Genus and Bogan Find NFL Homes

It appears that wide receiver Dontavia Bogan will be starting his NFL career on the West Coast.

Now that the NFL has decided to open up for business, the season can begin and the undrafted players can finally sign with teams. Former USF Bulls are already busy and two former standouts from last season have already found new places to call home.

Center Sampson Genus has reportedly signed with the Green Bay Packers. Genus, the 6-1 315-pound center was a team captain, anchor of the line last year, and was named 2nd team All Big East. While the Packers have two centers ahead of him, he will help add nice depth to the position and should be able to prove himself in training camp.

The other Bull is wide receiver Dontavia Bogan who has reportedly signed a deal with the San Francisco 49er's. Bogan, the 6-1 188-pound stand out receiver, was the best vertical threat the Bulls had last season. He finished the season with 47 receptions for 685 yards and 6 touchdowns, despite shaking quarterback play and missing one game due to an ankle injury. Bogan is also a dynamic return man and will turn heads the moment he gets onto the field (imagine him lining up across from Michael Crabtree, awesome).

Congrats from the Bull Rush family to Genus and Bogan for finally getting onto an NFL team (the wait and lockout was annoying) and best of luck to the drafted players signing soon and the rest of the undrafted players.

Top 5 Players From 2010 - Number 4

The short countdown continues as we list our top 5 players from the 2010 season. Yesterday, Matt had Sampson Genus at number five on his list, and Mike had RB Demetris Murray. Today, we're still keeping it on the offensive side of the ball with our number 4. [keep reading]

Top 5 players of 2010: Number 5

Football season is still a long way off, but as we sit and eagerly await the 2011 season to get started, we are taking a look back at the 2010 season and looking at the top players that made it a special season. Mike and I will be bring you our top 5 players from the 2010 season, starting with number 5. See if you agree with our picks and tell us who you think we should have picked!

Matt's #5 - Center Sampson Genus

Sampson Genus, the 6’1” 315-pound senior center makes my list at number 5. It is not often the big guys up front on the offensive line get their due credit, but Genus was one of the best players not only on the team, but in the conference as well.

Genus started all 13 games for the Bulls, playing in 44 games and starting 30 games during his career at USF. Genus was named team captain in 2010 and was named 1st All Big East for his great performance. Genus played well all season. He was the corner stone on the offensive line. Learning a new offense under first year offensive coordinator Todd Fitch and understanding the play calling and blocking schemes was difficult, but Genus learned quickly and became a contributor in both pass blocking and great holes for the running backs.

Genus wasn’t drafted by the NFL, but many believe (as well as I do) that he will find his way onto an NFL roster at some point because of his ability.

With Genus gone, the Bulls will be looking for a replacement, not the easiest task. Keith McCaskill will get the job and should do a fine job at center, but it will not be easy to replace an all conference performer like Genus.

Mike's #5 - RB Demetris Murray

Murray was actually my favorite breakout player this year, but I have him only at my #5 because he did share much of his role. He is, however, my highest-rated running back of my 2010 list because he really did everything for the position. Murray entered the first game as a redshirt sophomore and picked up a lot of the slack left by senior Mo Plancher. As the season progressed, Murray became the lead candidate at running back for the team, but didn't earn a start. He posted 542 yards on 120 carries with 4 touchdowns, including that galvanizing conversion in overtime at Miami.

While Plancher was still doing his one-yard-per-carry thing, Murray took over the position in garbage time initially, but showed an outstanding combination of speed and power that resulted in his 4.5 YPC mark. His style of play was essential in Skip Holtz's ground-and-pound strategy at Florida, where Murray recorded 11 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown.

With two 100-yard games (against Western Kentucky and Cincinnati), Demetris Murray may very well have earned himself the starting job that he perhaps should have held in the second half of last year. Unfortunately for him, however, is the fact that he's going to have much stronger competition for the job this year, as he'll have to stack up against Colorado transfer, and former #1 RB recruit in the nation, Darrell Scott and Auburn transfer Dontae Aycock. In spring practice, Murray saw a majority of the carries, which just might indicate that his seniority and potential may have reserved him a spot on the field for opening day.

So what do you think, USF fans? Genus was a great player on the offensive line for the Bulls, but where do you think he should have been placed on the list? Murray was a great runner between the tackles, but was he the fifth most important player on this football team? Should these guys be higher, or lower? Leave your thoughts below. Go Bulls!

3 USF Bulls Get Drafted

Mistral Raymond was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings today during the NFL draft.

The Bulls made their presence in the NFL draft in the last two days. Although USF didn't have as many player drafted as last season, 3 players were taken and all will have a chance to rise up and make an impact on their respective NFL squads.

Defensive tackle Terrell McClain was taken with the first pick in the 3rd round (65th overall) by the Carolina Panthers. McClain, 6'3" 310-pounds, will make an immediate impact on the interior of their defensive and will probably either be a starter or a second-string player. He played in 50 games during his USF career, making 33 starts. He had 89 tackles, including 7.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Carolina was the last team Dancing Bear worked out for. McClain is a hard worker, despite ESPN talking about his work ethic. McClain has been a force on the interior of the USF defense, seeing 3 different coordinators during his time at USF.

Defensive back Mistral Raymond was selected in the 6th round (176 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings. Skinny played in 25-games in his time at USF, working his way up from walk-on, to team captain, to NFL pick. He had 96 tackles while at USF, 6.5 for loss. He had 2 interceptions and 7 pass break ups, being named 2nd team All Big East this season. Mistral is truly one of the best stories out there. Going through tragedy with the murder of his sister, his documented story through USF, this is a great reward for Mistral we can only hope he gets onto the field this season to show the rest of the world what he can do.

Linebacker Jacquian Williams was taken by the New York Giants with the 202nd overall pick. Williams, the former JUCO transfer, became a solid force in the middle of the field for the Bulls over the past two seasons. In 26 games, he totaled 99 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 3 pass break ups. Williams will join Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end, and first round pick of the Giants from last season.

Congratulations to the Bulls that were selected in the draft. The players that weren't picked, such as wide receiver Dontavia Bogan, tight end Kevin Gidrey, and center Sampson Genus, the NFL teams don't know what they missed out. All of the USF family supports you, loves you, and wishes you only the best as you continue your journey to the NFL and making an impact with a team in the very near future.

Genus Leaving Big Hole for Bulls

The Bulls will have to replace All-Big East center Sampson Genus in 2011.

The Bulls won in Charlotte, but they are going to lose a big piece of their offense. Senior center Sampson Genus is graduating and leaving a big hole behind on the offensive line for the Bulls to try to fill in for the 2011 season.[Keep reading]