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More notes on USF's first commitments for 2013
Sunday's big news was that USF picked up its first two commitments for 2013 in Immokalee's Tshumbi Johnson and Xavier Richardson, who will both play receiver for the Bulls. Those two were part of a group of eight players who drove up from Immokalee for USF's Junior Day and could be a bigger part of USF's next recruiting class.
We had the chance Sunday night to talk with Immokalee coach Jerrod Ackley, who gave more insights into these two players and USF's recruiting efforts. ...
-- Johnson (5-11, 175) will play slot receiver at USF, but he's been a three-year starter at quarterback for Immokalee, earning first-team all-state honors last fall after totaling 44 touchdowns -- 25 passing and 19 rushing.
"Tshumbi is a phenomenal football player," said Ackley, noting that Georgia Tech was recruiting Johnson as a quarterback, but most schools were looking at him as a receiver. Florida coach Will Muschamp was "very interested" in him as a defensive back, Ackley said. ... Read more
Versatile Ervilus brings athleticism to USF football
TAMPA -- In recruiting jargon, a football player is often dubbed an "athlete" when his skills aren't limited to a single position, or even one side of the ball.
Guito Ervilus, by nearly any jargon, is an athlete.
The USF signee didn't take up football until his sophomore year at Orlando's Oak Ridge High, when football coach Elijah Williams convinced the basketball player to try on a set of pads. With a lean 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, he has lined up as a receiver, a tight end, a defensive end, a linebacker -- so while his first look as a Bull will be at defensive end, that's really just the start.
"He could end up anywhere," said Williams, himself a former Florida running back who wound up playing defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons from 1998-2001. ... Read more
Jesuit QB Tommy Eveld to join Bulls as walk-on
USF football has picked up another quarterback for 2012, as Tampa Jesuit senior Tommy Eveld accepted an offer Thursday night to join the Bulls as a preferred walk-on.
Eveld, who was weighing USF's walk-on opportunity against small-school offers, will join the team with the rest of USF's incoming recruiting class in July and go with the Bulls to preseason camp in Vero Beach.
"I knew I wanted to play Division I football somewhere, and I've always wanted to go to USF," said Eveld, who told USF quarterbacks coach Peter Vaas of his decision Thursday night. "(Vaas) said he was real excited and they're glad to have me."
He's the second quarterback to accept a walk-on offer from the Bulls in the last two weeks, joining Palmetto's Trenton Miller. Eveld is hoping to follow in the same path as his brother Bobby, who walked on with the Bulls in 2010 and earned a scholarship after just one semester. Bobby Eveld has been the top backup to USF starter B.J. Daniels for the past two seasons, stepping in as a starter twice when Daniels was sidelined by injuries. ... Read more
Links! Signing day notes and, yes, Quavon Taylor
Remember links posts on the blog? Used to do them all the time. Today's a good day to bring it back, with lots of notes with ties to USF, some more direct than others. We'll start with a few non-recruiting ones ...
-- Very sad to hear that former Saint Louis basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour had died Wednesday at 72. Spoonhour remained close friends with USF athletic director Doug Woolard from their days at SLU together. Here's a great remembrance from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and a story where Charlie talked about Woolard back in 2007 (back when it was the old St. Petersburg Times.) ... Read more
Recruiting notes: McGeoghan, Fitch draw praise
For a day that had few actual surprises, there's a ton of notes to share about USF's 2012 recruiting class -- today's the first chance we have to talk to Skip Holtz and his staff about the players and exactly how they fit in. It might not all come today, and we'll get a post up that's just coaches talking about the 11 new additions today, since we addressed the nine midyear guys last month.
-- Holtz praised his whole staff for their recruiting efforts, but assistants Phil McGeoghan and Todd Fitch are picking up a lot of attention. McGeoghan was tabbed by 247sports.com as one of the nation's top 50 recruiters after serving as primary recruiter for three of USF's top signees in tight end Sean Price, cornerback Chris Bivins and linebacker Tashon Whitehurst. Fitch, who recruits the Orlando area for USF, helped the Bulls land five players from there, including top receiver D'vario Montgomery and athletic defensive end Guito Ervilus. ... Read more
Bulls land LB Whitehurst, OL Davis as signees
(UPDATE: Trying to get more signing-day pics from the newest Bulls -- here's one from running back Mike Pierre. And here's one of Armwood safety Jarvis McCall from the Times' Laura Keeley.)
USF has gone 2-for-2 in its signing-day decisions, as the Bulls have formally announced the additions of Gainesville linebacker Tashon Whitehurst and Oakland Park offensive lineman Kam Davis.
The Bulls beat out Big East rivals for both recruits -- Davis was deciding between the Bulls and West Virginia, while Whitehurst, a Syracuse commitment, had visited Rutgers just 10 days ago. The two additions put USF at 10 confirmed signings, and the Times' Laura Keeley confirmed at 11:45 a.m. that Armwood safety Jarvis McCall has signed with the Bulls, potentially completing the 2012 class. Counting the nine newcomers who started classes last month, USF now has 20 new scholarship players on board. ... Read more
Signing day: Price, Montgomery official for USF
10:15 update: USF now has eight signees confirmed -- add RB Mike Pierre and DE Daniel Perry to those we listed earlier. All that's left is Armwood safety Jarvis McCall among USF's commitments, and he's due to sign at 11 a.m. ... One player USF had courted late, Orlando Lake Brantley running back Tion Green, will stick with his commitment to Cincinnati, coach George Clayton said this morning. Green is likely headed to a junior college due to academics, however, so don't be surprised if USF is on him again when he comes back around in 2014.
It's only 9:30, but national signing day is well underway -- we have six confirmed USF signings as expected by Bulls commitments, including a pair of four-star recruits in Orlando receiver D'vario Montgomery and Citra North Marion tight end Sean Price.
USF successfully held off late charges by national powers -- LSU was working on Montgomery and Price was being courted by Oklahoma. Four others have made their commitments official in Georgia offensive lineman Kofi Amichia, Orlando defensive end Guito Ervilus, Pensacola cornerback Jalen Spencer and Plant City receiver LaMarlin Wiggins. ... Read more
Palmetto QB Miller accepts USF walk-on offer
The night before national signing day, USF has picked up a new quarterback for 2012, as Palmetto's Trenton Miller said he has accepted the Bulls' offer to join the team as a preferred walk-on.
Miller said he was accepted into school at USF on Tuesday and has been told he has a spot on the Bulls' 105-man roster, allowing him to work with the team from the start of preseason practice. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback, who transferred to Palmetto from New York before his senior year, had Division I-AA scholarship offers from Monmouth, Wagner and Sacred Heart.
USF is not expected to sign a scholarship quarterback in the 2012 class, having lost commitment Tyler Cameron to Wake Forest. The Bulls return starter B.J. Daniels as a senior in 2012, with junior Bobby Eveld and redshirt freshman Matt Floyd as backups. The Bulls also have walk-on Baylin Trujillo, who redshirted as a freshman last fall. USF has offered a preferred walk-on spot to Jesuit's Tommy Eveld, but he is waiting until after signing day to decide between the Bulls and offers from smaller schools. ... Read more
Bulls hope for strong finish on signing day
TAMPA -- It has been a quiet final month of recruiting for USF, but if Wednesday pans out as expected -- beating out Big East rivals for a pair of in-state prospects -- the Bulls will have closed out their 2012 class as a relative success.
Skip Holtz hopes to hear good news today from Gainesville linebacker Tashon Whitehurst, who had been a Syracuse commitment, and Oakland Park offensive lineman Kam Davis, who is deciding between USF and West Virginia. Both are rated as three-star recruits by Rivals.com, which has USF with the fifth-best class in the Big East. Holtz will have made it through January without losing a commitment, despite defensive coordinator Mark Snyder leaving for Texas A&M.
USF has held onto a pair of four-star recruits in Orlando receiver D'Vario Montgomery and Citra North Marion tight end Sean Price -- Montgomery was targeted by LSU in the past week, with Price drawing strong interest from Oklahoma and Georgia. And Holtz brought in eight newcomers in January (nine with grayshirt WR Alex Mut), giving them an early start to help fill the holes on a team that returns a strong nucleus from last fall's 5-7 team. ... Read more
Juco RB Pierre is Bulls' latest commitment
The biggest question for the final recruiting weekend before signing day -- would USF add a running back? -- has its answer, as the Bulls picked up a commitment Sunday from Mike Pierre, a recruit from Orlando who played the last two seasons at Golden West College in California.
"I liked the players, liked the coaches, liked the whole environment," said Pierre, who chose the Bulls over New Mexico State and East Carolina, which had pushed up to the last minute for him to cancel his USF visit and head there instead.
Pierre is the only running back in USF's 2012 class, giving the Bulls a little more depth behind senior starter Demetris Murray this fall. USF will have only one scholarship running back younger than a junior this fall, leaving the position wide-open for 2013 recruiting.
USF is still waiting to hear from Gainesville linebacker Tashon Whitehurst (who is announcing on Wednesday afternoon) and Oakland Park offensive lineman Kam Davis. A final-weekend visit by Bulls commitment D'vario Montgomery to Iowa State proved harmless, as he returned from his visit still committed to signing with USF on Wednesday.
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