Three weeks to Signing Day, recruiting notes ...

Making lots of phone calls this week, trying to check up on USF's current commitments and figure out who the last half-dozen or so will be. So there's lots of notes -- none probably worth a headline by itself, but collectively a lot going on as USF works to wrap up what should be its highest-ranked class ever.

-- First, some math: Defensive tackle Anthony Hill, the former FSU signee who joined the team last week, can count toward USF's 2008 class and will not count against the 2009 total. A school is limited to 25 initial scholarships each year, and players who join a team in January can be rolled back to the previous year's count if the school didn't use all 25 initials the previous fall. So while Hill will be a freshman this fall, he won't count against USF's limit, so the Bulls could sign an additional 25 players on signing day and still not be overbooked. Again, a few academic casualties are to be expected, so the Bulls could easily sign 28 or 29, understanding that two or three have already been placed at junior colleges, anticipating they're unlikely to qualify academically. This doesn't hurt the Bulls in terms of APR or anything, but allows USF to establish a relationship with a recruit for two years later -- think of Theo Wilson or Leslie Stirrups.

-- From the standpoint of having interesting backstories, it's hard to beat defensive end Demi Thompson among USF's current commitments. "Demi," he explained Tuesday, is short for "Oluwademilola," which in his parents' native Nigeria, means "The Lord has crowned me with wealth." His parents, Joseph and Sola, were born in Nigeria, but Demi was born in England, near London, moving to the United States when he was 2 years old. He's USF's second defensive commit from Lake Mary in as many seasons, following linebacker Mike Lanaris last season.

-- One name not to worry about: Former Lakeland standout John Brown, who hasn't played in two seasons as a defensive tackle at Florida, is not transferring to USF. He's come by USF twice in the past two weeks trying to speak with coaches, but my understanding is that USF is happy enough with its recruiting on the defensive line that Brown isn't part of their plans.

-- One name we mentioned last month is Faron Hornes, the tiny but quick junior college receiver and return specialist who was offered a scholarship by USF coach Jim Leavitt. Talked to him Tuesday, and he's still very interested in USF, though he wasn't sure when or if he would make an official visit to Tampa, which makes me wonder if he's still high in USF's plans. Hornes, who is good friends with USF commit Edgard Theliar, said the offers he's weighing are from USF and Colorado, with strong interest from Cincinnati and Florida State. He said he'd know more about his plans once he returns to Butler Community College for spring classes next week.

-- One Butler player USF remains very active in recruiting is defensive back Rudell Crim, who will make an official campus visit this weekend. He said Tuesday that his decision should come down to USF and Arkansas -- he visited Fayetteville and called the weekend "great," saying he felt at home and could see himself playing for the Razorbacks. He's played a little of everything in the defensive secondary -- Arkansas likes him as a safety or nickel defensive back, while USF apparently sees him as a cornerback. The 5-foot-10, 193-pound Crim, a Tallahassee Rickards grad, said he also had considered Oregon, Louisville and Illinois before narrowing to his final two.

Comments

[Greg Auman]

WS, what I'm saying about the academic casualties is that Leavitt will purposefully sign players he knows will not be qualfying, just to establish a relationship with the recruit for when they're coming out of junior college. Without naming names, there are a few such players in this year's class.

[WS]

"Again, a few academic casualties are to be expected"......wierd

[The Truth]

All these tremendous incoming offensive weapons.

What a shame.

Gregory is still the offensive coordinator.

Ahhhh.....what could have been!

[by the way...]

weber, Battle and Bellamy are a bit taller than that now. Battle is more around 5-11. Check out his video clips and you'll see why he's ranked in the top 200 in the nation. The kid is as explosive as they come, with shift, cutback, and major acceleration ability. He'll be a beast for us at RB, or slot giving us a huge dose of speed with relatively decent size.

[David Weber]

Well, it seems like half of the Big 12 went to CC, and even the biggest programs like USC have been known to take a JUCO guy. It's not our fault that none of them want to go to UCF.

On Brown- his example might help USF in going after the last few guys- while you can say your on the team, what's the point if you have no hope of seeing the field? They'll just sign a 5* in each following your enrollment, so maybe some of them will choose the Giddins route (as in, go to a winning program and potentially be an immediate impact player).

What's with all the short guys? Battles, Bellamy, and Lamar are all under 5'10" and Marc is apparently 5'10". Add in Hornes, and suddenly we'll rival WVU and UF for the midget championship (I'm short; I can make these jokes). It seems like the rage 2/3 years ago was to get tall, built WRs, whereas the success of UF and WVU in using Sanders, Devine, Demps et al. have turned the table to finding amazingly quick guys who can hide. I like the idea for versatility, but that type of player isn't proven in the red zone. Scruggs is a necessity in my mind.

[B^S]

That is awesome Windbane. Good observation. That usually doesn't happen for our commits so good for Lindsey! He should have been higher all along.
And I hope turning away John Brown doesn't hurt any feelings at Lakeland High. That team is very young and will be lethal the next couple years and I expect they will have a similar class to their 07 class soon that is just full of studs like McRoy and Hagens. And I would like to think we would have a shot with those players.

[Windbane]

For those checking here before other sites, Lindsey Lamar was upgraded to a high 3-star on Rivals and Scout today. Just watch his youtube clip to know why. It never hurts to be the fastest player in the state.

[kb]

Chalko,

How many UCF guys are transfers from CC or other schools? I would guess about 10.

[kb]

Chalko,

Don't hate that no wants to transfer to UCF.

Maybe you guys will pick up Marve. He would be a nice get for you.

[Windbane]

only jackasses criticize a guy that goes to a CC. all programs recruit from them, too.

[Little Timmy]

Sounds like Chalko is jealous.... Anyhow, I'd like to thank Chalko for supporting this USF blog even if he only posts nonsense.

If John Brown would've signed with USF out of high school he wouldn't have had the problem he has now. It sounds like some recruits need to know what they are signing up for.

[Lick Nachey]

Don't forget, Chalko, that USF is also in the running for Seauxand Seaux from Southwest Louisiana State, as well as Sohand Soh, a big time offensive guard from Tijuana Tech.

[Greg Auman]

Hornes signed with Southern Miss but never attended there. He's a junior college player. Anthony Hill didn't attend FSU; he just signed there.

[Chalko]

Paragraph One: Sounds like more sketchy moves from USF.

Overall: Why does USF have so many transfer players!?!?!? So and so from FSU, so and so from Southern Miss, several so and so's from Learn How to Read Community College, it's ridiculous!!!

[Greg Auman]

Horne would have two years. He signed with Southern Miss in February 2006, so he'll have two years to play two seasons if I understand things correctly.

[Windbane]

How many years would Horne have? I see he was originally an 05 commit.

[Windbane]

Demi's dad posts some on USFnation. He's a nice guy.

I wish Crim had enrolled early like Anthony Hill so that he, too, could have counted for last year. It's a shame any year we can't use all of our scholarships, especially with recruiting picking up like it is this year. Crim could really help us out, though.

[JR]

Crim would be a nice and important pick up.