This is the first week of spring evaluation for USF's football coaches, and the Bulls are opening their recruiting efforts out of the state of Florida. In-state talent will always be the backbone of USF's recruiting efforts, but one of the new areas the Bulls are targeting is a collection of talented quarterbacks in Houston.

Offensive coordinator Mike Canales was in southeast Houston on Monday at Chavez High, where Andre Kelly, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback, is getting all kinds of attention. Kelly has drawn recruiting interest from schools like Texas A&M, Houston, TCU and Arizona, but Chavez coach Mike Jackson said his visit with Canales went very well.

"Andre was genuinely excited and upbeat," Jackson said. "More so than when TCU and Arizona came around, he just seemed to have a little hop in his step. ... (Canales) said they're hitting Houston to look at some of the quarterbacks, and I respect their dligence."

Kelly is a solid prospect who has led Chavez to the state playoffs in both his seasons as starter. Despite being limited to nine games by Hurricane Ike last fall, he threw for 2,062 yards, with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing 60 percent of his passes. He showed himself to be a threat running the ball as well, scoring 10 rushing touchdowns.

Jackson said Kelly's intelligence is perhaps his best asset, running a complicated no-huddle, multiple-formation offense with ease. "He's the smartest quarterback I've ever had," he said.

Jackson said that Canales would invite Kelly to USF's summer passing camp if he is one of the top five quarterbacks on the Bulls' board, and Jackson said he'd do whatever it took to get Kelly to Tampa, even if it meant driving him around the Gulf of Mexico to campus. USF's weeknight games on ESPN in recent years have given the Bulls good exposure out of their regional area -- "it seemed like every Thursday or Friday last year, I was watching them on ESPN," Jackson said.

Chavez has a website set up for its football program with a specific eye toward college recruiters. You can check out an impressive four-minute clip of video highlights of Kelly on this page.

Kelly isn't the only quarterback the Bulls are pursuing in Houston -- Jackson said Canales was headed west to Katy, Texas, to Morton Ranch High, where rising senior Sam Carter is another top prospect. We'll have more on USF's spring recruiting efforts, so keep checking back ...