SB Nation - Jessie Hester

South Florida Bulls @ Florida State Seminoles Preview: can the Noles avoid the Bulls' horns?

FSUncensored — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:30:37 -0000

This is part 1. Here is part 2: http://www.tomahawknation.com/2009/9/25/1054873/the-preview-part-2-south-floridas

For the first time ever, the South Florida Bulls will take on the Florida State Seminoles. Gametime is Noon. The game is on ESPNU.

I'm scared of this game. Not because I think USF is good, but because I think the Seminoles are in a bad spot. Riding high off their 54-28 win over #7 ranked BYU, FSU is banged up. Really banged up. They are without DT Moses McCray and DT Justin Mincey. Their only healthy defensive tackles are undersized senior Kendrick Stewart, promising freshman Jacobbi McDaniel- who has a bum MCL, and the high on energy but low on effectiveness Budd Thacker. Additionally, both rovers, senior Corey Mangum and freshman Nick Moody are banged up. Additionally, FSU's lame duck defensive ends coach, Jody Allen, continues to hold a grudge and insists on starting the worst starter in my lifetime (both '85)- walk on defensive end Craig Yarborough.

There are also some situational factors in this game. USF has played the worst schedule in the country, and it is not close. The Bulls faced two 1-AA teams and Western Kentucky, a team that either is or should still be a probational 1A team (easily the worst team in 1A). So making a read on their current in-season performance is a bit tough. I did watch their games, or what I could find of them, so I'll do my best.

I was asked to describe my thoughts on this game, and in a sentence, I said that I thought FSU was a much better team than USF, but that I didn't like the matchup. I just have a bad feeling about this game.

But is it more than a feeling? Let's start with USF's offense against Florida State's defense. Over the summer, I wrote this comprehensive preview of USF's offense.

The Bulls went 8-5 in 2008. They were perfect in the non-conference, with wins over two terrible defensive teams in Kansas and NC State, and an overtime victory against UCF. In the worst BCS conference, however, they were just 2-5, and their two wins came over UConn and Syracuse. To say that USF feasted on bad teams would be an understatement. Yet voters, who often see nothing but a team's record and not the competition they face, had the Bulls as high as #10 at one point. They would lose 4 of 5 down the stretch to finish unranked. This season, as I noted above, they are unranked and have played a terrible schedule.

The Bulls were just 4-5 against BCS conference teams and 2-4 against teams ranked inside the Fremeau Efficiency Index Top 40. Put another way:

Wins	S/ F+	Losses	S/ F +
UT Martin	NR	Pittsburgh	17
@ UCF	NR	@ Louisville	74
KAN	33	@ Cincinatti	19
FIU	NR	Rutgers	24
NCST (w.o their QB)	47	@ WVU	49
Syracuse	90
UConn	26
Memphis	NR

S/ F is a combination of S&P + and FEI, the two widely recognized advanced metrics for evaluating college football teams. The quality of their opponents in wins was far less than that of their opponents in losses.

This year, the Bulls schedule around the 'Noles game looks like this:

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Wofford
Sept. 12 @ Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 Charleston Southern
Sept. 26 @ Florida State
Oct. 3 @ Syracuse

The Bulls have a very easy schedule before facing Florida State. They essentially play three 1-AA teams (W. Kentucky is a provisional 1A school, the worst team in 1A). This can help and hurt a team. Having a month of pre-season assures that the Bulls will be able to work out some kinks, ~~and that they will be healthy (starters playing fewer minutes in blowouts means less opportunity for injury)~~. It can also hurt, however, because FSU will be the Bulls' first test of the season. 'Nole fans saw this phenomena last year when they lost to Wake Forest after opening the season with two 1AA cupcakes.

Based on their talent an performance, the Bulls were probably a top 25 team last season, though they were too high early and probably too low late. They did have three close losses in Big East play, and close wins or losses are a great indicator of a team being lucky or unlucky.

Last season, the Bulls Offense looked something like this:

Fremeau Efficiency Index: 48th
Varsity Numbers (aka BeyondTheBoxScore at RockMNation.com, the brainchild of Bill Connelly) S&P+ (measure of ball movement and explosiveness): 21st (34th rushing, 16th passing)
Forget the fact that South Florida led the Big East in total offense and finished second in scoring. It did most of its damage against lesser opponents, while failing to score more than 20 points in the final five regular season games.
In conference play, the Bulls had the 6th best offense (of 8 Big East teams), with the 4th best ground game and the 5th best passing attack. Only UConn and Syracuse were worse (though they were a lot worse).
USF had an unsustainably high success rate on passing downs (2nd and 8+, 3rd/4th and 5+) http://footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2009/varsity-numbers-2008-offensive-buffet As the article discusses, USF was really goot at converting 3rd and long, compared to their other talents. That's just not realisticly sustainable. What team is consistently better on 3rd and long than 3rd and 4?
USF averaged less than 350 yards and less than 5.4 yards per play in conference games. (For reference, 400 yard games equal out to about 6.2 yards per play over 65 plays in an average game).

The Bulls run a spread scheme under new Coordinator Mike Canales, featuring a heavy dose of the zone read game. It's 4-wide, pretty much all the time. They will go into trips as well, which gives FSU fits. They force the opposing defense to account for the QB's legs. Canales was the Bulls' passing game coordinator last year and stepped into the OC role after Greg Gregory took another job.

Quarterback

Here's what I wrote about Grothe:

Matt Grothe has led the Bulls in rushing in each of the past three seasons. He's also a big risk taker who often struggles to read defenses, possibly because of his 5'11" stature. He's tossed up 42 picks over three years, while throwing 47 TD's. He's been consistent in his erratic nature, throwing 14 INT's each year. More troubling, however, for Bulls fans was the way he ended the Big East season: Against Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, UConn, and WVU, Grothe threw 11 Interceptions and just three touchdowns, while being sacked 13 times.

There's more:

Matt Grothe Games QB Rating Yards/ Attempt TD INT

All Games 13 136 7.7 18 14

v. Conference 7 119 7.1 7 12

v. Non-Conference 6 156 8.4 11 2

v. Winning 6 109 6.5 4 10

v. Non-Winning 7 162 8.8 14 4

4 TD 10 INT against Bowl teams? That's not impressive, and really, none of Grothe's passing numbers stand out. He is a dangerous runner, of course. And FSU has been ripped by teams utilizing the mobile quarterback over the past two seasons, particularly out of the shotgun, as USF does. In fact, Grothe had 117 rushes for 828 yards, which is 7.1 yards per carry. Simply put, Grothe is a playmaker with his legs. He runs the zone read play quite well and making him one-dimensional is a primary goal for any team facing USF.

If he stays healthy, Grothe will surpass Pat White for the conference record in Total Offense, but I have to wonder how much of that record is due solely to playing time? Almost any 4-year starter with mobility would have a shot at the record.

So obviously I didn't think Grothe was that good. He tore his ACL and his career is over. His backup is Redshirt Freshman B.J. Daniels, a highly recruited kid out of Tallahassee Florida. FSU wanted him as an athlete, because they already had E.J. Manuel as their only QB in the recruiting class. This kid has a great arm. It is a total cannon. But he's not entirely accurate and lacks touch. Kinda one of those kids who rifles everything. He is a physical beast. USF calls him 6'1 or 6'2" in various media guides, but he's somewhere between 5'11" and 6'2". About 215lbs. Fast as heck. USF's offense isn't particularly complicated, and I expect that it is about to get simpler, but it is the exact design of offense that makes Mickey Andrews look washed up and incompetent. Daniels scares the heck out of me because he is a much better physical talent than Grothe, who I didn't think was all that good. He reminds me of a combination of NC State's Russel Wilson, and Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli. USF runs the zone read play as their base run play. Here's the video:

Here's a diagram:

That's the one where the QB in the shotgun reads the backside defensive end. The line blocks away from him. If the end stays at home to keep the QB in check, the QB will hand the ball off because they have the numerical advantage. If the end "crashes down", the QB will keep the ball. As linked above, FSU does not do well against this at all. This stuff is the number one weakness of FSU's defense. By far. And this defense is banged up, undisciplined, and unsurprisingly not well coached by a disinterested and fractured defensive coaching staff. I would choose to run this against FSU even if I didn't have the personnel to do so. That is exactly what Boston College did to beat FSU last season with their terrible offense.

So how do you stop this? FSU's defensive coaches have no idea. Good defensive line play helps. Someone must win their one-on-one matchup. Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com has some ideas here.

Now, I know we rip on Craig Yarborough quite often. The kid tries hard, but he is a bad player. That said, his discipline could be somewhat of an asset in this game for the Noles. In order to beat the zone read, a team must have a plan, and everyone must follow the plan. I'm not talking about "everyone go out and make plays" stuff, that's not a plan. Yarborough can help by simply following his assignment here, even if he doesn't physically do it all that well. This is particularly important when he is the read defender on the backside. In Chris Brown's piece linked above, in the 2nd photo, think of Yarborough as the "E" (end) crashing down, and Nigel Bradham as the scraping linebacker. There's an opportunity here for Bradham to have a huge game here.

The zone read is difficult to stop. FSU must have a good gameplan and must change up their looks. I do not have much confidence in FSU to do that. However, I do think FSU has some advantages here. FSU's linebackers are very fast and better than most in coverage. That will allow FSU to stay in a base defense or a nickel defense against USF's 4 wide receiver look. Many teams are forced to use 6 defensive backs against USF's look, but because of FSU's linebackers, the Noles can use only 5 defensive backs. Obviously when trying to stop the run, linebackers are better than defensive backs.

Running Backs

This summer, I wrote:

Mike Ford is a special talent and a likely NFL back. He was a Five-Star recruit coming out of high school but had terrible grades and had to go to through the preparatory school route. Last season, Ford battled numerous injury issues and had a disappointing year. In 2007, however, he was excellent.

2008 2007

Opponent Att Yards Avg. Opponent Att Yards Avg.

Tenn.-Martin 15 61 4.1 Elon 6 83 13.8

@ UCF Did Not Play @ 15 Auburn 21 74 3.5

Kansas 1 3 3.0 North Carolina 6 13 2.2

@ Florida Int'l 14 24 1.7 6 West Virginia 5 42 8.4

@ North Carolina St. 11 64 5.8 @ Fla. Atlantic Did Not Play

Pittsburgh 14 73 5.2 UCF 8 39 4.9

Syracuse 11 51 4.6 @ Rutgers 4 9 2.3

@ Louisville 5 13 2.6 @ Connecticut 7 27 3.9

@ 17 Cincinnati Did Not Play 17 Cincinnati 7 13 1.9

Rutgers 1 2 2.0 @ Syracuse 28 134 4.8

Connecticut 8 20 2.5 Louisville 24 140 5.8

@ 23 West Virginia 14 62 4.4 @ Pittsburgh 16 63 3.9

+ Memphis 8 34 4.3 + 23 Oregon 6 8 1.3

Totals 102 407 4.0 Totals 138 645 4.7

This year, he's apparently lost 20lbs, making him 6'2" 210 rather than the 230 he played at last season. He is apparently quicker and now healthy. You can bet that USF will not risk injuring him against their cupcake schedule before they play FSU.

Canales has been vocal about trying to throw the ball to the backs more often, but Ford has not shown great hands. He may catch a few more now that he is at a better weight, but he's really not that type of back.

Mo Plancher represents another option to carry the ball. At 5'9" and 200lbs, he has surprising quicks, gaining 330 yards on 69 carries last year.

Jamar Taylor is an ex fullback type who tried to carry the load for USF into the bowl season, rushing for 300 yards on 62 carries. He has the savvy and knows the offense well, so he is often asked to handle blitz pickup duties on 3rd downs.

Richard Kelly is a very versatile back for the Bulls. At 6' 0" and 250lbs, he is a receiving threat out of the backfield and also an excellent blocker. Think of him as USF's H-Back.

USF is very deep at the running back position

A few updates here. Ford was suspended for the first two games. He is now back. Plancher has been their best runner. The stuff about throwing to their backs is dubious at best, unless they've been saving it for this game, which is possible, because their backs have accounted for two receptions in three games. Also, Jamar Taylor is out for this game. I expect to see a lot of Ford/Plancher.

Wide Receiver

This summer, I wrote:

Who Left:

Name Yr Pos Rec. Yards Avg. TD Rec./G Yards/G Note

Taurus Johnson SR WR 38 498 13.1 6 2.9 38 Led team in TD's, 2nd in Yards & Cathes

Marcus Edwards SR WR 19 259 13.6 0 1.5 20 31 Career Starts

Cedric Hill SR TE 16 194 12.1 2 1.2 15 2nd Team Big East

Who Returns:

Name Yr Pos Rec. Yards Avg. TD Rec./G Yards/G

Jessie Hester SR WR 54 579 10.7 3 4.2 45

Carlton Mitchell JR WR 28 405 14.5 1 2.2 31

A.J. Love JR WR 30 354 11.8 2 2.3 27

Dontavia Bogan JR WR 26 354 13.6 1 2 27

Ben Busbee SR TE 7 99 14.1 2 0.5 8

Patrick Richardson SO WR 7 68 9.7 0 0.8 8

Trent Pupello JR TE 2 26 13.0 0 0.2 3

The bulls really spread the ball around to a number of receivers and they are really, really deep at this position.

Jessie Hester, is the son of former Florida State great Jessie Hester (1981-84) and is the Bulls best wideout. He was named Offensive MVP for 2008 after leading the the team with 54 receptions. He's been named to a few pre-season All-Big East teams. At 6' 0" 180lbs, he's not a burner but has enough speed to get open and runs very nice routes.

Carlton Mitchell is a 6'4" 215lb Junior who missed a good chunk of 2008 due to injury. When healthy he can be a redzone threat and is very strong and he had a great freshman season. Though he is a Junior, Mitchell is very raw. He's one of the best athletes on the team. FSU fans might compare him to Jarmon Fortson.

Dontavia Bogan at 6'1" 185lbs is an explosive threat who had a good spring. One of several bigtime breakout candidates. Excellent athlete.

A.J. Love was the Bulls' deep threat before injuring his knee in the Bowl game. He is expected back for Fall and is making progress with his rehab. It's anyone's guess as to whether he regains his pre-injury form.

6' 2", 180lb junior Ed Alcin had a very nice spring and could really surprise this year. Some USF fans believe he is the 2nd best wideout on the team, which is saying something considering his lack of playing time in his first two seasons.

Theo Wilson could also catch a few balls for the 'bulls.

The Bulls must replace Hill at tight end and will look to Andrew Ketchel who came on strong towards the end of the season and he started the bowl game. At 6'5" 240, he's the best pass-catcher of the tight ends. Senior workout freak Ben Busbee is primarily a blocking tight end, but he can catch a few balls as well.

Updates: Hester has a bum ankle and will either miss this game or be very limited. Mitchell and Bogan are now their best wideouts. They look to Mitchell a lot and I believe he is the fastest player on the field come Saturday. Love and Wilson get a few balls as well. This group is the polar opposite of BYU. They are very fast and very big. But they are undisciplined and don't run good routes. Hester was the only one who had good receiver and not just athlete skills.

Because they are pretty raw, USF tries to throw little short routes to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers in space. They throw deep jump balls (again, big tall fast athletes). They throw crossing routes. Their approach is to try and limit the number of routes they run which require precision.

As much as I fawned over Wilson above, there are some obvious difficulties for him. Besides having no game experience, Wilson almost assuredly doesn't have a good relationship with his wideouts. He didn't get as many snaps as Grothe in practice because he was the 2nd team guy. His timing with them can't be great. FSU must force USF to complete precise routes, particularly in the intermediate level. Those require touch, timing, and familiarity between QB & WR.

How will FSU do this? They need to play some zone defense. I would suggest cover-3. I like the cover-3 look because it takes away the deep ball, you can account for at least one flat, and still have 6 defenders in the box against the run. Hopefully by running a lot of cover-3, FSU will force USF to run passable routes and make their correct sight adjustments. USF will need to sit down in the voids in the zone and from watching them, they really don't do that well. I am not sure defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will do this, however, because he is very stubborn and has been badly outschemed for the better part of this decade. Next year, FSU will have a decent defensive staff. For now though, we wait and hope.

Offensive Line

This is clearly the weak link for the 2009 Bulls. USF must replace four Senior starters in Left tackle Ryan Schmidt, center Jake Griffin, right guard Matt Huners and right tackle Marc Dile . Dile and Huners were 2nd team ALL-Big-East players, and the departed quartet accounted for 118 starts (Dile had 36). The Bulls have a major issue here and will have a very tough time replacing those four.

That's not to say that the departed players were great- they weren't. The 'Bulls allowed 7.1% sacks (7.1% of passing plays ended in sacks), which is horrible. They were a lot better than the current crop and at least had some chemistry, however, something this new group will not have in 2009.

Worse yet, the Bulls were counting on help from the JUCO ranks and at least one big player simply won't be in Tampa this year. They expected JUCO transfer (and former 'Nole) Daron Rose to come in and start at one of the tackle spots. Rose didn't qualify, however, and will not be playing for the Bulls. Additionally, JUCO Tackle Carlos Savala is also ineligible. The Bulls really needed one of them to come in and take over a tackle position.

This off-season has been a disaster for the offensive line, and Head Coach Leavit said that none of the players were good enough to play on his OLine.

One position is definitely set. Junior right guard Zach Hermann is 6'3" 304lbs and made 13 starts as a freshman and 6 last year before injury struck. Herman is a pure run blocker and is the typical tough guard.

At the other guard spot might be 6' 4", 292-pound sophomore Chaz Hine. He didn't play much last year, but is a blue collar guy who could earn the job despite not being very talented.

The center position will hinge on a number of factors. At 6' 5" and 285lbs junior center Jacob Sims has the ability to play a lot of positions. The bulls are also considering him at tackle, but make no mistake, they want him at center. He'll play tackle if the potential tackles struggle. He had off-season finger surgery, but is expected to start somewhere on the line this year, either at Right Tackle, Left Guard, or Center.

At center, there's an experiment going on with former defensive tackle Sampson Genus who is one of the strongest players on the roster. He has looked good according to some reports. If Genus doesn't work out at center (and he's the better athlete but needs a lot of work), the Bulls will turn to 6' 2" 304lb Soph Kevin McCaskill. He's almost running even with Genus and was part of the big class the Bulls brought in after 2007.

The other tackle spot a complete mystery. One possibility is RsFr Jatavious Jackson, a decent recruit at 6' 4" 270lbs. He's very green and undersized at this point. RsFr OT Mark Popek is 6'7" 305 and got a lot of work in spring with Sims out due to injury (remember that the coaches want Sims at center but will move him back to tackle if need be). He's talented but young and inconsistent. He could challenge Sims for one of the tackle spots and USF hopes he wins so that Sims can play center. Pushing Jackson at left tackle is 6' 4" 314lb Soph Jeremiah Warren, who is already struggling in the classroom but does have a good bit of talent.

And don't count out Jamar Bass who is apparently looking reall good for the Bulls (at Left tackle).

The bottom line here is that the Bulls offensive line is very unsettled and even when it does settle, it will not be very talented. None of the bulls linemen are getting any press for an All-Conference selection. This group is definitely set up to run block, which is good considering that the Bulls run more than 60% of the time, but they will likely struggle in pass protection.Right now, their projected depth chart is this

Current projected lineup

LT Jeremiah Warren
LG Chaz Hine
C Sampson Genus
RG Zach Hermann
RT: Jake Sims

Warren is a sophomore who had 3 career starts (all this year). He is starting because Bass is inconsistent. Hine is also a sophomore with only these 3 games as experience. Genus is the strongest player on the roster and could present some trouble. He's a beast:

Genus is huge at "314" lbs (he is at least 320). But skinny ankles, no? He's also inexperienced. Right Guard Hermann is a decent player but a cheap shot artist. Sims is nothing special.

Because USF's offensive line isn't very good (being honest here, they didn't impress me, though FSU's beat up defensive line could make them look solid), USF does some things to limit their exposure. one of those is the quick game.

A few notes here. First, they ran this from two-tight singleback, which they don't often run. They've run this play 7 or 8 times from what I've seen. Opportunity here for the Noles to get a pick-6, but they must balance that with the obvious counter to this, which would be a double move.

These guys don't work well as a team in the run game. There will be gaps where FSU can get penetration and stop the run for loss. That's important because FSU wants to make USF one-dimensional.

They've given up 3 sacks in 77 pass plays (3.9%), against by far the worst competition in the country. FSU, in comparison, against good competition, has given up 4 sacks in 108 pass plays (3.6%). This USF line is average at best. To attack the passing game FSU needs to play coverage, and not rush Daniels aggressively. The ends must not lose contain or attempt dumb spin moves. Just a light, straight rush, like Bama did to Tyrod Taylor. Once they lull Daniels into a sense of false confidence in the pocket, they must attack him via the DELAYED blitz. Delayed is the key. USF's offensive linemen will look to help each other out with the initial rushers, and there should be gaps open for Dekoda Watson to run though, as he did last season against Miami. With contain established, and a free rusher coming in untouched, USF could have some trouble, particularly if their back doesn't pick up the blitz well. What FSU can't do is telegraph the blitz, like they usually do with little success. Make this kid sit in the pocket and read a defense, finding his wideouts in traffic. He can't have that good of a relationship with them yet.

Bottom Line

Last summer, I wrote:

USF's offense will probably struggle this year, particularly against good teams as they did last season. There is a lot of optimism at the quarterback and skill positions, but I wonder if prognosticators are making the common media error of overlooking line play. If the Bulls are to have a top 50 offense, they must be able to establish the run. Despite the new coordinator's background being more pass-happy than USF has seen in recent years, he must stick to the run and play low-risk football, catering to the defense which should be this team's strength. The Bulls have talked about making more big plays this year, but big plays typically happen because a team is vastly superior to their opponent, or because the defense is cheating to stop something (like the run) and are burned by something else (play action pass). If USF can't consistently put itself in better situations this year, like 3rd and 4 instead of 3rd and 8, Grothe will be the same old Grothe- taking too many risks and forcing too many passes. If the offensive line gets it together, the Bulls could have a pretty decent offense as the skill position players are there, but that is a huge if. This is still a team that couldn't get to 350 yards per game in the lousy Big East. Expect a regression from South Florida's offense and a more conservative gameplan as the season rolls along.

Now add in "they have a very talented but completely inexperienced quarterback." Despite the fact that USF has been prepping for this game forever, their offense will stay pretty simple. Still, FSU has a way of making rookie quarterbacks look like heisman trophy favorites. Additionally, I worry because USF has some guys from that Norm Chow NC State team that gave Mickey and FSU fits. Yes, that was the game in which FSU made Daniel Evans look great, to say nothing of Phillip RIvers.

I predict USF to score 27 points.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (9/11/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:41:37 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, your daily WVU sports news link dump. Today, we're brought to you by Natural Ice.

Natural Ice, getting WVU students drunk since 1996. I'm dating myself with this, but I do remember when this was introduced on campus. It's Game-day Eve once again. Tomorrow's weather is set to be low to mid 70's and a chance of rain (although that's been diminishing the closer we get). I got plenty of things to prepare you for the game tomorrow. So, let's get going and take down the Pirates...Savvy? And don't forget to send in your booty...er, tips. On with the show:

Serious moment of the day:

Ceremonies to honor September 11 victims - CNN.com
Take a moment to remember.

What you may have missed:

Colin Dunlap's WVU football chat - PPG
Beat writer's weekly chat.

Scouting Report: ECU - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Big East Week 2 picks - Big East - ESPN

2009 Big East Fearless Predictions Week 2 - Scout.com

No. 15 Georgia Tech survives Clemson with late field goal - ESPN

News of Note:

Tougher West Virginia seeks payback on ECU - Big East - ESPN

ECU has hands full with WVU's diversity - The Charleston Gazette

ECU-WVU contest looks like a nailbiter - The Charleston Gazette

West Virginia vs. East Carolina: What To Watch for in an Interesting Match-Up - Bleacher Report
TBR, take it with a grain of salt.

Regaining Its Swagger - MSNsportsNET.Com
Don't read if you don't want heavy reminders of struggles against ECU in the past.

WVU Never Confused With Wide Receiver U. - The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
Let's hope this changes over the next few years.

Stewart: West Virginia Knows What’s on the Table - The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

West Virginia's Clarke gets the message - PPG

WVU’s Miller starts season right where he left off - The Register-Herald
Another profile on the DE.

Hogan anxious to show improvement against East Carolina - Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Mountaineers Set For ECU - WVMETRONEWS.COM

HERTZEL COLUMN: Williams, Pinkney enjoying their second chances - The Times West Virginian

Number 40 still means 3 points at WVU - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Bitancourt takes over the number and the position.

Elam, Florida Commit and One of Nation's Best, to Visit for WVU-ECU - eersprts.com
Some more on the visits this weekend.

WVU Recruiters Hitting Ohio School Hard - eersports.com
West Virginia is recruiting heavily at Harding High in Warren, Ohio.

Tough tests abound on WVU basketball schedule - The Charleston Gazette

Around the league (and beyond):

Big East Week 2 Look-Ahead - Protect R Turf
Rutgers blog breaks down the league games this week.

Hester may miss WKU game - Tampa Tribune.com
University of South Florida WR Jessie Hester, whose school record 22 consecutive games with a catch were snapped last week, may not make the trip to Western Kentucky.

As if the Louisville/Syracuse game needed more hype - Card Chronicle
Someone sounds bitter.

Breaking: The FauxHawk Is Back - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
This week in douchebaggery.

New offense looks quite familiar - TheUConnBlog.com

What's on tap:

Colorado Buffaloes vs. Toledo Rockets Preview, September 11 2009 - ESPN
9pm tonight on ESPN, Line - Toledo (+3.5)

Men's Soccer: WVU Travels to Wilmington - MSNsportsNET.Com
They'll play in the UNC Wilmington Tournament on Friday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 13 against UNC Wilmington and Appalachian State, respectively.

Women's Soccer: Virginia NIKE Soccer Classic - MSNsportsNET.Com
No. 12/15 WVU will battle No. 9/16 Virginia on Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. West Virginia then plays Ivy League member Dartmouth on Sunday, Sept. 13 at noon.

Hall of Fame Set for Saturday - MSNsportsNET.Com
Sports Hall of Fame Set for Saturday, noon in the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility.

East Carolina Pirates vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Preview, September 12 2009 - ESPN
It's only on ESPN360.

Video of Interest:

It's a little old, but I just found it.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Thanks once again to Jimmy Traina of Hot Clicks:

Tailgate Recipe of the Week:

From Tailgating.com

Mountaineer Fire Bites

12 Jalapenos cut in half and cleaned of seeds
12 slices of bacon, cut in half
8 oz cream cheese (you wont use all of this)
24 toothpicks

Wash and clean peppers well. You may want to use rubber gloves if you can't stand the heat.

Fill each Jalapeno half with a generous amount of cream cheese.

Wrap with one half slice of bacon and secure with a wooden tooth pick.

Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes, until bacon is browned.

Bartender Gallery of the Week:

Why don't bartenders in Motown look like this (or at least when I was in school, they didn't)? It leads to more, I promise.

via www.manofest.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is the latest Bond girl, Miss Olga Kurylenko. If I have to tell you all that the image leads to a gallery anymore...well, you don't deserve to see the pics.

via www.manofest.com

Warning NSFW (sideboob and split second nippage):

Natural Ice image via ciceronito.files.wordpress.com

FSU Seminoles vs UM Canes-College Football's Greatest Rivalry-The Year was 1984

FrankDNole — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:42:59 -0000

Twelve days and counting before the University of Miami Cane Thugs arrive in Tallahassee. Everyone should hide your belongings, lock all of your doors, hide your keys, and lock up your daughters.

Our series continues today with the game played on September 22, 1984.

FSU RB GREG ALLEN

However, before we get into that game, I thought I would bring you up to date on what has transpired in this rivalry since the last game we talked about, the game from September 22, 1979 (FSU 40 UM 23).

In 1980, FSU had the opportunity to win the game despite fumbling the ball 5 times against the Jim Kelly led Canes in the Orange Bowl. The Miami defense, ranked No. 1 in the country against the run, withstood a last-minute Florida State comeback when NG Jim Burt deflected a Rick Stockstill pass, as the Seminoles tried for a game-winning 2-point conversion following this last minute touchdown. Remember that back then there was no overtime, and Bowden made the gutsy call to go for 2 for the win, however our Noles fell short by a final score of 10-9.

In the 1981 game, which was played just a few days after the NCAA placed UM on 2 year probation for their dirty recruiting practices, the Canes snapped FSU's 19 game home winning streak at Doak by a final score of 27-19. With the score tied 13-13 in the 4th quarter, Jim Kelly engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives to lead the 13th-ranked Hurricanes over No. 14 Florida State in Tallahassee. Miami blocked two Florida State field goal attempts and an extra point and held the Seminoles to one touchdown in the second half. However FSU was looking to tie it up with a TD and 2 pt conversion from where they were positioned at the UM 29 yard line, but time ran out.

After those two previous heart stopping losses, FSU would finally win again in 1982 when the No.14 Seminoles would defeat No. 16 Miami 24-7 in the Orange Bowl. With what was billed as having more significant national implications than usual, this game meant more than just the mythical State Championship that was on the line. Sophomore Greg Allen ran for two touchdowns, including his 2nd with :41 seconds left, to rub some salt in the wound, and quarterback Kelly Lowrey passed for another as we ruined and destroyed Miami's homecoming. Allen scored on runs of three and two yards, and Lowrey threw a 24-yard pass to reserve tight end Orson Mobley on the first play of the fourth quarter, on a 4th down and 4 to go, at which time Big Orson shook off 3 would be tacklers and rumbled in for the score. The loss was only the second at home in 19 games for UM under Howard Schnellenberger. The Miami quarterback on this day was a player who would later become familiar to all FSU fans. His name was Mark Richt. He threw four interceptions in the game, but still managed to get 273 yards.

Then in 1983, in a series that is defined by missed field goals, Miami (10-1) won this contest with a 19-yard kick on the final play of the game to defeat FSU (6-4) by a score of 17-16. FSU led by 9 points late in the 3rd quarter, until the Canes scored the final 10 points of the game. Bernie Kosar drove the Hurricanes down the field in the final two minutes to set up the winning FG, by a kicker who had missed 2 other attempts earlier in the game. The 4 losses suffered by FSU that season were by a total of 11 points. This win sent Miami to the Orange Bowl, where the Hurricanes defeated top-ranked Nebraska and won the national championship in Schnellenberger's final season.

OK now we are up to date.

Please continue reading.

In the preseason of 1984, UM was the new media darling since winning the MNC against Nebraska. Most everyone expected them to steamroll through the season, and their QB Kosar was the preseason poster boy in the Sports Illustrated football preview (along with my all time favorite player).

Aside from Kosar, the 84 Canes returned some very goods players such as Alonzo Highsmith, Willie Smith, Jerome Brown, Kevin Fagan, George Mira Jr, Julio Cortes, and Kenny Fagan.

The expectations for the Seminoles were not quite as high coming off a 8-4 year. In the season preview edition dated September 5, 1984, Bobby Bowden was quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying;

We're an unsound team trying to get sound," says Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. He was on the right track at the end of last season, when he scrapped his razzle-dazzle, pass-happy attack and installed a land-based one. The 6-5 Seminoles then whipped North Carolina 28-3 in the Peach Bowl. Now Bowden has imported a new defensive coordinator, Mickey Andrews, who had been an assistant with the USFL's Arizona Wranglers, to do something about a unit that last year yielded 81 points and 880 yards in the Seminoles' first two victories. On the bright side, Bowden has a pair of aces at tailback—All-America Greg Allen and Roosevelt Snipes. Allen ran for 1,134 yards a year ago, while Snipes averaged 6.6 yards a carry on his way to 629.

**SI was incorrect in saying the Noles had gone 6-5 the previous year, they actually went 8-4.

Miami came into the game at 3-1 having beaten Auburn, Florida, a not too bad Purdue team, but also losing to a very good Michigan team with an excellent defense in a game at Ann Arbor. Miami came in ranked 4th in the nation.

Our Noles came in at 2-0, ranked #15, and had only played a couple of tune up games against East Carolina and Kansas. No one was sure what to really expect from FSU.

Our QB that year was an efficient Eric Thomas, and his primary job was to hand off the ball to our trio of backs starting with All American Greg Allen, then Roosevelt Snipes and Cletis Jones. If he did not hand it off, he was looking to throw it to All American Jessie Hester, Hassan Jones, TE Pat Carter, or Herb Gainer. The O-Line was anchored by All American and future All Pro Jaime Dukes, Jason Kuipers, Mark Salva, John and Joey Ionata, Pablo Lopez, and Parrish Barwick.

Our defense was led by All American Henry Taylor, Fred Jones, Isaac Williams, Brian McCrary, Gerald Nicholas, Lenny Chavers, Martin Mayhew, Eric Williams, and Jesse Solomon. Both of our specialist, punter Louis Berry and kicker Derek Schmidt, received All American recognition. Some other names off this roster that you may recognize include Todd Stroud, Cedric Jones, Billy Allen, Garth Jax, Steve Nicklaus, Joe Wessel, and some talented freshmen including Victor Floyd, Felton Hayes, Paul McGowan, Danny McManus, Stan Shiver, and David Palmer.

Again, the date is September 22, 1984, and on this day a group of South Florida Noles started a long standing tradition of renting a Winnebago, adorning it fully in FSU memorabilia and garnet and gold streamers, and parking it the Orange Dump as soon as the gates opened at 6 AM. We had all met at one of our friends house the night before, and partied all night so that we could be one of the first to roll into the dump grounds, where we would BarBQue all day and continue our non stop partying until the lot closed the next morning after the game. (Remember this is the 80's we are talking about here, and times were very different back then).

UM was coming off a National Championship season and the Florida State players, as well as most of us fans were really angry and pissed.

Why?

Let me tell you why.

The scUM's were fast on their way to becoming the trash talking THUGS that they still are today with their new arrogant and narcissistic Coach Jimmy Johnson. They were the defending champions and were acting the scUM part as well as anyone ever has. The week of the game their players were totally dissing the Noles, saying that we could not beat them in their house, that we would be lucky if we scored any TD's against their defense, and that the game was going to be a complete rout and possibly a shut out for them. I would have loved to have seen the Noles bulletin boards, because the THUGS were talking trash at a record pace.

LITTLE DID THEY KNOW WHAT WAS IN STORE FOR THEM!

Despite dominating the first half of the game, FSU was only able to muster up 3 FG's by Derek Schmidt, including a 54 yarder, for a very uncomfortable 9-0 halftime lead.

However, things were about to go south in a hurry for the Canes, and they were about to witness first hand the Jessie Hester show.

On the 3rd play of the 3rd quarter, WR Jessie "The Jet" Hester ran the old reverse 77 yards for a TD to finally break the game wide open, and the floodgates opened. A two-point conversion made it 17-0 FSU and the Seminoles never looked back. Hester finished with 2 rushes for 101 yds and 5 rec for 116 yds.

The defense then pinned back their ears and went to work on the UM passing game. In his final game against FSU, Bernie Kosar was sacked six times for 75 yards in losses. So harassed was Kosar, that the scUM coach Johnson finally pulled him while fearing for his safety, and replaced him with future Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde. When Vinny Testaverde was called on late in the third quarter, he was sacked twice as well for 25 yards in losses. The Nole defense stayed relentless, they continued putting heat on the new QB, and finished the day with 8 sacks while picking off 2 UM interceptions.

THE SEMINOLES CRUSHED THE DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPION CANES BY A FINAL SCORE OF 38-3!

My favorite memory of this game, and one of my all time favorite memories to this day, is what happened during the intermission between the 3rd and 4th quarter. Our Noles had totally dominated this game and were leading 24-0, when I swear it was almost like a sign from God that fell upon the Orange Dump.

All of the sudden, it seemed like 30,000 obnoxious fickle Cane Thugs, all of sudden got up and started heading for the exits right then and there. You can imagine the taunts and cat calls we were laying on them. During most of these FSU/UM games in the Orange Bowl, and including the last game at Joe Robbie (Dolphin) Stadium, we would always, and still do, rag on our Cane friends, and even those we don't know during the typical and ritual pregame trash talking, that whenever FSU plays in Miami, it is a home game for FSU, because usually there were just as many Noles as Canes at these games. Let me tell you what, when the Miami faithfull started heading for the gates, all of the Nole fans went nuts, we really let them have it.

At the time the Nole players were holding their helmets up in the air and the UM player were holding up 4 fingers, as so many teams do to start the 4th quarter, and as if to imply they were going to make a comeback. When the Nole fans started all the commotion and heckling, the UM players started turning around to see what was going on, they were in disbelief at what they were seeing, their own fickle fans walking out on them, and they deflated faster than a breast implant getting stuck by a porcupine. Needless to say we stayed until the final gun while loving every minute of it, and in retrospect, we became pretty obnoxious ourselves, while shouting at the pathetic UM players. We were now in complete control of their stadium, and we were letting them know it.

We now owned their house, the Orange Dump, at least until the next game there in 2 years.

 

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Total




FLORIDA STATE


6


3


15


14


38




MIAMI


0


0


0


3


3

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
FLORIDA STATE	6	3	15	14	38
MIAMI	0	0	0	3	3

1st   3- 0  Derek Schmidt, 54, field goal, 10:16
      6- 0  Derek Schmidt, 40, field goal, 3:47 
2nd   9- 0  Derek Schmidt, 38, field goal, 4:10 
3rd  17- 0  Jessie Hester, 77, run (Hassan Jones, pass from Eric Thomas), 13:21
     24- 0  Roosevelt Snipes, 4, run (Derek Schmidt, kick), 9:08 
4th  24- 3  Opp, 36, field goal, 14:05
     31- 3  Hassan Jones, 25, pass from Eric Thomas (Derek Schmidt, kick), 7:39 
     38- 3  Roosevelt Snipes, 3, run (Derek Schmidt, kick), 6:24 



TEAM STATISTICS


                       FSU     OPP
First downs             15      17
Rushes-yards        43-284  32- 10
Passing                194     237
Att-Comp-Int       16-10-0 34-18-2
Total Yards         59-478  66-247
Punt Returns          2--8    2-10
Kickoff Returns       1-20   7-124
Interception Ret.      2-6     0-0
Fumble Returns         2-0     0-0
Punts               4-40.8  7-37.9
Sacks By-Yds            8-      4-
Fumbles-Lost           2-0     3-2
Penalties-Yds        10-71    8-79
Time of Posession    26:31   33:29
Attendance                  60,210

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
Jessie Hester                2- 102
Greg Allen                  10-  65
Cletis Jones                10-  47
Roosevelt Snipes             6-  43
Eric Thomas                 12-  15
Dwayne Denson                2-  10
Prince Matt                  1-   2

Receiving
Jessie Hester                5- 116
Hassan Jones                 1-  25
Pete Panton                  1-  22
Herb Gainer                  2-  19
Roosevelt Snipes             1-  12

Passing
Eric Thomas                 15- 9-0-151
Hassan Jones                 1- 1-0- 43

Punt Return
Darrin Holloman              2-  -8

Kickoff Return
Roosevelt Snipes             1-  20

Punting
Louis Berry                  4- 163

                        |---------Tackles---------| |---Sacks---| |---Pass Def---| |-Fumbles-| Blkd
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS     UT   AT  Total   ForLoss     No - Yards  Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds  FF Kick Saf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jerome McCoy              5    2     7      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Brian McCrary             4    2     6      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Eric Williams             4    1     5      .            .          2-  6   .    .   1-  0   .   .   .
Isaac Williams            4    1     5   2.0-         2.0-           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Paul McGowan              3    2     5      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Eric Riley                5    .     5      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Billy Allen               5    .     5   1.0-         1.0-           .      1    .    .      .   .   .
Stanley Scott             4    .     4   2.0-         2.0-           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Lenny Chavers             3    .     3      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Gerald Nichols            3    .     3   1.0-         1.0-           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Henry Taylor              1    2     3      .            .           .      1    .   1-  0   .   .   .
Jesse Solomon             3    .     3      .            .           .      .    .   1-  0   .   .   .
Terry Griggley            2    1     3      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
John Eaford               1    2     3      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Brian Williams            1    1     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Darryl Gray               2    .     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Fred Jones                2    .     2   2.0-         2.0-           .      1    .    .      .   .   .
Eric Stiehl               2    .     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Garth Jax                 1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Todd Stroud               1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .

'Nole Your Enemies: South Florida Preview- Will The Bulls' Offense be Offensive in 2009?

FSUncensored — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:34:30 -0000

With only 40 days until the 2009 season starts, it's time to learn about the opponent's on Florida State's schedule. We'll start with the teams Florida State did not play last year, leading off with in-state foe South Florida. Today we're talking offense, tomorrow will be defense and special teams.

The Bulls were just 4-5 against BC conference teams and 2-4 against teams ranked inside the Fremeau Efficiency Index Top 40. Put another way:

Wins	S/ F+	Losses	S/ F +
UT Martin	NR	Pittsburgh	17
@ UCF	NR	@ Louisville	74
KAN	33	@ Cincinatti	19
FIU	NR	Rutgers	24
NCST (w.o their QB)	47	@ WVU	49
Syracuse	90
UConn	26
Memphis	NR

This year, the Bulls schedule around the 'Noles game looks like this:

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Wofford
Sept. 12 @ Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 Charleston Southern
Sept. 26 @ Florida State
Oct. 3 @ Syracuse

The Bulls have a very easy schedule before facing Florida State. They essentially play three 1-AA teams (W. Kentucky is a provisional 1A school). This can help and hurt a team. Having a month of pre-season assures that the Bulls will be able to work out some kinks, and that they will be healthy (starters playing fewer minutes in blowouts means less opportunity for injury). It can also hurt, however, because FSU will be the Bulls' first test of the season. 'Nole fans saw this phenomena last year when they lost to Wake Forest after opening the season with two 1AA cupcakes.

Last season, the Bulls Offense looked something like this:

Fremeau Efficiency Index: 48th
Varsity Numbers (aka BeyondTheBoxScore at RockMNation.com, the brainchild of Bill Connelly) S&P+ (measure of ball movement and explosiveness): 21st (34th rushing, 16th passing)
Forget the fact that South Florida led the Big East in total offense and finished second in scoring. It did most of its damage against lesser opponents, while failing to score more than 20 points in the final five regular season games.
In conference play, the Bulls had the 6th best offense (of 8 Big East teams), with the 4th best ground game and the 5th best passing attack. Only UConn and Syracuse were worse (though they were a lot worse).
USF had an unsustainably high success rate on passing downs (2nd and 8+, 3rd/4th and 5+) http://footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2009/varsity-numbers-2008-offensive-buffet As the article discusses, USF was really goot at converting 3rd and long, compared to their other talents. That's just not realisticly sustainable. What team is consistently better on 3rd and long than 3rd and 4?
USF averaged less than 350 yards and less than 5.4 yards per play in conference games. (For reference, 400 yard games equal out to about 6.2 yards per play over 65 plays in an average game).

The Bulls run a spread scheme under new Coordinator Mike Canales, featuring a heavy dose of the zone read game. They force the opposing defense to account for the QB's legs. Canales was the Bulls' passing game coordinator last year and stepped into the OC role after Greg Gregory took another job.

Quarterback

via nationalchamps.net

Matt Grothe has led the Bulls in rushing in each of the past three seasons. He's also a big risk taker who often struggles to read defenses, possibly because of his 5'11" stature. He's tossed up 42 picks over three years, while throwing 47 TD's. He's been consistent in his erratic nature, throwing 14 INT's each year. More troubling, however, for Bulls fans was the way he ended the Big East season: Against Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, UConn, and WVU, Grothe threw 11 Interceptions and just three touchdowns, while being sacked 13 times.

There's more:

Matt Grothe	Games	QB Rating	Yards/ Attempt	TD	INT
All Games	13	136	7.7	18	14
v. Conference	7	119	7.1	7	12
v. Non-Conference	6	156	8.4	11	2
v. Winning	6	109	6.5	4	10
v. Non-Winning	7	162	8.8	14	4

4 TD 10 INT against Bowl teams? That's not impressive, and really, none of Grothe's passing numbers stand out. He is a dangerous runner, of course. And FSU has been ripped by teams utilizing the mobile quarterback over the past two seasons, particularly out of the shotgun, as USF does. In fact, Grothe had 117 rushes for 828 yards, which is 7.1 yards per carry. Simply put, Grothe is a playmaker with his legs. He runs the zone read play quite well and making him one-dimensional is a primary goal for any team facing USF.

If he stays healthy, Grothe will surpass Pat White for the conference record in Total Offense, but I have to wonder how much of that record is due solely to playing time? Almost any 4-year starter with mobility would have a shot at the record.

If the Bulls lose Grothe, they will probably miss a bowl as there is nobody else on the roster with any experience in a college game. For that reason, I will not profile the backup quarterbacks.

Running Backs

Mike Ford is a special talent and a likely NFL back.

via www.mikefordonline.org

He was a Five-Star recruit coming out of high school but had terrible grades and had to go to through the preparatory school route. Last season, Ford battled numerous injury issues and had a disappointing year. In 2007, however, he was excellent.

2008				2007
Opponent	Att	Yards	Avg.	Opponent	Att	Yards	Avg.
Tenn.-Martin	15	61	4.1	Elon	6	83	13.8
@ UCF	Did	Not	Play	@ 15 Auburn	21	74	3.5
Kansas	1	3	3.0	North Carolina	6	13	2.2
@ Florida Int'l	14	24	1.7	6 West Virginia	5	42	8.4
@ North Carolina St.	11	64	5.8	@ Fla. Atlantic	Did	Not	Play
Pittsburgh	14	73	5.2	UCF	8	39	4.9
Syracuse	11	51	4.6	@ Rutgers	4	9	2.3
@ Louisville	5	13	2.6	@ Connecticut	7	27	3.9
@ 17 Cincinnati	Did	Not	Play	17 Cincinnati	7	13	1.9
Rutgers	1	2	2.0	@ Syracuse	28	134	4.8
Connecticut	8	20	2.5	Louisville	24	140	5.8
@ 23 West Virginia	14	62	4.4	@ Pittsburgh	16	63	3.9
+ Memphis	8	34	4.3	+ 23 Oregon	6	8	1.3
Totals	102	407	4.0	Totals	138	645	4.7

This year, he's apparently lost 20lbs, making him 6'2" 210 rather than the 230 he played at last season. He is apparently quicker and now healthy. You can bet that USF will not risk injuring him against their cupcake schedule before they play FSU.

Canales has been vocal about trying to throw the ball to the backs more often, but Ford has not shown great hands. He may catch a few more now that he is at a better weight, but he's really not that type of back.

Mo Plancher represents another option to carry the ball. At 5'9" and 200lbs, he has surprising quicks, gaining 330 yards on 69 carries last year.

Jamar Taylor is an ex fullback type who tried to carry the load for USF into the bowl season, rushing for 300 yards on 62 carries. He has the savvy and knows the offense well, so he is often asked to handle blitz pickup duties on 3rd downs.

Richard Kelly is a very versatile back for the Bulls. At 6' 0" and 250lbs, he is a receiving threat out of the backfield and also an excellent blocker. Think of him as USF's H-Back.

USF is very deep at the running back position

Wide Receiver

Who Left:

Name	Yr	Pos	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G	Note
Taurus Johnson	SR	WR	38	498	13.1	6	2.9	38	Led team in TD's, 2nd in Yards & Cathes
Marcus Edwards	SR	WR	19	259	13.6	0	1.5	20	31 Career Starts
Cedric Hill	SR	TE	16	194	12.1	2	1.2	15	2nd Team Big East

Who Returns:

Name	Yr	Pos	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
Jessie Hester	SR	WR	54	579	10.7	3	4.2	45
Carlton Mitchell	JR	WR	28	405	14.5	1	2.2	31
A.J. Love	JR	WR	30	354	11.8	2	2.3	27
Dontavia Bogan	JR	WR	26	354	13.6	1	2	27
Ben Busbee	SR	TE	7	99	14.1	2	0.5	8
Patrick Richardson	SO	WR	7	68	9.7	0	0.8	8
Trent Pupello	JR	TE	2	26	13.0	0	0.2	3

The bulls really spread the ball around to a number of receivers and they are really, really deep at this position.

Jessie Hester, is the son of former Florida State great Jessie Hester (1981-84) and is the Bulls best wideout. He was named Offensive MVP for 2008 after leading the the team with 54 receptions. He's been named to a few pre-season All-Big East teams. At 6' 0" 180lbs, he's not a burner but has enough speed to get open and runs very nice routes.

Carlton Mitchell is a 6'4" 215lb Junior who missed a good chunk of 2008 due to injury. When healthy he can be a redzone threat and is very strong and he had a great freshman season. Though he is a Junior, Mitchell is very raw. He's one of the best athletes on the team. FSU fans might compare him to Jarmon Fortson.

Dontavia Bogan at 6'1" 185lbs is an explosive threat who had a good spring. One of several bigtime breakout candidates. Excellent athlete.

A.J. Love was the Bulls' deep threat before injuring his knee in the Bowl game. He is expected back for Fall and is making progress with his rehab. It's anyone's guess as to whether he regains his pre-injury form.

6' 2", 180lb junior Ed Alcin had a very nice spring and could really surprise this year. Some USF fans believe he is the 2nd best wideout on the team, which is saying something considering his lack of playing time in his first two seasons.

Theo Wilson could also catch a few balls for the 'bulls.

The Bulls must replace Hill at tight end and will look to Andrew Ketchel who came on strong towards the end of the season and he started the bowl game. At 6'5" 240, he's the best pass-catcher of the tight ends. Senior workout freak Ben Busbee is primarily a blocking tight end, but he can catch a few balls as well.

Offensive Line

This is clearly the weak link for the 2009 Bulls. USF must replace four Senior starters in Left tackle Ryan Schmidt, center Jake Griffin, right guard Matt Huners and right tackle Marc Dile . Dile and Huners were 2nd team ALL-Big-East players, and the departed quartet accounted for 118 starts (Dile had 36). The Bulls have a major issue here and will have a very tough time replacing those four.

That's not to say that the departed players were great- they weren't. The 'Bulls allowed 7.1% sacks (7.1% of passing plays ended in sacks), which is horrible. They were a lot better than the current crop and at least had some chemistry, however, something this new group will not have in 2009.

Worse yet, the Bulls were counting on help from the JUCO ranks and at least one big player simply won't be in Tampa this year. They expected JUCO transfer (and former 'Nole) Daron Rose to come in and start at one of the tackle spots. Rose didn't qualify, however, and will not be playing for the Bulls. Additionally, JUCO Tackle Carlos Savala is also ineligible. The Bulls really needed one of them to come in and take over a tackle position.

This off-season has been a disaster for the offensive line, and Head Coach Leavit said that none of the players were good enough to play on his OLine.

One position is definitely set. Junior right guard Zach Hermann is 6'3" 304lbs and made 13 starts as a freshman and 6 last year before injury struck. Herman is a pure run blocker and is the typical tough guard.

At the other guard spot might be 6' 4", 292-pound sophomore Chaz Hine. He didn't play much last year, but is a blue collar guy who could earn the job despite not being very talented.

The center position will hinge on a number of factors. At 6' 5" and 285lbs junior center Jacob Sims has the ability to play a lot of positions. The bulls are also considering him at tackle, but make no mistake, they want him at center. He'll play tackle if the potential tackles struggle. He had off-season finger surgery, but is expected to start somewhere on the line this year, either at Right Tackle, Left Guard, or Center.

At center, there's an experiment going on with former defensive tackle Sampson Genus who is one of the strongest players on the roster. He has looked good according to some reports. If Genus doesn't work out at center (and he's the better athlete but needs a lot of work), the Bulls will turn to 6' 2" 304lb Soph Kevin McCaskill. He's almost running even with Genus and was part of the big class the Bulls brought in after 2007.

The other tackle spot a complete mystery. One possibility is RsFr Jatavious Jackson, a decent recruit at 6' 4" 270lbs. He's very green and undersized at this point. RsFr OT Mark Popek is 6'7" 305 and got a lot of work in spring with Sims out due to injury (remember that the coaches want Sims at center but will move him back to tackle if need be). He's talented but young and inconsistent. He could challenge Sims for one of the tackle spots and USF hopes he wins so that Sims can play center. Pushing Jackson at left tackle is 6' 4" 314lb Soph Jeremiah Warren, who is already struggling in the classroom but does have a good bit of talent.

And don't count out Jamar Bass who is apparently looking reall good for the Bulls (at Left tackle).

The bottom line here is that the Bulls offensive line is very unsettled and even when it does settle, it will not be very talented. None of the bulls linemen are getting any press for an All-Conference selection. This group is definitely set up to run block, which is good considering that the Bulls run more than 60% of the time, but they will likely struggle in pass protection.

Bottom Line

USF's offense will probably struggle this year, particularly against good teams as they did last season. There is a lot of optimism at the quarterback and skill positions, but I wonder if prognosticators are making the common media error of overlooking line play. If the Bulls are to have a top 50 offense, they must be able to establish the run. Despite the new coordinator's background being more pass-happy than USF has seen in recent years, he must stick to the run and play low-risk football, catering to the defense which should be this team's strength. The Bulls have talked about making more big plays this year, but big plays typically happen because a team is vastly superior to their opponent, or because the defense is cheating to stop something (like the run) and are burned by something else (play action pass). If USF can't consistently put itself in better situations this year, like 3rd and 4 instead of 3rd and 8, Grothe will be the same old Grothe- taking too many risks and forcing too many passes. If the offensive line gets it together, the Bulls could have a pretty decent offense as the skill position players are there, but that is a huge if. This is still a team that couldn't get to 350 yards per game in the lousy Big East. Expect a regression from South Florida's offense and a more conservative gameplan as the season rolls along.