USF AD : ‘Our future is bright with Jeff Scott’
South Florida coach Jeff Scott paced the sidelines at Bounce House Stadium, barking out encouragement to his players as the Bulls went toe-to-toe with rival UCF on Friday.
While the Knights are headed to their sixth straight bowl appearance, USF is wrapping up another disappointing campaign. A two-win season is a moderate improvement from one win in 2020 — Scott’s first — but it’s nowhere near where the Bulls hoped to be.
Before his team fell 17-13 to the Knights, USF athletic director Michael Kelly said he has faith in Scott and the program’s overall direction.
“We still believe in Jeff very much,” said Kelly. “Except for maybe last week’s game when we didn’t play well at all, I think every game you’ve seen some progress and some improvement each step of the way.
“With the indoor facility that we’re building and the way recruiting is going, which we feel very positive about right now, I stand by what I said earlier: Our future is very bright.Jeff ’s building the culture the right way. He’s recruiting the right way.
“We’re just excited about the future, and I think our fans see that. I would sense a lot more frustration if they didn’t see some good young talent and some good improvement over this year. Now, results must come and we got to keep getting better, but obviously I’ve seen some good improvement over the year.”
Kelly spoke exclusively with The Orlando Sentinel before the start of the USF-UCF game. Here is an edited and abridged version of that conversation:
Question: How important was it to get shovels in the ground back in September for the new indoor practice facility that will debut before the 2022 football season?
Kelly: “It was critical. Knowing that at this time next year we would have already been through most of the football season in an indoor [facility] and not just for football, but for everybody to utilize that shows the commitment we’re making. It shows the type of facilities that our student-athletes deserve.”
Q: We’ve seen so many coaching changes, even here in the state of Florida. It seems these changes are happening earlier. We’ve seen coaches fired in the last three weeks. Is that something an athletic director does that’s hard to balance when to make a move and what’s best for a program?
Kelly: “It’s a hard call if you do it and when [you do it]. When we went through something a couple of years ago, it was still workable for us to wait until the end of the season. I think that worked out fine for us, although it was stressful. You must work swiftly because of the early signing period, which has become much more critical. Now it’s kind of between the early signing period and the transfer portal because some guys are probably in there [portal] now and some guys might not decide until this weekend and some guys might not decide until after the bowl games, depending on where they are.
“People are probably feeling more pressure. I suppose they’re going to do it earlier because of recruiting. You can get a coach who gives good assessment not just on securing whoever might be in the pipeline but really to assess where he thinks the roster is and who’s available.”
Q: What does it mean for a conference like the American to have a team in Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff?
Kelly: “I’m happy for Cincinnati. They’ve found a formula where they’ve invested. They have a coaching staff that has done a great job and minimized turnover, both player and coaching-wise. It’s shown a formula of stability, investment, good scheduling and being able to play in a league that’s proving to be, in my opinion, one of the top six leagues. That’s why I’m so excited about the [12-team playoff expansion] proposal on the table. I hope they stick to the original aspect [the six highest-ranked conference champions earn a spot along with six at-large bids].
“To most of the people in the American and me, whether it’s [UCF AD] Terry [Mohajir] or the folks at Cincinnati, we all just want our kids to have a chance to compete for the national championship. For Jeff Scott to walk into a locker room in August and say, ‘Hey, guys, If we win the American with the kind of schedule we’re playing, we should be in the playoff.’ That’s what kids want.”
Q: Have you reached out to the Big 12 since it announced the additions of Cincinnati, Houston and UCF about possible expansion?
Kelly: “That never stops. In the relationships I built while I was at CFP [College Football Playoff ], I talked to many commissioners and tried to be in the link; if things ever happen again or when they happen again, I think they will. You continue to foster those relationships with all the commissioners. Ultimately, you’ve got to take care of your own business and try to build the best athletic department you can. Certainly, in the high-profile sport of football, you need to continue building and trying to show investment, dedication, and commitment to winning championships, certainly at a conference level. So that’s what we’re doing. We’re strong overall as an athletic department and we have to continue to grow.”