The last remnants of the 2016 college football season are passing away, daily. As such, the final AP and USA Today Coaches’ Polls have been released. The Bulls have made a little more of their own history, ranking in the AP top 25 after a season for the first time since program inception, with a final rank of 19th. That’s pretty good, considering they got little to no attention from this poll until near the end of the season. That ranking matches what the Coaches’ poll decided, a poll which has been more friendly to USF in their rankings.
While USF making the final rankings is noteworthy and historic in its own way, something more significant has occurred this year. The AP began publishing a poll in 1936. In 1968 they expanded to 20 teams and again increased to 25 in 1989. In that 81 year history of ranking college football teams, there has never been a year when a team from the state of Texas was not included in the top 25 vote getters of that poll. That is, until now. Texas has 12 FBS universities; Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, SMU, Houston, Rice, UTEP, North Texas, Texas State, and Texas San Antonio. Five of those teams represent the automatic bid conferences and two are in the in-between conference that is The American. Even more significant than little bit of fan trivia is the fact that the fact that the state of Florida has four teams ranked in the final AP top 25. There are seven FBS teams in Florida, with just three playing in automatic bid conferences. They are FSU, UF, Miami, USF, UCF, FIU, and FAU. This year marks the first time in poll history that four teams from the state of Florida have been ranked in the final poll. For all of the talk of the “Big Three” in Florida, the trio has not been ranked in the final rankings of any year since 2004. USF received votes at the end of 2002, 2006, and 2007 seasons.
Looking Back
The 20th ranked USF women’s basketball team got absolutely crushed by #1 UConn, 102-37 on Tuesday night. The Bulls fall to 12-2, but the 15-0 Huskies have tied their own NCAA record for consecutive wins, with 90.
The men’s basketball team keeps on trudging through a miserable season, losing badly to one of the worst teams in the country, Tulane, 82-67. The 6-9 Bulls were rarely competitive with the 4-12 Green Wave.
Looking Forward
USF football head coach, Charlie Strong, has hired another coach from his staff in Texas. Justin Burke has been named tight ends and special teams coach by Strong. Burke played quarterback for Strong when they were both at Louisville. His coaching role at Texas was quality control special assistant working with tight ends. He joins fellow former Texas and current USF coaches, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Sterlin Gilbert, defensive coordinator, linebackers and assistant head coach, Brian Jean-Mary, and assistant coach and receivers coach, Charlie Williams. Former quarterbacks coach under Willie Taggart, Shaun King, has been retained as a running backs coach. Corey Bell, who spent the past two years with FAU coaching secondary, has been hired as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
Recruiting has not been much to buzz about around USF since Willie Taggart joined the staff. His classes have been some of the lowest ranking in program history. Transfers have been as important to the program as recruiting. His big recruiting success was the result of a gamble on Quinton Flowers at quarterback, when everyone else wanted him at other positions. It certainly worked out great for USF, but it was far from a sure thing. Things will change with Charlie Strong. And, it is possible that this will start sooner than later. There is, for the first time in more than five years, a five star recruit seriously considering USF, to the amusement of many in the media. Marvin Wilson is a 6-4, 329 pound defensive tackle from Texas who grew close to Charlie Strong when he was with the Longhorns. When Wilson named his top five to include USF, many assumed it was a show of respect or courtesy to Strong. However, Wilson has scheduled an official visit with USF on January 22nd. He has already ruled out going to any Texas school. He is rated #1 in the nation at his position and is considered the 3rd best recruit, overall, by 247 Sports.
While the skeptics are snickering about him considering USF, it should be noted that a five star recruit is all but certainly going to be drafted into the NFL, barring injury. And, any FBS program in the country is a big enough stage for such a player to get enough publicity to keep his draft stock up. The Bulls also have a pretty good track record for putting defensive players into the NFL. Of the 24 USF players to get drafted since 2003, 18 have been on defense. Seven have been linebackers, six have been defensive backs, and five have been defensive linemen. One of those linemen, Jason Pierre-Paul, is currently a well-known player with the Giants who was a first round pick, proving that a defensive lineman can get picked high after playing for USF. Landing such a highly rated player would open up new doors for USF recruiting. With the success of last season combined with Strong’s hire, the time is right for something like this to happen and open a new chapter of USF football history.
Before Wilson comes to Tampa, another recruit will make an official visit at USF, this weekend. Robert E. Lee’s offensive guard, Demetris Harris, is scheduled for January 13-15th. The 6-2, 280 pound lineman hails from Jacksonville and has offers from Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, UCF, and Houston. 247 Sports rates him three stars.
Other Stuff
Former Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, thinks the selection committee got it right. Rice has been on the selection committee since its inception, but has reached the end of her three year term.
