USF happy for drama-free finish on signing day

USF football coach Charlie Strong said he slept well Tuesday night, knowing that unlike most of his previous National Signing Days as a head coach, there would be little drama to worry about Wednesday morning.

The hay was very much in the barn on USF’s 2018 recruiting class, with 24 players signing in December and six already on campus as early enrollees. Only two more joined them Wednesday — DTs John Waller (St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut) and Tyrone Barber (Venice) — with a scholarship or two reserved in case a compelling transfer pops up this summer.

“We’re really happy with the class that we signed,” Strong said. “We’re really comfortable, and we’re looking to build the program and move the program forward. When you get good players in your program with good grades, and they understand what you’re trying to do and the vision we have in place for them, then things will happen moving forward.”

USF’s class is ranked second in the American Athletic Conference behind Cincinnati, ranking 56th nationally by Rivals and 61st by 247sports.

Talk timing.

USF’s official football Twitter account (@USFFootball) was down for a bit Wednesday morning.

The school was forced to rely on its main athletics account instead as it worked to about unfortunate rectify the issue.

The Tampa Bay Times reported the Bulls weren’t alone, with Missouri, Georgia and Texas accounts all suspended by Twitter at various times.

Yahoo Sports reported the accounts likely were shut down for copyright infringement for unlicensed music in video posts.

Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin understands his recruiting base is South Florida. He also is aware of the need to attract players from other areas. So Kiffin used a national scope to complete his second batch of recruits.

The Owls signed 16 players Wednesday on National Signing Day, with only one from South Florida.

“We’re going to recruit South Florida. It’s more important than any other area, but at the same time, too, we didn’t come here to be the old FAU,” Kiffin said. “We came here to be a national program.”

Palm Beach Lakes athlete Teja Young was the lone player from Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties to join the Owls. That number could change because Kiffin said he expects to add a few more in the coming weeks, but the staff is content with their ability to lure players from other areas.

The Owls signed just six high school players from the state of Florida.