Scott shares vision for Bulls’ program
There are positives that USF coach Jeff Scott can share with fans he encounters at the Bulls coaches’ caravan stops this spring: The new indoor performance facility being built next door to the team’s practice fields or his vision of the program as he enters Year 3.
There’s a mental picture that Scott believes will define the future of USF football.
He’s seen images of a sold-out Tampa Stadium from 1997, featuring approximately 55,000 fans celebrating the inaugural season for the football program.
“I’ve met about 65,000 fans who told me they were there,” Scott joked. “There’s a great picture of the full stadium. My message is in about another five years, we’re going to be taking another important picture of a stadium and it’s going to be our first game in our on-campus stadium.”
After decades of struggling to gain footing, a proposed on-campus stadium is finally gaining momentum with an opening date in 2027. What remains is gaining support as the department showcases a financial plan sometime this summer. USF plays its home football games at Raymond James Stadium.
It’s all part of a plan that Scott envisions will return USF to prominence.
“When you look back at our 25 years that we’ve had a football program, there was a lot of strong interest in the program for those first 12 or 13 years,” said Scott. “Over about three years there starting in 2010, Coach [Jim] Leavitt had to resign and [there was] the untimely passing of Lee Roy Selmon, who was a huge supporter and advocated for our program, and the Big East split up and we went to the American Conference.
“Those three things over three years really slowed our momentum.”
USF went 83-49 (63%) between 2000-10, reaching as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press top 25 in 2007. But the Bulls have gone 57-75 (42%) since Leavitt was fired after an investigation found he had struck a player and the school changed conferences.
Since 2010, the program has hired four coaches, including Scott in 2020.
“It’s kind of my job and our job really to get a lot of the fans and alumni that were supporting the program back then — to get them back into the fold,” said Scott. “The way you do it is by getting out and spending time with the fans, the alumni and letting them know about the team and the exciting things that are going on.”
USF wrapped up its spring football camp in early April.
“I feel a lot better about where we are just from the development of our returning players, the addition of many of our new transfers, and an overall talent and depth standpoint,” said Scott. “We’re in a much better place than we were a year ago.”
There are reasons for optimism despite a 2-10 season in 2021.
The Bulls return 21 starters, including four offensive linemen, three receivers and a quarterback.
“We’ve got a lot of guys back and then we also only have 12 seniors and 12 juniors, so we have a good combination of experience back,” explained Scott. “We also have a lot of guys in their redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons, so we’re still young in some respects.”
One of those returning is quarterback Timmy McClain, who found himself thrust into the starting lineup as a true freshman out of Sanford Seminole High School. He finished with 1,888 passing yards and 5 touchdowns while starting nine games.
“Tim is a very talented player,” said Scott. “We knew there would be some growing pains last year anytime you’re playing a true freshman at quarterback, but we also knew he’s a playmaker and created a lot of plays outside of the pocket when things broke down.
“He’s improved in his overall pocket presence and understanding of stepping up and working from one read to the next. We’re looking forward to seeing him take a big step this year.”
McClain has earned the top spot coming out of spring, but Scott insists there are opportunities for backups Katravis Marsh, Byrum Brown, Jordan Smith and Gunnar Smith (Lake Mary).
“There’s definitely a competition,” he added. “Where we’re at as a program, the big message to your players is you’re always competing for your spot. There’s not a permanent depth chart right now.”
Scott has spent his fair share of time studying the impact of name, image and likeness on college football. He doesn’t have any answers.
“I don’t think anybody knows exactly where we’re going to land,” Scott said. “We feel like we’re watching a train wreck in front of us. Being someone that’s kept up with college football my whole life, I’m a little nervous about where this thing will eventually land.”