Recovering Grothe does 'everything' in drills

After missing most of three days of practice recovering from a sprained ankle, USF quarterback Matt Grothe got a share of the snaps in Friday's practice, the Bulls' last before Sunday's home finale against Connecticut.

Grothe and USF's coaches have been confident all week that the junior would be healthy enough to start against the Huskies. While senior Grant Gregory has gotten most of the work with the first-team offense, all signs point to Grothe being able to start Sunday's game as USF tries to snap a three-game losing streak.

"He looked fine. I'm sure he's a little bit sore," coach Jim Leavitt said. "He and Grant both split the reps. Matt has played a lot of football, so I'm not concerned. I wanted him to throw a little bit (Thursday) and he threw a little bit ... Today, he did everything, ran the ball a little bit, too. That was good. We've still got two more days. It's good we're playing Sunday night and not Saturday. That would be tougher."

Offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said Grothe took about one-third of the reps, with his son taking the remainder. He said he was encouraged by the Grothe was able to move around in Friday's workout.

"We'll make a game-time decision on who to start, but he was able to move around fine today, and if he could do that today, he'll be able to move around Sunday," Greg Gregory said.

Sophomore Jake Sims, who has played guard and tackle this season, is "tentative" recovering from a sprained right ankle, Leavitt said, and freshman Danous Estenor is still out following knee surgery. Leavitt said redshirt freshman Jeremiah Warren can fill in at tackle if needed Sunday.

Who will USF start at cornerback opposite Jerome Murphy? Leavitt said senior Tyller Roberts and redshirt freshmen Quenton Washington and Tyson Butler, who have all been slowed by injuries, are all practicing, though he didn't know who would start.

Leavitt said that redshirt freshman Mike McGowan, a second-team offensive lineman, is recovering from knee surgery -- he was on crutches at the Rutgers game. And true freshman Armando Sanchez, who is redshirting, is sidelined as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Comments

[Windbane]

Chalko, you were 0-4. Let USF go.

[Chalko]

Dear Tom,

I send to you my deepest apologies. I should have really been concerned about my sentence structure on a USF blog. I totally forgot that USF has some of the highest academic standards in the country, how silly of me! Enjoy another loss tomorrow. If you're interested, I have "USF Mid-Major Warrior" T-Shirts for sale for $5. Think of it this way, less than one hour of flipping burgers, one cool T-Shirt!

Love Chalko

[Tom]

Chalko,
You should learn how to write a coherent sentence before you make fun of someone else.

"Although I'm not surprised, you are USF student/Alum or just a massive idiot!"

Doesn't UCiF have a game to lose...

[Chalko]

Seriously Delda, that had to be the most retarded comment I've heard in my life. Although I'm not surprised, you are USF student/Alum or just a massive idiot!

[Richard Todd]

Offense line ? More like walking wounded - man that is alot of injuries and throw in Mike Ford and Jammar Taylor being hurt - WOW - Folks wonder why we have had problems on offense. Blame who ever you want but no team in college football will be as good as they started with that many injuries. Defense is a little better but they have had their fare share. Hope all the guys recover and get back to 100%. It has to be really tough on the guys when they work so hard in the off-season and then are out for so many games.

[Don G]

DELdaBULL, I guess I'm missing something here, but what does Cincy or Pitt winning out have to do with Bulls' beating UCONN & WVA? Re: Grothe and the passing game, I appreciate Matt's abilities & gutsy play, but has anyone noticed Grothe's methodical delivery? His release must be the slowest of any 1-A QB and prevents him from being effective at a higher level. The DBs can read where he's passing and Grothe's slow release allows defenders to close with receiver too easily and produces interceptions. That is a coaching issue and should have been recognized and dealt with long ago. Again, I think we have sub-par coaching at USF.

[DELdaBULL]

I hope the winner of Cincy Pitt can win out. That way we will be allowed to win out. 8-4 is dissappointing since I was looking toward 10-2 at the start of the year, but this team is obviously not as good as we all thought. Next year I would like to see the coaches really establish a non Grothe running game and a feature back. The defense I know will get better with Wally and Jim. They will figure it out. I am not so sure about the offense.