Carlton Hill back at QB
In an indication of how seriously USF is taking quarterback Matt Grothe's hip injury, the Bulls have moved former quarterback Carlton Hill back to his old position, giving them another option at quarterback with 10 days before the season starts.
Grothe, who injured his hip Monday, attended practice this morning but did not participate for the second day in a row. Hill, who played quarterback at USF during the 2005 season, had been working at safety and receiver this fall.
Hill, a junior who played mostly quarterback at Pearl River Community College last season, shared repetitions at quarterback with junior Grant Gregory, who would step in as starter if Grothe can't recover by the Bulls' Sept. 1 season opener against Elon, and senior Anthony Severino.
Coach Jim Leavitt said Tuesday that Grothe's injury was a hip pointer, which is a bruise of the pelvic bone, but he told a teammate during practice "that's not what I have." We'll update this story after the morning practice ends.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
I reaaaally don't like the sound of this.
Posted by: Griggsy | August 22, 2007 at 09:20 AM
I'm happy that he's back at his old position. I love Grothe #1, but we need a back up with game experience. I would hope that Grothe would stay healthy the whole year, but he'll be playing with a major target on his back. So I'm happy with the move. Sellout RayJay! GO BULLS!
Posted by: Mark | August 22, 2007 at 09:22 AM
This is really bad news. To make such an important position switch so late in camp, I think it means that Grothe may not play at all against Elon. Is Severino fully recovered? Also, is this an indication that Hill was not playing well as a WR? Who would be the next QB in line- Gachette? Or would Allen leave the secondary (I would hate to take a starter away so he could be a back-up)? Or, would Courtney Denson get a shot?
Posted by: Dave | August 22, 2007 at 09:54 AM
This looks worse and worse everyday!
Posted by: DELdaBULL | August 22, 2007 at 10:06 AM
I think if Hill is excelling at WR he could see the field a bit and still be a backup. I would like to see his athleticism on the field in some form or another. I am worried about the Grothe situation though. Hopefully, they don't let him push back to soon. Let them run Elon without him and get the backups some game reps.
Posted by: Brian | August 22, 2007 at 10:21 AM
10 days till Elon, and an additional 7 to Auburn. Put Gregory in for Elon, and let's hope 17 days is enough for Matt to recover.
Posted by: Griggsy | August 22, 2007 at 10:28 AM
I wish I was as optimistic as everyone else saying, hopefully he will be fine for Elon.
Why move Hill back to QB unless this is looking like extended absense?
Greg- Did you see when he went down? Was he taking a hit, or was it just a bad step or something?
I can't think of anything serious enough to miss significant time where he would still be walking around, but I am no trainer either. This doesn't sound good at all.
Gousfbulls.com has suddenly gone pretty quiet on football practice reports and such. I hope they aren't keeping anything from us and the kid is ready to go at least by week 2.
Thanks in advance for staying on top of this for us Greg. We can take up a collection if you need to pay off a team doctor, trainer, physical therapist, whatever.
Posted by: Adam | August 22, 2007 at 11:00 AM
hill should have been placed at QB a while ago.. he had more stars assigned to him as a recruit out of high school. it only makes sense to put him at the most important position on the field. kinda ridiculous how it takes an injury to our QB (due to poor practices held by our coaching staff) to place the most highly touted QB out of high school into the QB spot.
Posted by: cee | August 22, 2007 at 05:57 PM
When Hill had his opportunities he sucked.
Cee,
We are all still waiting on your infinite knowledge on how you would run practices to alleviate this injury bug. All true USF fans are dying to know (seriously).
Posted by: DELdaBULL | August 23, 2007 at 07:18 AM
Apparently, cee is a longtime college coach who never has injuries in pre-season. Also, he is able to watch all of the USF practices and combined with his knowledge and what he sees knows they are doing it wrong.
Posted by: EEC2 | August 23, 2007 at 07:44 AM
Unfortunately for us Bulls fans he is not bestowing his knowledge to us. We just want to know what he knows. Looks like that will never happen.
Posted by: DELdaBULL | August 23, 2007 at 09:24 AM
cee, what happens when one site like Scout gives a guy 4 stars, but Rivals has him at 2, and ESPN puts him in at 70 (40-99 scale)? Which site should determine the starting lineup?
Posted by: Dave | August 23, 2007 at 11:05 AM