In what continues to be a busy week for USF recruiting news, Curtis Weatherspoon, a 6-foot-1, 207-pound linebacker from Valdosta, Ga., said Sunday that he committed to USF last month and will join the Bulls in January after finishing classes at Dean College in Massachusetts.

Weatherspoon, who is the eighth commitment toward USF's 2010 recruiting class, had 56 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles as a freshman last fall. He chose USF over offers from Marshall and Bowling Green, and said he expected to be offered by Iowa State, but said his commitment is "very firm."

Weatherspoon, a non-qualifier out of Valdosta in 2008, had kept in touch with former Valdosta stars Carlton Williams and Cedric Hill, and the two Bulls gave him a tour of campus in May. Some schools had recruited him as a safety, but he said USF plans to use him as a weakside linebacker with a knack for blitzing.

"He was by far our best player. A great blitzer and just a very violent hitter," said Dean coach Todd Basey. "He'd work well in a nickel defense against spread offenses. He's the smartest player I've had in 26 years of coaching football."

Indeed, asked for his strengths on the football field, Weatherspoon said "my knowledge of football, my awareness on the field, my smarts." He said Dean utlizes a 3-5 defense in which his sole responsibility is blitzing the quarterback.

Weatherspoon, who was born in St. Petersburg and still has family there, will come to USF with two years of eligibility, plus a redshirt year available as well. He's the third junior college player among USF's eight commitments, joining defensive end Claude Davis and offensive lineman Justin Green.

Lots more to come from Jim Leavitt's appearance at the Pinellas Preseason Tailgate at Capogna's Dugout in Clearwater, including some offensive-line news ...