USF signed 20 players, including 6 players from the junior college level. The class itself was fairly small considering the small number of players that left for the NFL and graduated, so Holtz didn't have a lot of scholarships to offer and didn't need to.
The JUCO players will help fill need areas for the Bulls. Chandlor Matthews and Lawrence Martin will help on the offensive line, especially at guard and center where the Bulls have depth, but it's untested depth with freshmen. Austin Reiter could be the center of the future, but he has never taken a snap at the D1 level, which is the reason Holtz went out to recruit JUCO offensive linemen to help bridge the gap to the younger players.
Tevin Mims, the JUCO defensive end will probably help fill a void of experienced depth off the edge and gives the Bulls another pass rusher. Montgomery and Brown also help add depth to the secondary that lost two starters and had multiple injuries. USF has a lot of young players, both from last year's class and this year, but the lack of experience hurts, that's why Holtz is plugging in the gaps with JUCO talent. Michael Pierre will help add depth and speed to the backfield as well.
There are some mixed thoughts on adding JUCO players. They are players that will only be here for two years (or less) meaning they make less of an impact as a four year starter would. They have more experience than a freshman will have, meaning they have the reps and understanding needed to compete at the collegiate level. Holtz realized at the end of last season that he would need more experienced depth on the team because of the number of freshmen on the roster and the lack of experienced players on the roster. Look for the staff to mix in the JUCOs along with the younger players as they try to keep a solid team on the field and also get the younger players reps.
As for the high school prospects the Bulls signed, they got the players they wanted and were able to snag two others that were on the fence.
Landing Sean Price and D'vario Montgomery, the two top players on the USF board, was huge. Price is a big time playmaker and should help stretch the passing game. Montgomery adds another weapon to the WR corps that may be the deepest and most talented in program history. The other players that signed are a mixture of players that could make it to the field this season, like Chris Bivins and others that may be a year or two away from getting there, like Eric Lee. It is hard to judge a high school player on what they will do at this level. George Selvie was a 2-star offensive lineman when he came to USF and we know what he became, so until practices start, it is impossible to judge how good this class can really be.
My overall grade for this recruiting class is a B-. The Bulls got some nice players like Price, but aside from the few top prospects, there wasn't a lot of hype with this class (not trying to take anything away from these young players). NSD was uneventful, no one jumped up for USF and committed and aside from Davis and Whitehurst, no one surprised the nation by selecting USF. The coaching staff did a solid job in the recruiting process, but once again, stars from the Tampa area seemed to slip through their fingers. Holtz stated they wanted to build a fence around the area, they need to make sure it doesn't have holes in it.
Looking way too far ahead for 2013, the coaching staff has a few priorities on their list. First is to find a quarterback. With Daniels graduating, the Bulls will have Eveld, Floyd, Eppes and Miller (last two are walk-ons) so the need for a big time signal caller will be the first task on their list. The next is to find a running back. The Bulls have a lot of upper classmen on the roster and will need to find a few running backs in next year's class as well.
Now it's time to see what the early enrollees can do during Spring practices, which have been moved back two weeks to March 21st to allow Coach Cosh more time to get his staff on the same page (there will be two spring games, one on the 14th which will be on campus and the other will be the 21st at Raymond James Stadium, times will released much later).
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