Notes: AJC ranks Leavitt as No. 12 coach

Lots of fun rankings and predictions and other summer nonsense to get to, and I'll start with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mark Bradley, who on Monday offered up his personal top 10 coaches in college football. Gotta like anybody who can get 351 blog comments in two days, and the banter over coaches left out led Bradley to add five more, with USF's Jim Leavitt making the cut and the only Big East coach to do so.

Bradley was inspired after reading The Sporting News' Matt Hayes, who offered up his top five coaches -- interesting to see Cincinnati's Brian Kelly make the cut when Ohio State's Jim Tressel did not.

Other random notes to share ...

-- If USF's top football players are short on motivation this summer, they need only stop by Nationalfootballpost.com, where writer Wes Bunting has his analysis on six potential draft picks from USF. It's impressively critical from an X's and O's standpoint -- for instance, George Selvie "is easily washed out of plays outside and struggles setting the edge. Lacks power as a pass rusher and doesn’t exhibit any kind of an initial jolt on contact. Isn’t even real effective on stunts because he lacks the base strength and natural leverage to drive offensive linemen into the backfield." There's high praise for Nate Allen, who he writes "looks like a solid starting safety at the next level."

-- Long URL of the day goes to collegefootballfantasyinsider.com, which has its Big East preview up. Matt Grothe is the No. 2 Big East quarterback (behind West Virginia's Jarrett Brown) from a fantasy standpoint, projected to pass for 2,748 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Mike Ford, projected for 784 yards and eight touchdowns, is the No. 5 running back -- they really like Pitt's Dion Lewis -- and Carlton Mitchell and Jessie Hester are the Nos. 7 and 8 receivers in the league, both projected over 650 yards. The Bulls are also projected with the league's top defense. Who writes "SOFL" as the abbreviation for, um, USF?

-- Scout.com is excitedly reporting that former USF signee Claude Davis is commited to the Bulls for 2010. That's good, but we reported that back in January. He does give Scout the obligatory kind-of-committed quote: "I still plan to re-sign with South Florida, but if a school wants to step up and offer me, then I will definitely listen," he tells them.

-- Those of you wanting up-to-the-minute roster accuracy should know that freshman receiver Sterling Griffin has traded his No. 88 for a No. 17 -- all the cool kids have low numbers these days.

Comments

[Bull Daly]

I guess Urban Meyer is #1 when it comes to UF players getting arrested. Why does Urban recruit such thugs??? UF is now known as the thug team of the state of Florida. It used to be Miami, now it looks like UF took that title thanks to Meyer. Say what you want about Spurrier, but I am sure he would not be putting up with all those arrests if he was still the coach.

[Walla Walla Bing Bang]

Don Corleone...for every minivan of Bulls fans that traveled to Louisville and Morgantown, the Cards and Mountaineers sent tour bus loads to the Ray Jay.

[Not So Fast]

It's not that we, as Gators fans, see Yoo Ess Eff as a threat. Those of us who live in the bay area also read the Times. So we check out the various blogs and see what's shaking. When and if you ever do something UF, FSU or UM has done, then get real. Until then go watch the video of Leavitt's trailer and try to make your own look like it.

[Spurzookden]

You know the defending national champs up in Gainesville see us rapidly gaining on them in their rearview mirror when they have time to stop by and post to this board. Let's enjoy the attention of every program in the state--it's a compliment and a testament to how far the program has come in a short period of time.

[Bull Daly]

Gator Hourly just proved how little he knows about the subject. USF was not even in a BCS conference at the time that they smoked a top 25 ranked Bowling Green team coached by Meyer. USF was pretty new to the 1A scene at the time, so I would think Bowling Green would have a leg up on USF. Not the case as USF just flat out coached Meyer in that game. Why dont you go back and read Urban's comments after the game to see how shocked he was after USF destroyed his program. Meyer was pretty much in awe of Leavitt. Urban still has plenty of respect for Leavitt as does Leavitt towards Meyer, but I would not be trashing Coach Leavitt as he is currently 1-0 over Urban. Facts are facts!!

[DELdaBULL]

Hourly,

Hate to tell you, but in 2002 when USF beat BGCU, BGCU had more "talent". They were ranked in the Top 25 and had an 8-1 record. USF was not too shabby with a 7-2 record themsleves. Unfortunately, USF was a 1-AA independent at that time (thanks CUSA). So while Bowling Green was well entrenched in the MAC, USF was still trying to find their Div I-A legs. So please do not come on here and say that BG was not on the same level as USF, it was actually the other way around.

http://www.gousfbulls.com//pdf1/131108.pdf

[Gator Hourly]

Bull Daly, why can't you compare apples to apples. Leavitt beat Meyer when Meyer was at Bowling Green. Even Bowling Green wasn't on the same level as USF then.

Florida and Temple Terrace Technical College for the Mildly Retarded, a.k.a. USF are both in BCS conferences. So when you see Florida in 2010, you'll see what it's like to play a real program in a real stadium with real tradition and real fans. Get it?

[Kelly]

Why does the Times sports people insist on linking the work done by real writers (not that Mark Bradley is one, because he's a d-bag) all summer long?

Do you guys and gals just not do any of your own work? Why not get together the sports department in one room (I guess that counts out Gary Shelton b/c he's too big to fit in a room with anyone else) and do some of your own polls/rankings, etc? Is that too much of a task?

[Riverview Rays Fan]

Hey Two Bits,
CJL will get another crack at Meyer in 2011, when Meyer is the coach at Notre Dame!

[Bull Daly]

two bits,

You might want to back off on your comments seeing that Leavitt has already beaten Meyer. Leavitt is 1-0 against Urban, so you should not be tooting your horn. Meyer was so confused and shocked after Leavitt destroyed his ranked team that he asked Leavitt how he beat him. Leavitt laughed and said that he is not going to tell him. See you in 2010!!!

[Some interesting stuff...]

I don't think Bunting is completely off base on Selvie, but that's because Selvie is a 240ish guy trying to be a complete DE. He definitely lacks at time bull rushing, and when OT's are able to get their hands on him. As a 3-4 OLB I think Selvie is a top 10 pick, as a 4-3 NFL DE he might be a top 30 pick if he can beef up a bit more this season, add more strength and show a better ability to be disruptive even when he's got hands on him or double and triple teamed.

I love selvie but using triple teams as an excuse is only good when you realize he lacks that overall bull rushing power to over run, 2 guys like Orakpo had at Texas last year. If Selvie could develop that then he becomes the complete DE.

Also, so, so many newby USF fans fail to recognize how much limitations in talent at the coaching level, and player level Leavitt was strapped with when he arrived and through the BE. If he wins the BE in the next 2 years it will be amazing when you look where teams like UL, and WVU were talent wise, budget wise, fan support wise when USF came to the BE.

[G.A.]

Smooth, Larry and I have both talked to Claude regularly since he headed off to junior college, and Davis has been unwavering in his interest in getting back to USF.

I'm not sure why Scout hasn't had Davis in its list of USF commitments. Same goes for offensive lineman Justin Green.

[Smooth]

USFNation.com reported that Claude Davis was planning to re-sign with USF in November of 2008. The article on the front page was by Scott Ekelund and he does the reporting for all the JUCOs at scout. That was a funny little dig you had there though even though I'm pretty sure you got the initial info from USFNation

http://southflorida.scout.com/2/807901.html

[two bits]

Urban Meyer is numero uno bitches, have fun with your 12th place coach. Wah waaaaa

[Don Corleone]

No road team has brought 20K fans to game at RJS for one reason, and the same reason USF doesn't travel many fans on the road; distance. In the Big east alone its:
878 miles to Louisville
913 miles to Cincinnati
995 miles to Morgantown
1027 miles to Pittsburgh
1112 miles to Piscataway
1273 miles to Syracuse
1283 miles to Storrs
The Bulls will travel more than 9000 miles round trip to just four conference road games. Aside from the WAC, I can't think of a conference that travel more in football.

[David Weber]

I should also have said that I think that Brian Kelly is the best coach in the conference and is top-10 in the nation. He went to a BCS game with a 4th string QB and no established running back. He also brought in the best recruiting class in recent Cincy history, so he gets some program-building credit as well (though D'Antonio laid the foundation). Tactically, I think he's better than Leavitt. Leavitt, however, seems like a better motivator and is exactly the high-energy type of guy needed to build a program and then has the added bonus of exceptional loyalty.

[David Weber]

Low numbers look much better on WRs.

As for the criticism on Selvie, some of it is warranted. Of course, he didn't mention any of the good- a lightning quick first step and the best motor in college football.

I'd like to see Craig Marshall and Aaron Harris get an even split on defense- both guys should be stout against the run on the edge.

And finally, I repeat that I see absolutely no reason to give a JUCO DE a scholarship. We'll have plenty of depth at that position next year, so a JUCO guy that can only stay around for two years doesn't seem like a need at all. Given that we'll need to replace Kion Wilson and Nate Allen, it'd be better to get JUCO guys at those positions. The only reason I care is that we'll have a limited number of scholarships to give, so they need to address needs a little bit more than normal.

[mike]

I actually agree with the columnist. I've watched Selvie speed rush his way out of plays all the time (whether doubled/tripled). Craig Marshall does a better job of holding his position and pushing plays to the backfield. He keeps the opposing offenses honest. It's a shame he won't start.

[Walla Wall Bing Bang]

"USF( RJS can be near the top of the BIG EAST as the toughest for visiting teams to play in when the stadium is filled to capacity. The student section is the largest in the BIG EAST which makes it that much harder for teams to get their calls in."

How tough can it be, when USF was 2 and 2 last year and 2 and 1 in 2007.

It's rarely been filled to capacity and when it has, about 20K have been fans of the visiting team. Which is far greater than any USF crowd attending games at other teams stadiums.

The biggest student section is 1(one) seat larger than the next largest and has rarely been filled to capacity.

[Bull Daly]

I am going to go ahead and rank the BIG EAST stadiums that are hard for visiting teams to play at this year.

1)WVU (Mountaineer Field has rabid fans that are into the game)
2)Rutgers (Added seating capacity should make it tougher for the road teams this season)
3)Cincy (Nippert Field is small and cozy, but USF cant seem to win a game there for some reason. The have fans right on top of you in the endzone which makes it tough)
4)USF( RJS can be near the top of the BIG EAST as the toughest for visiting teams to play in when the stadium is filled to capacity. The student section is the largest in the BIG EAST which makes it that much harder for teams to get their calls in.)
5)UCONN (The Rent is another small stadium, but the fans make it a tough place to play as USF has found out in the past.)
6) UL (Papa Johns AKA The Oven used to be a more difficult place to play when the Cards were good. Now, a lot of the fans have lost confidence with the coaching staff. Next year may be tougher as they are set to open up the stadium expansion)
7) Pitt ( Heinz Field is a great NFL venue like RJS, but the stadium is too big to fill up at times.)
8) Syracuse (Carrier Dome used to be known as The Loud House when the Orange were good. Now, the place has looked like a ghost town at times.)

[DELdaBULL]

Did this guy miss that George was constantly double and triple teamed when he was not injured? I think GS is the best player in NCAA football this coming year, but I am biased.
Don't like that I have to re-enter my information with each post, but it is better than not being able to post from the handheld at all.

[Martin]

ROTFLMAO! Leavitt #12? In the Big East, maybe!

[Bull Daly]

It is always fun to kill some time by reading these polls, rankings and opinions during the offseason. I believe there will be rankings of the stadiums by conference pretty soon. I have to think that USF may have lost some ground from last year's stadium ranking due to the Rutgers and Pitt game. We will see how we place in the BIG EAST as I expect Cincy and Rutgers to be near the top this year in the stadium rankings.

[Tyler]

Wes Bunting should look at the video of Selvie knocking both the Kansas OL and RB out of the way when he hit Reesing in last seasons game.

It's a joke saying Selvie lacks power and basic leverage.

Someone should also show Bunting the clip of George going through a Louisville triple team for the sack last season.