USF FOOTBALL: Bulls Add 22 in Early Signing Period

USF added 10 players on offense, 11 on defense and one specialist

TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 16, 2020 – Beginning his second season at the helm of the USF football program, head coach Jeff Scott added 22 student-athletes to the Bulls’ roster Wednesday – including 17 high school recruits and five Division 1 transfers – when the NCAA Early Signing Period began, marking the opening salvo in his second USF signing class.

USF added nine high school signees on offense, seven on defense and one specialist Wednesday and beat Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss for one late class addition in speedy wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS). The Early Signing Period runs through Dec. 18. The Late Signing Period for Division I college football begins on February 3.

“I am very excited with the quality of individuals – both athletically and as people off the field – who have joined our program during the early signing period.” Scott said. “We anticipate several members of this early signing class to enroll early and join our team in January, and we are just really pleased with the talent, work ethic, character and commitment of the young men we have added to our team. We are excited to get to work with our returning roster and these new additions and I think this will be one of the most competitive springs I have been around as we continue to build a dynamic and successful program.”

USF also netted five transfers from Power 6 institutions on Wednesday, including quarterback Jarren Williams (Lawrenceville, Ga.), a four-star recruit at Miami who led the Hurricanes in passing in the 2019 season with 2,187 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air and added 157 yards rushing. Also a former Hurricane is 6-1, 195-pound cornerback Christian Williams (Daphne, Ala.), one of four defensive transfers that included defensive back Will Jones II (Kansas State/Mansfield, Texas), safety Matthew Hill (Auburn/Lawrenceville, Ga.), and defensive end Jamari Stewart (Mississippi State/Port St. Lucie, Fla.).

“I’m really proud of the work our staff did during a difficult year to put this class together. These young men really bought in to the opportunity at USF and believe in what we are building,” Scott said. “I think we have really good balance in this class and added talent and character at many positions across the board. We have been focused since the beginning on creating our identity with the right culture and the right players that embrace and elevate that culture. Work ethic, character, integrity are as important as talent and the foundation of what we are building.”

Among the nine Early Period signees on the offensive side of the ball were Horn Jr.’s teammate at Seminole High School, quarterback Timmy McClain (Sanford, Fla.). McClain, who has totaled 1,352 passing yards and 14 touchdowns along with 373 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 2020, and Horn Jr., 42 catches for 736 yards and nine touchdowns, have led Seminole to the Florida Class 8A state championship game.

The Bulls added a trio of offensive linemen in 6-4, 275-pound Cole Best (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep), 6-5, 271-pound Drew Cornelius (Franklin, Ga./Heard County HS) and 6-5, 290-pound Bay area product Andrew Kilfoyl (Tampa, Fla./Gaither HS). Three wide receivers also joined the ranks as Cardrece Mobley (Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater HS) and Nickolas Tshivuadi (Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater Academy), both 6-4 Bay area products, joined the lightning fast Horn Jr. The Bulls also added a tight end in 6-4, 230-pound Gunnar Greenwald (Satellite Beach, Fla./Satellite HS) and a dynamic running back in K’Wan Powell (Vernon, Fla./Vernon HS).

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulls added four players in the secondary, including Jaelen Herring (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS), Dequan Stanley (St. Augustine, Fla./St. Augustine HS), Gabe Nealy (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) and Jalen Stokes (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS). A pair of linebackers also joined the unit in Davon Hicks (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach HS) and CJ Ross (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian Academy) and USF added one on the defensive line in end Keeon Terrell (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS).

USF once again went overseas to identify a punter, bringing in Australian Andrew Stokes (Perth, Australia/ProKick) on the heels of highly successful Trent Schneider, who has set many program records.

Several members of Scott’s first 17-member signing class completed last February saw extensive action in 2020, including wide receiver Omarion Dollison (fourth in receptions with 21, third in receiving yards with 272), running back Brian Battie (second in rushing yards with 332, 118 return yards), linebacker Mac Harris (24 tackles and one interception), safety Chris Townsel (five starts, 32 tackles, 1 interception, 2.5 tackles for loss) and defensive end Tramel Logan (6 tackles, 1 sack). Meanwhile, several transfers that arrived in Scott’s first year also made major contributions, including quarterback Noah Johnson (1 start and six games played, 459 yards passing and 3 touchdowns), defensive tackle Thad Mangum (37 tackles, 4 tackles for loss), tight end Mitchell Brinkman (7 starts, 15 receptions for 161 yards) and kicker Jared Sackett (led the team with 25 points scored) .

Season tickets for the 2021 season may be renewed at www.HornsUp2020.com or by calling/texting 1-800-GoBulls.

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2021 USF Football Early Signing Class

Signing Class size: 17; Defense: 7; Offense: 9; Specialist: 1

POS. HT WT. YR HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL Pronunciation

EARLY PERIOD SIGNEES (17)

DEFENSE (7)

Jaelen Herring DB 5-11 175 Fr. Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS

Davon Hicks LB 6-0 200 Fr. Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach HS Duh-VON

Dequan Stanley DB 5-10 156 Fr. St. Augustine, Fla./St. Augustine HS DAY-kwan

Keeon Terrell DE 6-3 220 Fr. Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS KEE-on TUH-rell

Gabe Nealy S 6-4 175 Fr. Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS