Bulls Wrap Up Fall Camp at Ray Jay
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 19, 2017 – USF Football's grueling 21-practice run through fall camp came to a close at a glorious, game day location on Saturday.
Massive digital video boards were once again emblazoned with green and gold as head coach
Charlie Strong guided the Bulls through a walk-through game preparation on the perfect turf at Raymond James Stadium.
"Some of these younger guys have never played here, seen these boards or been on this field," linebacker
Auggie Sanchez said. "That's pretty cool for them to see for the first time."
Saturday started with an exciting first, even for veteran players like Sanchez, a redshirt senior from St. Petersburg.
Once the buses rolled into Ray Jay, the team got a chance to check out USF's new, personalized locker room that will be finished in time for the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 2. Stay tuned for a sneak peek at the finished product on GoUSFBulls.com during the week of the Bulls' home opener with Stony Brook.
"You go in there and it's green and gold stuff, and on the wall it's USF," Sanchez said. "It's cool, we haven't had it since I've been here and it's nice to kind of have something that's our own."
After the locker room tour, USF hit the field for a run-through of all types of game situations the Bulls may see once the season kicks off at San Jose State next Saturday.
"Once we get out on the field, coaches make sure we go hard and they want us to work while we're tired because in the games, it will get easier for you," quarterback
Quinton Flowers said. "If you start fast and just continue that momentum, everything will be easy for you."
At this point, the days of fall camp have become a blur for USF's players, many of which said it has been the greatest preseason test they've been through with the program. Using his old-school approach, Coach Strong purposely turned up the intensity throughout fall camp to prepare the conference favorites for anything this season will present.
"It was definitely the most physical and probably the longest camp I've been a part of," Sanchez said. "It should be real beneficial. Hopefully when the game comes, we'll be ready to go and we'll be in better shape than anyone we play. We'll be used to playing through pain and stuff like that."
Once Saturday's practice ended with a team huddle, the last player to leave the field was Flowers, who took a few final moments to reflect before the Bulls head into the first game week of 2017.
"Now it's that time," Flowers said. "You have to go out and make everything count. You have to make every moment count, every play count, every minute count."
All Eyes on Flowers
Quinton Flowers led USF to record-breaking results in 2016 and he's made more school history before the first play of 2017.
Following Saturday's practice, Flowers became the
first Bull named to five national award watch lists after being announced as a contender for the Manning Award.
Flowers also is in the mix for the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas awards after working his way to 2016 conference offensive player of the year honors. Flowers earned the league hardware by setting USF season records for rushing (1,530 yards), total offense (4,342 yards) and total touchdowns (42), which were just a few of his fantastic feats.
"(Flowers) is just being a phenomenal leader on the field," said senior center
Cameron Ruff (Tampa). "With his leadership and the way the offense is going, I think the sky is the limit for us."
Congrats to Greg Reaves
Thriving in Coach Strong's fall camp grinder has paid off for
Greg Reaves.
On Thursday, Strong gave the sophomore defensive end from Bradenton a surprise like no other when he broke the news that Reaves was proudly put on scholarship.
Reaves played in eight games last season and is expected to make much more of an impact for the Bulls' defense, slated as a starter at one of the end positions. If fall camp progress carries over to the season, Bulls fans should be ready to see Reaves serve as an athletic pass-rusher that also possesses solid coverage skills.
"The guy that's really, really, really ringing a bell for me is Reaves," defensive ends coach
Damon Cogdell said earlier in camp. "… He's the type of kid that's going to give you that effort play."
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins following the program's fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls' 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 team and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, six of which, including Flowers, will return in 2017.
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