Our story in Saturday's paper to advance the season opener against Tennessee-Martin will focus on the tremendous balance USF has on offense, spreading the ball around to so many different players. Nowhere is that more apparent than at receiver, where there are arguably seven players with starter-caliber talent. That means defenses don't know where the ball is going -- heck, offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said he doesn't know who's in for a big game before kickoff. The returning experience and sheer depth here are reasons for the optimism about continued improvement on offense this season.

THE BIG THREE: USF lists four receivers on its depth chart, part of a bloated 13-starter offense, but there are three returning receivers who each had at least 30 catches and 400 yards last season, tying for the team lead with four touchdown catches each. In sophomore Carlton Mitchell, junior Jessie Hester and senior Taurus Johnson, Matt Grothe has three receivers he's supremely familiar and comfortable with. Mitchell broke out in the second half of last season -- after 15 catches in first eight games, he had 22 in the next four, including the only two 100-yard games by a USF receiver. Mitchell missed most of the bowl game with an injury, then had hernia surgery that sidelined him much of spring, but he looks to be back at full strength. Johnson, too, was sidelined by an ankle injury during USF's three-game losing streak. It's telling that Johnson has won USF's Offensive Playmaker honor each of the last two years, yet has only five career starts. The third is Hester, best remembered for his overtime touchdown in USF's win at Auburn. His 64 yards in that game remain a career high, so there's still room for more of a breakout from him.

THE NEXT THREE: Senior Marcus Edwards is a respected team leader, as shown by his being chosen as a team captain seven times last season as a junior. His bio in the media guide plainly calls him a possession receiver, a trusted option on USF's quick bubble screen. He averaged little more than 10 yards a catch, but is probably as firmly entrenched as a starter as any receiver.

Two sophomores most often mentioned as breakout candidates are A.J. Love and Dontavia Bogan, who showed flashes last season in their debuts. Love has been the talk of camp, pushing ahead of Mitchell for a starting spot on the depth chart. Love didn't have a catch until the ninth game last year -- and fumbled that one -- but got eight catches the rest of the way, including a touchdown in the Sun Bowl. Bogan, who stepped into a big role when Johnson was hurt last year, has gone under the radar in preseason, but has a knack for highlight-reel catches, laying his body out and extending his arms for grabs others just don't make. Both of these could easily double their stats from a year ago.

THE REST: True freshman Daniel Bryant is expected to play this fall, and he's in this third subgroup only because he's an unknown, with great speed, good size at 6-foot-2 and enough playmaking ability to avoid a redshirt even in a group as deep as this. Redshirt freshman Patrick Richardson is listed on the two-deep and might be a year away from making a big impact; walk-on Jeffrey "Pookie" Wilson, quickly becoming a blog regular, is also on the two-deep just six months after making the team in open tryouts.

There's still three scholarship receivers who have yet to make a name for themselves -- sophomores Ed Alcin and Jason Sherman each had a single catch last season and remain third-string options, and Colby Erskin, a former walk-on who had established himself as one of USF's top receivers in spring 2007, is still working to recover from a second major knee surgery he underwent this spring. The team has three more walk-ons -- track standout Antwon Hanks, 6-5 Rhett Hamrick, and spring addition Justin Wilkins -- who might dress but likely won't get much game action.