USF starting quarterback B.J. Daniels is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks and will be limited in spring practice after undergoing surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder on Friday. The surgery repaired a partially torn rotator cuff from an injury suffered in USF's Nov. 21 game against Louisville.

A release from USF on Monday said Daniels will be held out of all
contact drills and scrimmages in the spring, which leaves the Bulls
without a scholarship quarterback on the current roster.

"We wish B.J. a full recovery," coach Skip Holtz said in a statement. "As much as we would love for him to participate fully in spring practice, our No. 1 objective is to make sure he has a complete and healthy recovery. I'm sure he wants to be out there going full-bore with his teammates on a daily basis, but his participation in meetings and in practice will be very beneficial to his progress as a quarterback."

USF will be adjusting to a new offense, with assistant Todd Fitch expected to run Holtz's offense after working as co-offensive coordinator on his East Carolina staff. Daniels started USF's final 10 games of 2009 after senior Matt Grothe was lost to a season-ending knee injury. Daniels passed for 1,983 yards and rushed for a team-high 772 yards, accounting for 23 total touchdowns.

Daniels' top backup, Evan Landi, had said before USF's bowl game that his plan was to move full-time to receiver, and walk-on Ryan Eppes had been moved to safety before getting some work at quarterback. Given that Landi has a year of experience as a quarterback, it's hard to imagine him not moving back to quarterback at least for the spring.

USF has a commitment from one quarterback, Georgia's Jamius "Jay" Gunsby, but their quarterback situation is perilously thin as is, especially if Daniels is recovering from surgery. USF's release said Daniels should be fully recovered for summer voluntary workouts and preseason practice. It also said that Daniels had tried to heal the injury through extensive rehabilitation, but trainers decided surgery was the best option for his recovery.

-- USF has tentatively announced that spring practice will start March 16, with the spring game set for April 17 at Raymond James Stadium.