South Florida 2014 Spring Football Wrap Up

Strengths & question marks coming out of spring

I’ll be honest with you: this team didn’t have too many strengths last year and as of right now, I’m not sure which position groups qualify. The Bulls return maybe two or three proven starters, namely because last season’s team was so horrendous that I hesitate to tab anyone as “proven.”

The good thing is that this is still a really young team, and Willie Taggart is starting to recruit his own guys. The Bulls have a lot of good, young talent, and as a result we may see a lot of true freshmen playing again. The word from spring practice is that the offense is starting to pick up on Taggart’s schemes much better than they did last season, which is a relief because they were really tough to watch.

I’m not going to bother with questions marks, because this whole team is a walking, talking question mark. I’d assume nearly every starting spot is up for grabs right now.

Name a few breakout players to keep an eye on in 2014

There are a lot of candidates here, especially if the offense starts resembling an offense. The receivers beyond Andre Davis are really thin, but I could see Chris Dunkley having a big season. He’s a transfer from UF and a dynamic talent, and while he did well getting the ball on returns and reverses last season, he never got going as a receiver. Maybe this is the season he breaks out, so long as he gets some consistent quarterback play?

I also think the two tight ends, Mike McFarland and Sean Price, should also enjoy bigger numbers. Taggart’s offense revolves around the tight end, and those two are a dangerous duo.

Grade each position group

Quarterback: C     And that’s being generous. The Bulls were horrendous at quarterback last season, flip-flopping between four guys until they found a baseline level of consistent mediocrity with true freshman Mike White. White returns, as does Penn State transfer Steven Bench, who never really got a chance to get going last season because of injuries. I think another year in Taggart’s offense will do both guys wonders, but keep an eye on incoming freshman Quinton Flowers. He’s a special talent and might be the future at the position.

Running Back: C+     It looks like there are a lot of guys that can contribute. No one’s proven—Darius Tice, Michael Pierre and Willie Davis all performed adequately in backup duty last season, but the starting role might even go to one of two incoming freshmen, Marlon Mack or D’Ernest Johnson. Lots of guys here who can play, but Taggart likes a feature back. This is a position battle to watch in the summer.

Receiver/Tight End: B-      But it’s very, very thin. Andre Davis is a star at receiver, and the aforementioned duo of McFarland and Price at tight end is great, but there’s not much behind that. Someone needs to step up and be the guy behind Davis, whether it’s Dunkley, fellow senior Deonte Welch, or (sensing a theme here?) any number of incoming freshmen.

Offensive Line: C+      They return their entire line, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing when they were as bad as they were last season. The development of this unit might be key to the offense’s development in 2014—Taggart wants to establish a strong power running game, and you can’t do that with a mediocre O-line. The unit returns intact and there are a bunch of seniors here, so they should be better, but USF fans are very wary of the word “should.”

Defensive Line: C     This may have been the strength of the team last season, but they lose their top four guys and are going to be relying heavily on inexperienced players, freshmen and JUCO transfers. The only player with any significant starting experience here is DT Elkino Watson.

Linebackers: C     Reshard Cliett is probably the best player on the defense, but the spots behind him are totally up for grabs. Nigel Harris was a nice surprise as a true freshman last season and converted fullback Auggie Sanchez had a nice spring, but it’s tough to project much here.

Secondary: C+      Which might be generous considering how bad this unit has been in the past. The good thing is that there’s a ton of young talent here—Nate Godwin looks like a star in the making at safety, and Johnny Ward, Lamar Robbins and Hassan Childs all played as true freshmen. I like the potential of this group and if the young guys grow up, this could be the strength of the defense.

Special Teams: B     Pretty much solely on the strength of kicker Marvin Kloss, who was probably the best kicker in the nation last season. As I’ve said, the Bulls’ offense was horrendous last season, and Kloss quite literally had to keep them in games by making 50+ yard bombs. Behind him, punter Mattias Ciabatti improved as the year went on, and Dunkley was starting to show signs that he could be a force in the return game.

What can we expect from USF in 2014?

I’ve given up trying to get a pulse on USF, because it’s nearly impossible and the Bulls always seem to finish a good four games worse than I predict. For what it’s worth, I think around four wins is a reasonable expectation… so they’ll probably win zero.

This team will definitely be drastically improved in Year 2 of the Taggart era, but I think people are forgetting just how terrible they were last season—they went 2-10 and probably should’ve been 0-12.

I don’t think this team is talented enough to contend for a bowl yet, but I suppose anything’s possible if they play hard, given how mediocre the AAC is. I think it’s wiser to analyze the product more than the results this season—if they look like they’re grasping the offense and moving the ball with consistency, that’s a good start. 

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Ryan Smith of Voodoo Five, provided the information for our South Florida Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up. For more Bulls football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Jeremy on Twitter @USFRyan.  

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