Morning notes: Fans get chance at stardom

USF's fall football ad campaign will focus on Bulls fans, and the school invited fans to come to campus Saturday morning decked out in green and gold to have pictures taken for billboards, benches and more.

I didn't make it over until the second half of the three-hour window, when things had settled down considerably, but all it takes is a cute kid or two or a guy in a green wig to make the idea work. USF posted a photo gallery from the shoot, and there's been interest from other media -- 620 AM's Darek Sharpe broadcast live Saturday morning, and My Fox Tampa Bay came back Monday morning for a live remote -- here's a video clip including an interview with USF's Bill McGillis.

-- Want a sense of the crazy football parity anticipated atop the Big East? The league's official football Twitter points out that four major preseason magazines have picked four different league champs: Athlon likes Cincinnati to repeat, Lindy's picks West Virginia, Phil Steele picks Rutgers and Sporting News likes Pitt. Still trying to figure out my Big East ballot -- a big question for me is how much to value returning quarterbacks vs. unproven passers. Who knew Tony Pike would play the way he did last fall?

-- Another Big East preview: Bleacherreport.com puts USF second behind West Virginia.

-- The Charlotte Sun writes that former USF soccer player Jeannette Dyer is playing in Germany and hopes to continue playing overseas in France, Italy or Spain.

-- Lake Brantley's Neamen Wise, a state champ in the long jump and 300 hurdles, signed with USF over offers from Florida and Florida State, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

-- As USF baseball waits for Tuesday's MLB draft, there's intrigue a year away, as the Times' All-Suncoast baseball team includes Pitcher of the Year Thomas Dorminy, a junior from Alonso who has committed to play for USF in 2011. He went 12-0 with a 1.04 ERA, but is a draft prospect next summer.

-- More baseball. USF's official site confirms four more Bulls playing summer baseball, making it 11 total. Two freshmen -- lefty Matt Reed and catcher Andrew Longley -- will play for the Covington Lumberjacks (enjoy the logo) of the Valley Baseball League; freshman infielder Luis Llerena, who sat out this past season after transferring from Manhattan, is with fellow Bull Todd Brazeal with the VBL's Staunton Braves; and freshman right-hander Kyle Eastham is with the Geneva Red Wings of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

Comments

[Bulliever]

I think we will have a tough time against FSU, but I think we can win the game, we just have to play smart... The good news is that there will be 7500 Bulls Fans cheering from the stands.

We usually play great at home so I have a good feeling that we can pull off a win against Miami. Winning either games would be great, but winning both this season would be extraordinary! Go Bulls!

[WouldYouKindly]

I'm actually pretty excited to see the Bulls play FSU and UM, though its headache inducing to try to figure out a projected winner. I think both will be pretty close games though...what do you guys think?

[Bulliever]

David,

Great analysis... I am jumping on your band wagon!

If USF can avoid a mid-season collapse, it should be a great season for us...

[David Weber]

On the Big East ballot- I think the returning QBs should get a lot of weight (other than Brown). The teams that are replacing QBs (again, except WVU) are using unknown quantities or have a new offensive system, meaning not only does the guy have to pick up the leadership aspect of the position, but he has to forget everything he learned as a backup/redshirt. Since each of the contenders will be replacing a major aspect of their game (running games at UCONN and Pitt, passing/running game at WVU- they have a new o-line plus Brown, passing game at Rutgers, defense at Cincy and UCONN, and o-line at USF), I think that the preseason favorite has to be determined by who is coming back on both sides of the ball. That narrows it down to Cincy, WVU, and USF for me. From there, I think Cincy has way too many questions on the coaching staff and defense, so they're out. USF has new coaches, a new o-line, and an erratic QB. WVU has a new o-line, a new QB, and questionable head coaching (but solid coordinators).

I'm going with USF as the favorite because I think we'll have the best defense in the conference and Canales' tweak in play calling will be enough to overcome the dumb mistakes of the Gregory era. Remember, our offense rolled between the 20s, so the new set of eyes might be all that is needed. On a pure talent level, I don't think the USF linemen were close to the WVU linemen, so USF won't miss those guys as much. As good as T-Mac was, he is replaceable, much in the way he replaced Nicholas. Throw in a recruiting class that offers a lot of guys who can play right away, and I think USF can address last season's weaknesses.

As for WVU, they are replacing one of the best college football players ever. Even with him, they didn't have a great season last year, so I don't think they'll get much better with Brown.

[Bull Daly]

That is a funny logo. Did St Johns decide on their new mascot yet?? They had some crazy candidates, so I would like to find out what one wins.