There are a lot of strong points to this team. With so many seniors, leadership is strong. However, there are several areas that are concerning and could lead to problems down the road with this team as well. We will break down 5 reasons the team will do well and 5 reasons the team could do poorly as we continue the indepth analysis of the 2012 roster and see how good this team really is and how far they can get.
We start by looking at the 5 areas that we have determined as the strengths of the team (looking at all sides of the ball).
1. B.J. Daniels - Daniels is the constant subject of conversations among fans and analysts that wonder when the highly touted quarterback will finally put it all together and have the huge, monster season and take the program to the next level. Daniels has had big seasons for the Bulls since he came on campus and every season he has progressed (2010 season was a little rough). Last season, Daniels set all new career highs in yardage, completions, attempts, lowered his INT number and threw more TDs than ever before.
Daniels is in his final season (just graduated this spring) and has some of the best receivers and tight ends on the roster since he became a Bull. He is in the second consecutive season with the same offensive coordinator (Todd Fitch) and is healthy. Everything seems to be leading up to this year.
Daniels has gone on recorded stating that the end of the 2011 season is still haunting him and the other seniors on the roster. They failed to reach a bowl game for the first time in years and lost several close games that could have been wins. Daniels is motivated and realizes this is it for him. With the loaded roster he has, the experience he has under his belt, and the motivation, this is a major strength for the Bulls. Having a skilled senior at quarterback like the Bulls do (not many teams in the Big East have a senior quarterback with his skill level) it will only give the Bulls the edge this season.
2. Depth at wide receiver and tight end - The Bulls have a lot of positions that are loaded with talent, but the most talked about and talented position (on paper to start) is the wider receiver and tight end position.
Two years ago when Holtz took over the program, the wide receiver position was thin due to transfers and so many injuries. Walk-ons and players being shuffled out of position were lining up at receiver and tight end and making it hard to get the passing game going. Now in 2012, the Bulls have so many weapons, it will be hard to get all the targets involved in the game.
At receiver, returners stars like Sterling Griffin (missed time last year with an ankle injury), Andre Davis, Ruben Gonzalez, Deonte Welch, Terrence Mitchell (missed most of the year due to concussion), Victor Marc, Stephen Bravo-Brown, and newcomers like Chris Dunkley, Alex Mut, and others make the wide receiver position one of the deepest positions in program history and makes the competition for playing time fierce.
With this many weapons, Daniels will have all sorts of targets, but the tight end position is another area that is loaded. Evan Landi and Andreas Shields, starting veterans, return to the team this season. Jeff Hawkins, a veteran, returns after missing last year. Michael McFarland (talented UF transfer that played sparingly last year), Isaac Virgin, and others also return. And once the fall gets here, talented 4-star recruit Sean Price and wide receiver D'Vario Montgomery will be added to the mix, giving the Bulls arguably the deepest receiving corps in the Big East.
With this many targets, the Bulls should be throwing and running all over the field this season.
3. Senior leadership - The team has a lot of young players, but it also has a lot of senior and veteran leadership on it that makes it a huge strength. The team currently has 24 seniors on the roster, many of whom already have their degrees (Tabuteau, Daniels, among others). Since coming to USF, this is the largest senior class Holtz has ever been a part of and the leadership and experience the group has among them adds to the team and will help them this year.
On offense, the Bulls have veterans leaders all over the roster that have been on the field together for years now. B.J. Daniels is the returning starter and one of the most experienced players in the conference. He joins Andreas Shields, Evan Landi, Mark Popek, Victor Marc, and Demetris Murray among others that will all be battling for the Big East title this season.
On defense, even despite the loss of Jerrell Young and Quenton Washington, the Bulls return Kayvon Webster, George Baker, John Lejiste, Sam Barrington, Mike Lanaris, and others that will help guide the young stars on the defense.
Listening to Daniels a few weeks ago on CBS 1010, Daniels mentioned the senior class (Holtz has repeatedly talked about it) and how the group had one goal since they came to USF, win the Big East. He said the 5-7 finish to last year is still haunting them and has become motivation for them this year. He understands that this is their last chance to take home the Big East title and there is no tomorrow for the group, it must be now. With this kind of motivation, the team will be even more focused and hungry for the title.
4. Favorable schedule - The Bulls had to open the season last year at Notre Dame, but this year, the team gets to start the campaign at home with UT-Chattanooga and the rest of the schedule is in the Bulls favor this season.
The team has to travel to Nevada, which will be a real challenge, and then will return home for a Thursday night game against Rutgers. Now, Thursday nights have not been kind to USF and the short week will make it even harder, but for the Bulls, they get the chance to start conference play earlier in the year than normal. Typically, the team would wait until late September or early October to start Big East play, but with this schedule, they get the chance to face a conference foe early to help them gage how the team will do.
They get to host in-state foe Florida State here in Tampa, giving them the great home field advantage. They do not have to travel to WVU this season (WVU headed to the Big 12) and get home games against UCONN, Syracuse, and get Pitt here in Tampa to close out the season. Playing against Pitt here in Tampa late in the year means the Bulls avoid any type of Northeast winter (no one wants to see this team play in snow, it's ugly).
This schedule is in the Bulls favor. Starting league play early, getting FSU at home, and ending the year with Pitt here in Tampa leaves the Bulls with a great slate to win a lot of games and win the Big East title for the first time in program history.
5. Skip Holtz - At the end of the football season, the migration of coaches began. So many programs (Rutgers, Pitt) and others across saw coaches and entire staffs leave, leaving programs in chaos trying to fill holes. The Bulls (lost coach Phil McGeoghan and coach Mark Snyder) were able to keep most of the staff together and most importantly, kept Coach Holtz (Arkansas rumors had many worrying for awhile).
Holtz is a proven winner on the field, despite the down season last year. He is a down to earth coach that brings the family atmosphere to the program. He recently sat down on Google Plus to do a chat with fans, taking their questions and interacting with them, the first coach to take the time and talk with the fans one on one and not a press conference style. Holtz knows how to win football games and continues to bring great stability to the program and for the players. The Bulls also posted the highest team GPA in the program's history as well, showing how Holtz is not only reaching out to these players on the football, but helping them excel in the classroom as well.
Holtz knows football and with the team returning and his ability to coach, he is going to be one of the main reasons this team will continue to win and will get even further this season.
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