Bulls get commitment from versatile Landi

USF continues to stay busy on the recruiting front, as the Bulls picked up an oral commitment this week from Coral Springs Charter senior Evan Landi, perhaps the most versatile and intriguing of USF's 18 commitments this fall.

"The kid is very competitive, wherever he lines up," coach Otis Mounds said Wednesday. "USF is a local school that allows him to stay here in Florida, in a big-time conference like the Big East. The Bulls are highly visible these days."

Landi, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, is what the recruiting sites call an "athlete" -- defying the constraints of a single position. He's played primarily quarterback and safety, though Mounds has used him at receiver, tight end, outside linebacker and defensive end. "He also punts for us, and he's kicked some field goals as well," Mounds said.

South Carolina offered him a scholarship at receiver, and Wisconsin offered him as a defensive back. Mounds said of the major schools recruiting Landi, USF talked the most about quarterback, but Landi is open to playing other positions. The versatility extends beyond football, as he also is a three-year starter in basketball and baseball at Coral Springs Charter, and is talented enough in hockey that he was offered a pro contract by the Los Angeles Kings after a tryout this summer.

Landi is USF's 18th commitment and the third this week. While it's early to classify him at a single position, it appears he'll get his first look at quarterback -- USF will have only three returning passers next year in starter Matt Grothe, backup Grant Gregory and redshirt freshman Alton Voss.

Comments

[G.A.]

Good insights, thumper. Appreciate the scouting report.

[thumper]

saw landi play thursday night. he is playing on a small school team with limited talent. i would think a great player would be able to elevate a bad team to an average level. this hasn't happened. obviously, he is rated highly because of his performance in summer camps. there is little production on offense. he was 7 0f 16 for 57 yards. his team gained less than 100 yards for the game. he is tall and moves fairly well. in 3 years he could be 6-4 and 220. matt g. will be the qb. for 2 more years anyway. perhaps he has potential, but he hasn't done anything yet. we have seen very good qbs under sophisticated offensive schemes. grothe at lake gibson. marve, under weiner, at plant. tebow at nease. these guys passed people silly in high school. landi might be a good college qb., but he is not prepared like those guys were.

[cee]

Dave, it's not "augmenting" when the rest of your high school recruits are only 1 or 2 star recruits... with 3 stars being the highest. if you're best recruits are JUCO transfers, criminals, or academically ineligible partial qualifiers, you've got some problems. that's where we're at, and that's why we have such problems winning conference games. look at george selvie.. he was a 1 star recruit.. sure, he piles up sacks against inferior opponents like Elon (who we has a problem with in the 1st half, need i remind you), but he is a NO SHOW against the games that matter-- the conference games.

selvie (a 1-star) was STONEWALLED by rutger's sosa and anthony davis (a bluechip 5 star recruit).. selvie led to a loss against Uconn and cincy as well.. it is these recruits that have gotten us to 1-3 in the conference. sure, a team full of 1 and 2 stars are great for sunbelt teams like FIU and FAU (both teams we've struggled to beat in the past 2 years), yet when they face BCS opponents who have higher touted recruits, they get smashed in the face (see george selvie in the past 3 weeks).

[Dave W]

We're not building the team with JUCO guys, we're augmenting. Really, all of the JUCO guys we're bringing in are at positions we'll be relatively inexperienced at, and this will help to balance out class depth (WR Jones, for instance). These guys did have academic issues, by and large, but with an A.A. they are eligible to apply for admission at USF, so it is not like they are special cases for the office.

[steve oneal]

Cee ther are a lot of programs that use juco players. How many are on the Bulls? Now check and see how many the top 25 programs have on there sqauds. I bet you will see that most if not all have juco transfers. Your post just proves that no matter what, you will complain about the Bulls. If they finish 9-3, go to a bowl game and defeat another BCS conference team, finishing 10-3 and ranked in top 25, will you admit they had a good season? I think you will still complain. Those first 6 weeks of the season must have been really tough for you sitting praying for a loss so you could say " I told you so". I hope the last 3 weeks are just as miserable for you. GO BULLS!!

[J]

So, if your suggesting no recruits less than 3 stars, I guess we need to kick George Selvie off the team. Granted he's leading the nation in sacks and tackles for loss, but people think players can't make an impact w/o being highly recruited. I guess Stephen Nicholas was a mistake too. I seem to remember him being good enough to get drafted into the NFL, but he must not have because he was only a 2 star recruit. Maybe Xavier Lee will win the Heisman this year, he was a 5 star recruit. Oh wait, he's not even playing anymore.

[cee]

dave, notice how when leavitt goes after anything above 3 stars, they are JUCO transfers or players with academic/legal troubles? you dont build a program through the juco route.. looks like leavitt is building another hollow house of cards, waiting to be blown over by a gust of wind. it is obvious that leavitt is following the k-state bill snyder way of buidling a program-- the WRONG way of building through junior colleges. keep neglecting the state's best talent and you'll find yourself in a sea of mediocrity.

[Dave W]

Of course we want the guy to succeed if he's on our team; I just doubt he'll make an immediate impact at any spot.

Cee, was the Kion Wilson signing (4* on Scout) good enough for you?

[cee]

leavitt needs to pick up the pace with recruiting.. another 2 star recruit wont help us from consistently losing 3 or more conference games a year

http://usf.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=69250

[JoeB]

We'll see. Until he cracks a roster spot, I'll keep him in the 'project' status. I wish him well though.

[Rob]

Joe B you obviously don't know sports! If your good at any position, you play them all. You want your best guys on the field at all times!

[Mike Lakeland]

A recruit is like the high school Prom Queen:

Looks great now, but we'll see how life has treated them after 3-4 years.

[BiggTipp]

why is it so hard for people to leave their names with posts

[Ken]

This guy sounds really intriguing. CJL and the staff will probably need to evaluate him more closely to see where he can make the best contribution, but great athletes are always welcome (from the description above, I doubt he'll be a quarterback, but who knows).

[CR]

and we all know how those Rivals stars foretell success on the field. LOL

big deal...the kid is a 2 star on Rivals. Where are all your blue chip recruits?

[C.R]

Clebert is listed at 6'1 312

We have two freshmen, one who is geting playing time
McClain 6'3 306
Garrison 6'4 295

I think those two will be even bigger by their senior years. We are getting bigger athletes is a matter of gaining experience.

[Brian]

I'm not sure size alone is really what you look at on the line ... Clebert isn't a small guy ... the need for size is for someone to replace him ... no pun intended but he will be a big loss. It is a shame he just always seems to be perpetually playing hurt "arch or whatever" it is ....

[Jeff]

JoeB-
This kid is a freak. He is one of the recruits that has the coaches at USF the most excited. He will do GREAT wherever he ends up.

[JoeB]

This kid sounds like a project. No offense, but when you play all over the field at 7 different positions, how good can you be at any 1 position?

[Dave W]

Still need more QBs I think; this guy sounds like a Gachette or Nate Allen type of QB (i.e. better in on defense).

[Bullshark]

Can we PLEASE recruit some size in the interior D-line.....this kid sounds awesome, but 2 losses this year contributed to heavily by being run-over illustrates the need.

[JL]

He can cook like Emeril, dance like Michael Jackson, sing like Pavarotti, and on his free time he likes to wrestle with Lions!