla./Lake Region
Zack Bullock LB 6-4 206 Sebring, Fla./Sebring
Clavion Nelson DL 6-4 230 Hollywood, Fla./South Broward
Brynjar Gudmundsson OL 6-4 285 Wellington, Fla./Wellington
Willie Davis RB 5-9 195 Lithonia, Ga./Stephenson
Elkino Watson DL 6-1 291 Miami, Fla./Booker T. Washington
David "Boo" Simon OL 6-4 285 Bay Minette, Ala./Baldwin Co.
Marquis White OL 6-4 310 Orlando, Fla./Olympia/NC Tech
Andre Davis WR 6-1 197 Tampa, Fla./Jefferson
Corian Hamilton LB 6-1 224 Orlando, Fla./Olympia
C.J. Garye DB 6-1 210 Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln