Head Coach Jeff Scott and Bulls return to practice for first time since March 10
TAMPA, AUG. 6, 2020 – First-year head coach Jeff Scott and the Bulls will open fall camp for the 2020 season Friday morning at the Morsani Football Practice Complex on the USF campus.
Scott and Bulls have been working out and conditioning on campus since June 10, but Friday’s return to the Bermuda grass fields outside the Selmon Athletics Center will mark the team’s first practice since March 10, and just the second with Scott leading the program. Scott and the Bulls got one spring practice in the books in March before the pandemic.
The Bulls will practice Friday and Saturday this week before taking off from field activities Sunday and returning for practices Monday-Saturday the following week. The first four practices will be acclimatization practices before the Bulls don full pads in practice No. 5 next Wednesday.
Scott and USF’s new coaching staff with take the field with 110 Bulls to open camp. Among them will be 16 returning starters and 52 lettermen from the 2019 team. Among the starters from 2019 returning on offense are quarterback Jordan McCloud (Tampa), offensive linemen Brad Cecil (Jacksonville, Fla.), Demetris Harris (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Donovan Jennings (Tampa) along with wide receivers Randall St. Felix (Miami), Eddie McDoom (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Bryce Miller (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Among the starters returning on the defensive side of the ball are defensive linemen Rashawn Yates (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and Blake Green (Bradenton, Fla.), linebacker Dwayne Boyles (Miami), and defensive backs Mike Hampton (Tampa), KJ Sails (Tampa), Nick Roberts (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Bentlee Sanders (Tampa).
The Bulls will also be getting their first on-the-field look at several prominent transfers, including quarterbacks Cade Fortin (North Carolina) and Noah Johnson (Alcorn State), tight end Mitchell Brinkman (Northern Illinois), running back Darrian Felix (Oregon) and offensive lineman Demontrey Jacobs (Grambling) on offense, linebacker Devin Gil (Michigan), defensive tackle Thad Mangum (Wofford), and defensive back TJ Robinson (Rutgers) on defense, and kicker Jared Sackett (Arkansas).
Sackett was named to the Lou Groza Award watch list, while Sails was named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list. Sails also earned preseason all-conference recognition from Phil Steele and was joined by Boyles, punter Trent Schneider (Sydney, Australia), Brinkman, Cecil, Jennings, Green and long snapper Ian Deneen (Winter Garden, Fla.) in being recognized by the national publication.
The American Athletic Conference announced on Thursday the conference’s plan and timeline for the start of athletics competition for the Fall 2020 season. In football, the plan calls for each of The American’s teams to play eight conference games on their originally scheduled dates. Nonconference games may be played at the discretion of the individual schools, with the understanding that the opponents will strictly adhere to protocols and standards for testing, pregame, in-game and postgame operations set by The American’s Medical Advisory Group.
The Bulls are slated to open their 2020 campaign at Texas on Sept. 5.
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
Follow @USFFootball on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
– #GoBulls –
