Today marks the end of the first half of the calendar year, and that means college football will be returning, soon. Summer news is slow, but there are still things to talk about.
Looking Back
USF baseball coach, Mark Kingston, took the Bulls on two NCAA tournament trips in his three years with the program. Earlier this week, it was reported that he had met with South Carolina regarding their coaching vacancy. Reports today confirm that a deal has been struck, transferring the vacancy to USF. The man Kingston will replace at South Carolina, Chad Holbrook, earned $400,000 per year. Kingston was paid just $140,000 by comparison. There’s simply no way for the Bulls to be competitive with that kind of salary disadvantage.
Another USF football player has been arrested. This time, it is walk-on tight end, Adrian Palmore for the alleged crime of credit card fraud. Palmore brings the Bulls’ offseason arrest total to three, joining LaDarrius Jackson and Hassan Childs. Jackson was arrested for sexual battery and false imprisonment. Childs was arrested for aggravated assault and marijuana possession after allegedly threatening a man with a gun, who then shot Childs in self-defense.
Looking Forward
First year football head coach, Charlie Strong, is starting to rebuild his recruiting machine in the state of Florida. In addition to accepting five 2018 commitments, Strong secured the first commitment of 2019. Kyler Laing is the younger brother of Trey Laing, 2019 and 2018 commitments, respectively. The brothers hail from Tallahassee and both play defensive end. Trey Laing is a 6-4, 235 pound, 3 star recruit according to 247 Sports. Joining the Laing brothers are 3 star athlete, JuJuan Cherry, unrated defensive back, Gerald Jackson, 3 start offensive guard, Brad Cecil, and unrated dual threat quarterback, Octavius Battle.
The Bulls have continued their efforts to keep local talent local. In that mold, they have given Armwood wide receiver, Ezeriah Anderson, his first college offer. Anderson is a 6-3.5, 185 pound 2019 recruit.
Helping Strong keep them home is Earl Garcia, the longtime coach of Hillsborough High School.
With the Bulls ranked in the top 25, Strong says it is time that the fan base act like it. The fans seem to have been in something of a hibernation since about 2009. He hopes to turn that around.
