Surprising intrigue at left tackle

Football coach Jim Leavitt continues to talk about redshirting senior left tackle Thed Watson, a preseason all-Big East selection, saying the year off would be best not only for Watson but for USF in the long term. Leavitt continues to sing the praises of not only redshirt freshman Danny Tolley, who could also wind up at left guard, but also junior walk-on Jared Carnes, USF's biggest lineman at 6-7 and 310 pounds.

"Carnes has overtaken Thed this summer, big time," Leavitt said Thursday. "Carnes looks good. We didn't play him last year because he was hurt. Thed might not even start last year if Carnes could have been healthy."

Carnes, a St. Pete Catholic grad, came to USF in 2004 from Division II Concord College in West Virginia as a 265-pound tight end and has put on 45 pounds in two seasons. He played in two games last season before he was sidelined with an arm injury. I asked Leavitt again if much of this talk was simply to motivate Watson this summer, but he said it's a real option this fall.

"You have to look at the big picture, not the third inning," he said. "(Watson) could be a real good player, but he if he got another year underneath him, he'd have a chance to be that much better."

-- Couple of odd notes from today's paper ... First, the Big East baseball tournament, held in Clearwater two months ago, likely won't be back in Florida in 2007. The league's associate commissioner for Olympic sports, James Siedliski, said the event has been offered to another Big East school -- I thought Louisville, but they say it isn't them either -- but that USF is a contender to host again in 2008-09. And soccer coach George Kiefer, whose team was ranked No. 11 nationally in one preseason poll, has lost a top recruit in Neven Subotic, who has signed a four-year pro contract with a team in Germany's Bundesliga.

-- Gary Parrish, Sportsline.com's new college basketball writer, got a slight dig in at USF basketball this week, talking about the plight of coaches on the less friendly end of the Big East. He writes:

"So while I can, for example, empathize with Robert McCullum's situation at South Florida -- it's never a good sign when you're in the same league with Connecticut while simultaneously begging for walk-ons on the school's official website -- I'm not willing to expand the NCAA Tournament just so one day he can maybe make the Field of 128 and keep his job. I just hope he's invested well."

McCullum has a depth problem for August, far more than he does for January and beyond. The Bulls just need two bodies so they can practice five-on-five before sending part of this year's team to Italy for six games. Don't be surprised if first-year director of basketball operations Reggie Kohn is out there playing some guard. As well-intended as the walk-on posting was, it's made USF a punch line on message boards and now on a prominent website.

-- USF's sports information department took some good-natured grief last summer when its football media guide failed to meet the NCAA's strange new slimmed-down standards. It wasn't the page-count maximum of 208 pages that tripped up the Bulls last year, but rather a page-size mandate -- sports information director John Gerdes joked about "self-reporting" the violation. I can report that this year's guide meets the NCAA specs, and environmental Bulls fans will be pleased to hear that they managed to trim four pages off the guide, down to a svelte 152.

Comments

[E.T.]

I have only heard great things about Carnes ... very interesting about Watson.Thanx for ALL the work Greg

[Anonymous]

It seems that Leavitt is planning on 07 being a bigger year for USF and is trying to keep as much talent back for it

[Anonymous]

How on earth can the basketball program plan on going to Europe with the roster situation as it is? Coach should contact Bobby Knight and see if any of those players from his reality show are available.

[tim]

I thought I was the only guy who redshirted seniors... in NCAA 2007 on xbox.

[ChiTown]

remember he redshirted Tim Jones

[Anonymous]

It seems likely to me that Watson has been just plain beat out for the position, and he would be redshirted so that he can be a backup next year in case of injury.

[Anonymous]

Could it bee Watson has grade problems? He has a great resume so make a change at the QB blindside is

[Anonymous]

Sorry - Previous comment "too fast." Could it be Watson had grade problems? He has a great resume. To make a change on the QB blindside is sort of odd. I have heard Carnes, not only the biggest, is also the fastest O lineman. Maybe his tight end days helped. He seems ready if you believe Leavitt. An additional 40 pounds of weight in 2 years seems like a lot. But, if you seem him, he look in great shape.

[941]

Greg, Do you know yet what access limitations you will have in fall practice of footBulls?

[Anonymous]

Whoever is at tackle, given the QB (Carlton) issues, they need to be able to pass and run block. My guess is that Watson and Carnes can both perform. I can only say that Coach L is at least holding players to grades, matriculation toward a degree, and behavioral standards. This is more important that anything. The fact that Andre Hall and others are not on the "NFL radar," shows these kids they need to seize the opportunity and finish school. They are student-athletes, not athlete-students.

[Greg Auman]

941 ... got good news on media access to practice. It'll be the same as last year -- open the first half-hour. I'm really the only media member that regularly took advantage of that, so I'm glad to have the same opportunity. Other Big East schools are more restrictive with media access, so no complaints with the current setup.

[Anonymous]

More info on the Watson/Carnes question. If you talk to the folks there and players, Watson has been "absent" all summer and has to pass some courses to remain eligible. Carnes has grown to 6-8 and about 315. The question is his shoulder - has he rehabbed it to be able to play?Greg - Any thoughts or knowledge on Watson's grades or Carnes' condition?