Call him a Bull? Ishmeal Grant could be coming

I've told you guys how my cell only keeps 500 contacts, so I'm constantly having to purge old numbers to make room for new ones. One guy I haven't let myself lose track of is Ishmeal Grant, a receiver from Blountstown, Fla., who signed with USF in 2005 but failed to qualify academically. Every time I'd talk to Grant, he'd have a different setback to overcome -- he told me he was hit by a drunk driver in spring 2007 -- but one thing wouldn't change: how much he wanted to make it to USF.

It looks like Grant is going to get his wish, as JCgridiron.com, a juco recruiting site that's part of the Rivals.com network, is reporting that Grant has committed to USF. An important update, after talking to James Pryor, his coach at Arizona Western College: Grant won't finish at AWC until December, so if he came to USF, it'd be in January as a 2009 recruit with two years of eligibility. USF receivers coach Mike Canales will be visiting Grant at Arizona Western College this week.

Grant always had a great mix of size and speed -- 6-foot-3, but quick enough to return eight kicks -- six kickoffs and two punts -- for touchdowns as a senior in 2004. As a junior he averaged 35.4 yards a catch. If I'm recalling his timeline correctly, Grant wasn't in school in 2005 and spent 2006 at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, but didn't play. He's been at Arizona Western this past spring, and while AWC doesn't have complete stats on its site, just tallying up five games would give him 25 catches for 368 yards and four touchdowns.

And with all due respect to Melville, he spells his name "Ishmeal." Now if they can just find a linebacker named Queequeg ...

-- Speaking of old names you might remember, how about Travaris Cadet? The Miami Central quarterback nearly signed with USF a year ago, but wound up at Toledo, where he redshirted, then bolted after one semester. I bring him up because he's wound up at Pearl River this spring. He'll compete for the starting quarterback job this fall, but it's unclear whether he'll be recruited by major colleges as a quarterback or as an "athlete." Pearl River coach Tim Hatten estimates he'll have 17 Division I recruits on his roster this fall ...

-- Another name at Pearl River this fall? Hatten said he'll have Onterrio McCalebb, a four-star running back from Fort Meade who considered USF but signed with Auburn. McCalebb, who was at Auburn's spring game this month, is tiny but super-fast and could play major-college ball at any number of positions. He follows another Fort Meade standout, Demetrius Byrd, who went from Pearl River to a national championship at LSU last fall. Two other former SEC signees from Florida who will be at Pearl River: defensive lineman Charles Deas, a former LSU signee, and Johnnie Lee Dixon, a safety who signed with Auburn in 2007. Did I mention that Wally Burnham will be up at Pearl River this week?

-- Hey, for those of you with a sudden interest in UNLV women's basketball after USF's Jose Fernandez was a finalist for that opening: As expected the job went to former UCLA coach Kathy Olivier, so says the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Expect coverage of the Lady Rebels to dwindle off a bit now ...

Comments

[hawg_fan]

Just wanted to say that, yes, many AR fans are incompetent fools that revert to pre civil war mindframes when they get upset and can't think of something intelligent to say. However, they do not represent the majority of the fan base which consists of morally sound realists. And the reality of the PBev situation is that he is a stud. Yes he probably gets negative mail and slurs, but what is life without adversity. He will become more of a man for withstanding and prevailing over the storm than he would by running away from a difficult situation. I love Stan Heath and now root for USF. I just wanted to represent a more refined side of the AR fan base.

[xr4ti_007]

GA, I don’t think anyone else caught the Moby Dick reference. Don’t waste your efforts on this intellectual wasteland.

[The Champ]

Let me add something to this Patrick Beverley situation.

First off understand this, the state of Arkansas is one of the most racist states left in America and that is not up for debate.It is much bigger the the Heath situation(that is for reality)

Now for the Beverley situation, Patrick is a good kid and basketball player, but he lacks common sense and so does his mother, sorry but that is just true.

Patrick was once attack and shamed by the sports editor of the main newspaper in Arkie.Had something to due with the way he talks which is basically what you hear from most inner city kids under the age of 22.

Last season when Patrick was thinking about leaving he received a lot of hate from the fans that called themselves his biggest supporters.Some of it was very much uncalled for.

Now as for as this time around, Patrick and the coach that replaced Heath did not get along and butted heads several times during the season.Under Heath Beverley had a great freshmen season, similar to the one Jones had here as a freshmen.Under the new coach Patrick's numbers where down just about across the board and he also had a couple of off the court issues as well, he did not have that trouble under Heath.Patrick is a kid that needs a starong male leader in his life and is why he calls Heath a father figure.

I tell you USF fans you would not believe the things that Arkie people have been saying about Beverley, Stan, and USF since last Friday.In gathering info on this story I almost could not stomach the things that I had to read coming from the minds of Arkie fans.

I don't know if Patrick or his mom have what has been said about him, but I cannot imagine a parent forcing his/her child to stay in a place that doesn't give a damn about him, except for how many jumpers he can hit on the court.

On a side note, there was a player that just chosed Indiana over Arkie.The player said the reason for that decision was he wanted to go to a place that treated him like family and to a coach that developed his players, well guess who he hung out with on his visit to Arkie land? Yes Patrick Beverley.

[reality]

Greg, What is the word on this Patrick Beverly stuff coming from across the Bay?

I can't believe that clown had a story you didnt.

PS to Champ, any word on what your dad is doing? Lots of open scholarships and not alot of Big East players.

[RR]

DELdaBULL is exactly right.

We've had quite a few PRCC players come through our program...and they pass right on through w/o ever making a contribution.

Hopefully that trend will be bucked with Kion Wilson & Theo Wilson (he was great at Dunedin!).

[DELdaBULL]

PRCC has yet to make an impact on the BULLS squad.

[Windbane]

I love our Pearl River pipeline. Keep em coming.

[G.A.]

Ken, McCalebb's size depends on who you ask. Rivals listed him at 5-10, 154 pounds, which counts as tiny in my book. Scout has him at 6-0, 170, which is less so. If he's not a running back, he's a receiver or a cornerback. So no, I'm not projecting him at defensive tackle. Sorry if that was vague ...

[Ken]

Grant sounds great.

Greg, re. McCalebb, just how many positions are there for a guy who is "tiny" (and how small is that, anyway)? We wouldn't be excited about a tiny QB, maybe RB, probably not WR, not great for DB--best I could figure for a guy who's tiny but super-fast is returning kicks.

How many of those PRCC guys have done hard time?

[Blake]

If he can keep his head on straight this could really work out great. I just hope he is done with his screw ups.

[Tampaboi]

As a junior he had 18 receptions for 638 yards," Johns explains. "That was a 35-yard per catch average. He had six kickoff returns for touchdowns and he had two punt returns for touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown.

"This season he had 24 catches for 626 yards and 11 touchdowns," he continues. "That was a 26-yard per catch average. He had one rushing touchdown again and he had five kickoff returns for touchdowns and two punt returns for touchdowns."

[Dave W]

So he'd be playing next season? I guess this makes up for the loss of the JUCO WR. He sounds like a good enough athlete to take a chance on; 6'3" is pretty good size, and he should be pretty fast. I think that any remaining scholarships should have gone to building some immediate depth on the lines.

I like the old link; I forgot about the Amp Hill Experience.