USF Secondary Loaded with Stars

Safety Jerrell Young leads a talented secondary that will shut down opposing teams this year.

Last season, the USF defense was the heart and soul of the team. When the offense struggled (early and often), it was up to the defense, led by seniors like Mistral Raymond and Sabbath Joseph, to step up and take command of the game.

Entering this season, the defense is loaded with talent at every position, but the secondary is where the most exciting players are. Safeties Jerrell Young and Jon Lejiste are two punishing, head-hunting safeties and Kayvon Webster and Quenton Washington lockdown the corners. There are also several players that will make a huge impact as well for Mark Snyder's defense. Mark Joyce, JaQuez Jenkins, and Ricardo Dixon will all see tremendous playing time in what could be one of USF's most talented secondaries on record. [keep reading]

Senior safety Jerrell Young (6'1" 208-pounds) has emerged as the leader this Spring. He has battled through a stress fracture injury in his leg, but continues to go hard every day at practice and is becoming more of a vocal leader on the field. Once he is 100% healthy, Young will be delivering punishing hits all season. But he is not alone, Jon Lejiste (5'11" 201-pounds) is another punishing hitter that is being used more in blitz package, but can play in pass coverage as well. With these two at safety, the USF secondary is solid, but the corners help shut it down even more.

Kayvon Webster (5'11" 193-Pounds) and Quenton Washington (5'10" 190-pounds) are the starting corners for USF and will be locking down the pass game all season. Webster has been impressing the coaches all Spring. He has spent time with the track team, working on his agility, and the results have been impressive so far. Washington, the senior in the secondary, is a smart, veteran player that simply takes an opposing wide receiver out of a game. Ricardo Dixon (5'10" 173-pounds) is another emerging star that will get playing time behind Webster and Washington. He has been limited this Spring due to back issues, but is close to healthy and will be flying all over the field next year.

The other players, Mark Joyce (5'10" 200-pounds) and JaQuez Jenkins (6'2" 186-pounds) are two other safeties/defensive backs that will get plenty of playing time. These young stars are impressing the coaches big time this Spring and will get plenty of time on the field, either at safety or in nickel packages.

With the Green and Gold Bowl tomorrow, be on the look out for these starts. There may be a reason the passing game struggled last time out, Daniels had to face this team, not easy for anyone and I am glad they are Bulls.