USF 2003: A Small Step Back
(December 1, 2003)

The University of South Florida football program finished its seventh football season 7-4. It was the sixth consecutive year the Bulls have finished at least 7-4. They were 5-3 in Conference USA play and defeated the two teams they are tied with for third place. So, you would think there would be one more game, a bowl game, left to play. In a year were the defense played well and the offense did not, USF will not go to a bowl game.

Athletic Director Lee Roy Selmon, and to some extent head coach Jim Leavitt, must take the blame for USF not going to bowl game. Despite being 7-4, USF did not win the NCAA required six Division I-A game to be bowl eligible. In defense of the athletic staff, Baylor and Eastern Michigan bailed out on USF very late in the scheduling process. However, in a season were the NCAA allowed twelve games, USF scheduled just nine I-A opponents.

To make matters worse, a victory against a Division I-AA school could have counted towards bowl eligibility, but Nicholls State and Charleston Southern do not have enough scholarships to qualify. While the Athletic Department claims they did every thing they could to schedule an additional game, the buzz was that there were options available.

In any case, the Bulls had to win six of nine I-A games and won five of nine. After a loss at Alabama, they had to go 6-2. After a loss at Southern Miss, they had to win their last four. Give credit to the team for coming as close as they did. What can we expect next season.

USF graduates fourteen seniors. This year the Bulls had a hard time replacing four year starting quarterback Marquel Blackwell and the offense struggled. The quarterback position will remain unsettled. Freshman Pat Julmiste may yet develop, but the Bulls may have given up on junior Ronnie Banks. There is talk of making the QB position the top recruiting target. Gone will be running backs DeJaun Green, Vince Brewer and Quinton Callum. Clenton Crossley will be back and Billy Henderson should get more carries. The loss of Huey Whittaker, Chris Iskra and Elgin Hicks will hurt the receiving corps, however, Brian Fisher, Allynson Sheffield and Travus Lipp should pick up the slack. The Bulls are also very high on S.J. Green. The offensive line returns intact.

The 2003 Bulls defense played exceptionally well, and it needed to, but they will lose some key players. No loss it going to hurt more than J.R. Reed. The secondary may seemed depleted when you also lose Kevin Verpaele and Ron Hemingway. Maurice Jones is the biggest loss at linebacker. There are still some experienced players returning on the defensive side of the ball including Craig Kobel, Tim Jones, Matt Groelinger, Terrence Royal and Lee Roy Selmon, Jr. Defensive lineman Stephen Nicholas had an exceptional freshman season.

Forgetting the scheduling blunders that cost a bowl game, it was another decent season for the USF Bulls. The biggest thing may have been the November announcement that USF will be joining the Big East Conference. For a program that has marched forward at an amazing rate, this year may have been step backwards. Looking to the future, it was a small step.