USF Athletics

Future Looks Bright for Bulls After Birmingham Bowl

December 15, 2017

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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, DEC. 15, 2017 – The future of USF football sure looks bright with lots still left to play for in the Birmingham Bowl.

After starting the year with the program's longest winning streak at 7-0, USF (9-2) is on the verge of posting double-digit victory totals in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Topping Big 12 foe Texas Tech (6-6) in the program's third straight bowl appearance also would give the Bulls consecutive postseason victories and even more momentum heading into 2018.

"It's always big when you go into a bowl game, you win it and then you can get to 10 wins. We need to get to 10 wins and then we can just build on it for next season," head coach Charlie Strong said. "The last two seasons, when you look at it, the foundation has been set. Now we just continue to get better."

Booking a return trip to the Birmingham Bowl has already set up USF well for the future. With three extra weeks of practices, coaches are getting a good look at young talent that didn't get a chance to shine during normal game week preparations during the regular season.

"From a coaching perspective, to get these extra practices almost turns into an extra spring practice," defensive coordinator Brian Jean-Mary said. "I told all these kids, 'You can't wait until spring practice, or winter conditioning, because there's a lot of the film we can watch going into spring practice, as we're setting the depth chart.' It's very valuable for some of these kids that have only been scout teams players."

While up-and-coming players are progressing in postseason practice, Strong has already gotten a great feel for the future with several promising players evolving into leaders on the field this season.

"We have a great group of seniors, but we have a great group of guys coming back," junior cornerback Ronnie Hoggins said. "These young guys can really play some ball. We've just got to believe and trust that what we have here is what we're going to win with. We'll be really, really good."

With a special senior class noted, let's take a look at some of the proven talent that will be coming back and some players that could potentially play huge roles for the Bulls in 2018.

Defense

• Ronnie Hoggins – The junior cornerback will be one of the most proven Bulls with 59 games of experience and 27 starts the past three seasons. The Coconut Creek, Fla., native has been all over the field, totaling 123 tackles, six interceptions and 15 pass breakups in his productive career.
• Greg Reaves – The sophomore defensive end earned a scholarship at the end of fall camp and took advantage of a huge opportunity. Through 11 starts, the Bradenton, Fla., native leads the team with 13.0 tackles for loss and ranks fourth on the squad with 48 total tackles. Reaves has gotten to the quarterback four times and has used his athleticism to break up three passes.
• Nico Sawtelle – The sophomore has produced as the starting weakside linebacker, tying for fourth on the team with 48 tackles along with 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. The Jensen Beach, Fla., native also has a fumble recovery to his credit and has used his coverage skills to haul in two interceptions.
• Jaymon Thomas – The junior free safety from Immokalee, Fla., has gained valuable experience with 12 starts over the past two seasons while posting 102 tackles, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries since 2016.
• Khalid McGee – The hard-hitting safety from Miami has seen action in 35 games as a Bull (10 starts) and has made an impact the past two seasons with a combined 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
• Mazzi Wilkins – The junior cornerback from Tampa has shown he can handle the toughest assignments, posting nine pass breakups and three interceptions this season in addition to 29 tackles in 11 games (10 starts).
• Naytron Culpepper & Donelle Thomas: The freshman defensive back duo from Miami's Carol City High School have shown great potential since fall camp, particularly Culpepper, who made his first-career start at UCF and has totaled 11 tackles and two pass breakups in nine games.

Offense

• Tyre McCants: Making tough catches on the regular, the junior from Niceville, Fla., has the size (5-11, 235) and skills to wreak havoc on defenses. Against UCF, McCants set a school record with 227 receiving yards and he's averaging 19.9 yards per catch this season (30 rec., 598 yds, 5 TDs). He brings 1,146 career receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 62 receptions to the bowl game.
• Darnell Salomon: The sophomore from Miami has become a go-to receiver for the Bulls, especially against UCF with a career-high 139 receiving yards that included his awesome 83-yard score to help the Bulls tie things up late. Salomon ranks third on the team this season with 465 yards on 28 catches and four touchdowns while making nine starts in 2017.
• Mitchell Wilcox & Elkanah Dillon: USF's towering tight ends will be back for their junior and senior seasons after combining for 46 catches, 710 yards and six touchdowns together the past two years.
• Deangelo Antoine: The slot receiver spot is in good hands with the speedy sophomore from Orlando. While fighting through injuries this season, Antoine is averaging 15.3 yards per catch and has been dangerous on jet sweeps with 12.0 yards per carry. Antoine was one of the most impressive Bulls on offense in fall camp.
• Brett Kean & Chris Oladokun: The battle for USF's starting QB spot will be exciting in fall camp because both players have shown they can direct the offense well in the past two preseasons. Kean will be a junior next season with at least 13 games of experience. Oladokun, a future redshirt sophomore, saw action in two games this season and has the passing skills and scrambling ability to compete for the starting job.
• Trevon Sands, Duran Bell Jr. & Jordan Cronkrite : With holes to fill at running back, USF appears to have several solid options. Sands could be a player the Bulls count on with 18 games of experience in his first two seasons. The sophomore has averaged 4.3 yards on 26 carries this season. Bell, a freshman from Tampa, who also runs track, has blazing speed and was a human highlight reel for most of fall camp. Florida transfer Jordan Cronkrite looked very good during camp and practices this season as he sat out the year. He ran for 302 yards and four touchdowns during two seasons as a Gator.
• Marcus Norman, Eric Mayes and William Atterbury: Three starters will return to USF's offense line that has paved the way for the Bulls to rank ninth nationally in total offense (508.6 ypg) and ninth in rushing (265.4 ypg). Norman, a redshirt sophomore, has started all 11 games this season at right tackle (20 career starts) and earned all-conference second-team honors. Mayes, a converted defensive lineman with great athleticism, has been steady as USF's starting left tackle and will look for a strong senior year next season. Atterbury has started nine times at right guard this season (14 career starts) and has all the tools to become an all-conference lineman as a junior.
• DeVontres Dukes: The redshirt freshman is another large target (6-4, 203) for the Bulls in the future. Dukes has averaged 10.7 yards per catch in nine games this season and it will be interesting to see what he can do with more snaps in spring practice.

More talent will certainly emerge for the Bulls by the time next season rolls around. First, let's see what these Bulls can build on in what's shaping up to be an electric Birmingham Bowl next Saturday at historic Legion Field.
 
About USF Football
USF has won nine or more games for the second straight season and will make its third straight bowl appearance and ninth in program history. The Bulls spent the entire 2017 season ranked in the top 25 and climbed as high as No. 13 in the polls. USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins (11-2) following a Birmingham Bowl victory over South Carolina. The Bulls have posted 13 winning seasons in 21 years of playing football and have five bowl victories. The Bulls have seen 28 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 28 earn first-team all-conference selection.
 
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