Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the USF Bulls season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– USF Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 7-6 overall, 3-5
Head Coach: Charlie Strong, 3rd year, 17-8
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE USF OFFENSE
– The offense that fizzled and faded down the stretch is changing things up a bit with new offensive coordinator Kerwin Bell. It won’t be as fast, but it’ll be more controlled with a nod to starting to control the clock more. With nine starters returning to the nation’s 33rd best offense, it should be more consistent.
– The quarterback situation was a question mark going into last season, but now it’s former Alabama and Arizona State prospect Blake Barnett’s gig after throwing for 2,710 yards and 12 scores with 11 picks. However, the depth is a question mark and concern with Chris Oladokun and Brett Kean both transferring.
– The running game that did just fine – averaging 194 yards per game – gets back almost all of the key parts. Jordan Cronkrite led the team with 1,121 yards and nine scores, Johnny Ford – who’ll see time at receiver – ran for 787 yards and eight touchdowns, and senior Trevon Sands will play a bigger role. They’ll work behind a veteran line that gets back four starters, but has to be better in pass protection after allowing close to three sacks per game.
– If Mitchell Wilcox isn’t the best tight end in the country, he’s close. He’s back, along with leading yardage receiver Randall St. Felix – averaging over 20 yards per catch – and senior Stanley Clevereaux to give Barnett a few 6-3 targets to work with. Ford will work on the inside when he’s not helping out in the backfield.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE USF DEFENSE
– It’s a Charlie Strong team. Seven starters return. The defense has to be better after finishing 104th in the nation allowing 447 yards and 32 points per game. The improvement has to start up front around the defensive tackle combination of Kevin Kegler and Kevin Pinkney. They’re not big, but they’re active in a deep position. The group has to hold up a whole lot better against the run.
– Top pass rusher Josh Black is done, but former MLB Greg Reaves is moving to the outside – he’s a better fit as a playmaker behind the line despite finishing second on the team in tackles – and Kirk Livingstone is a 6-4, 263-pound veteran on the other side.
– With Reaves moving and top tackler Khalid McGee done, the linebacking corps is going young with sophomores Tony Grier, Dwayne Boyles and Andre Mims all being thrown into the mix. There’s more speed and athleticism than bulk.
– The secondary was the strength of the defense, and now it get three starters back including both safeties Nick Roberts and Mekhi LaPointe. They have decent size and can move, and 6-1 CB Mike Hampton is back at one corner. T
hird-leading tackler Ronnie Hoggins is gone from his nickel spot, but sophomore Vincent Davis is a more-than-capable replacement.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP USF PLAYERS
Best USF Offensive Player
TE Mitchell Wilcox, Sr.
The Bull offense has plenty of talent among the skill spots, and the line is full of veterans, but it’s the 6-4, 245-pound Wilcox who’s the go-to safety valve with NFL size and athleticism. He caught 43 passes for 540 yards and two scores as the American Athletic’s best tight end, and now he’ll be featured even more.
2. RB Jordan Cronkrite, Sr.
3. WR Randall St. Felix, Soph.
4. OT Marcus Norman, Sr.
5. WR/RB Johnny Ford, Soph.
Best USF Defensive Player
CB Mike Hampton, Jr.
The 6-1, 168-pound corner came up with 43 tackles – almost all solo stops – with two picks and 16 broken up passes. Extremely quick and able to play a variety of styles, he’s able to get physical and press a bit, but he’s at his best at hanging with top targets in pass coverage.
2. DE/LB Greg Reaves, Sr.
3. S Nick Roberts, Soph.
4. DE Kirk Livingstone, Sr.
5. S Mekhi LaPointe, Soph.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The USF Offense
Protect the passer a bit better. Or a lot better. The style of offense to a more deliberate style should work a whole lot better at giving Blake Barnett time to work. There’s no excuse to give up 38 sacks again with all the experience returning and with what should be a more productive passing game. Barnett has to be sharper, too.
Biggest Key To The USF Defense
At least slow down someone’s running game. The Bulls allowed 1,523 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in Charlie Strong’s first season at the helm in 2017. The D allowed 200 yards just once.
Last season, the Bulls got destroyed for 200 yards or more nine times, over 300 yards four times, and got hit for 419 yards against Georgia Tech. In all, USF gave up 3,218 yards and 36 scores at over five yards per pop. That’s not good.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Blake Barnett, Sr.
Yeah, the 6-5, 217-pound veteran doesn’t have to push for the job this year, but he also has to be a whole lot more consistent. He completed 61% of his passes for 2,710 yards and 12 touchdowns with 11 picks, and he ran for eight touchdowns.
While he missed two games over the second half of the season, he wasn’t great in the four losses he was a part of, throwing just two touchdown passes, and he couldn’t pull the team up out of the nosedive. It’s on him now to use his experience and status to make the Bulls more of a player.
Key Game To The USF Season
at UCF, Nov. 29
If the Bulls play up to their capabilities, they should be able to rip through the first part of the American Athletic season, and then they get three of the big boys – Temple, Cincinnati and Memphis – in Tampa. There’s no excuse to not go into the War on I-4 at the end of the regular season with a shot at taking down the Knights and winning the West.
– USF Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 USF Fun Stats
– Penalties: USF 99 for 977 yards – Opponents 81 for 675 yards
– 4th Down Conversions: USF 12-of-20 (60%) – Opponents 13-of-23 (57%)
– Time of Possession Opponents 33:00 – USF 27:00
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. USF WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Can USF beat the type of team that can beat someone’s who’s good?
Out of the 17 wins in the Charlie Strong era, just two came against teams that finished with winning records, and there haven’t been any against anyone that ended up with more than seven victories.
Overall, under Strong, USF is just 2-8 against teams that finished with winning records. The 2019 version, though, has the makeup to change that.
The offense should be more consistent and more explosive with the weapons to go along with the new style from offensive coordinator Kerwin Bell. On the other side, the defense will be stronger after a few changes – the loss of six starters isn’t that big a deal – but it’ll all come down to whether or not the line can hold up better against the run.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 8
The Bulls won’t get by Georgia Tech again, and they’re probably not going to handle the Wisconsin running game all that well, but everything else is on the table.
BYU is coming to Tampa. Most of the big American Athletic showdown are in Raymond James, too, with the last four games all in Florida.
The October road games against UConn, Navy and East Carolina aren’t killers, and getting SMU and South Carolina State at home should be wins.
The Bulls need to be good enough to win at least two of three against Temple, Cincinnati and Memphis at home, not screw up against mediocre, and pull off something special against one of the big boys.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
