We're starting to get our first word of players who were passed over on signing day accepting invitations to walk on with the Bulls. With the number of former walk-ons in significant roles at USF -- Ben Williams and Jake Sims this fall, for starters -- it's hardly anything trivial anymore.

One name to add to the list of incoming Bulls: Chase Geaney, a linebacker and co-captain from powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, which won a state championship last fall after reaching the title game for the fourth time in four years.

Geaney, much like incoming freshman Quavon Taylor, is undersized at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, and like Taylor, he's played in a leadership position at a high level of high school football. Geaney, playing at middle and outside linebacker with a bit of defensive end, had 57.5 tackles -- third-most on a stacked Aquinas defense -- and 10 tackles for loss. He drew interest from I-AA schools and Ivy League schools (more on that in a sec) but liked the idea of staying close to home at USF.

"I'm very excited," said Geaney (GAIN-ee). "I was looking to stay in Florida, and I had a Bright Futures scholarship, so it made a lot of sense."

Geaney was accepted into Yale and Dartmouth and was being recruited by Harvard, but said the Ivy League wasn't a reasonable option financially. He graduated with a 4.1 weighted grade-point average, was a member of the National Honor Society and scored a 1280 on the SAT.

Geaney might just be the beginning for USF and St. Thomas Aquinas, as the Bulls are recruiting three rising senior receivers -- Dwayne Difton, who briefly committed to USF, as well as Gabe Holmes and Duron Carter.

(photo courtesy Aquinasfootball.com)