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Let's get you up to speed as fall practice starts on the USF campus this afternoon:

Tampa Tribune - Holtz: Finally time to get this started

St. Petersburg Times - USF Bulls take more depth hits at key positions

St. Petersburg Times - Big East starting quarterback crop is green

USF Bulls Blog - Holtz interview from "College Football Live"
This was tremendous... a three-minute segment and they only got to ask Holtz two questions. That's 90 seconds per question. Plus the "That was easy" at the end.

Lakeland Ledger - Who's the Beast?: South Florida Has Promise, But Pittsburgh Is the Favorite

Brian Bennett: Video: USF QB B.J. Daniels

GoUSFBulls.com - You can watch Holtz's press conference here, and also go back and see what Todd Fitch and Mark Snyder had to say. I'll go back to those tomorrow and see if there's anything worth talking about.

And if you're having trouble telling your McCaskills apart (HINT: Keith plays defense, Kevin plays offense), the official USF site also has a full roster and the 2010 spring media guide available. (I figure this guide will expand pretty soon as they get all the incoming players added.)

There was also a story about Skip Holtz being considered at several other Big East schools before coming to USF, but linking to it would violate blog policy.

30 days left until Stony Brook... let's get going, everyone.

Once again, there was a lot out there that we didn't get to last week, so here is the best of the rest.

Before we start, I'd like to say that the best shoes in the universe go to Twitter user @McIntyre2K7. 

via i30.twitgoo.com

I want to buy 5 pairs of these. Also note the green facemask and the correct gold on the helmet. Just throwing it out there.

- Congrats to Jason Pierre-Paul for signing his rookie contract with the New York Giants over the weekend. 20 million dollars over 5 years with $11.6 million guaranteed is amazing. Just remember to send all donations to USF Athletics, Jason. They are tax deductible. If you want to keep up on the latest happenings with JPP and the Giants, make sure you visit our sister site Big Blue View. Ed and the guys over there do a fantastic job covering the Giants.

- Tyrone McKenzie is already making a name for himself in Patriots camp after missing all of last year due to a torn ACL. T-Mac's demolishing of Laurance Maroney is making waves around the Boston media, and some are calling for him to start at ILB for the Pats this season. I'm always looking to buy USF gear with my favorite pro teams, so don't be surprised if you see me in a number 53 Patriots jersey this year.

- Looks like Ron Anderson Jr. is taking over the leadership reins with the USF Basketball team as they prepare for the FIBA Pan-American University Games in Brazil. Greg Auman has a feature on Ron here, and Scott Carter has a great story about the trip here.

Your USF related YouTube of the week. You guys want to watch the Red's old dugout fall to the ground?

Dugout Demolition (via BullsVision)

- GA is reporting that senior wide receiver Ed Alcin will be transferring to Division II school Fort Hays State. I thought with injuries to A.J. Love and Sterling Griffin, along with Carlton Mitchell leaving early, that guys like Alcin might be able to crack the rotation this season. Although he never did much in a USF uniform, I wish him the best and hope he does well at Fort Hays.

- Scott Carter has his AP and Big East ballots out, and I'm a little surprised that he has UConn winning the whole thing and USF down in 6th place. I know this is a transition year for the Bulls, but it looks like UConn is the new USF when it comes to trendy picks. Greg also has his Big East ballot up, and he has Pitt winning the league, with USF finishing in 4th.

- Finally Sean at TNIAAM has Sampson Genus going 2nd in the Big East clambake during Media Days. I like Sampson's chances to take over the clambake's unofficial record of 9. I can eat 9 lobsters at once, and my little brother ate 13 in one sitting before passing out in some clam chowder.

There is a lot we didn't get to over the past week, so here is the best of the rest.

- Probably one of the cooler things to watch on GoUSFBulls.com is the daily construction photos of all the new projects in the Athletic District. You can see the progress on the football practice fields, the new softball and baseball stadiums, the tennis courts renovation, and the Muma Basketball Center. My favorite has to be the softball stadium for the fact that they have to start from scratch while the other sites were already at other USF venues.

- Green, Gold, and Bold continues their breakdown of the USF roster with a look at the wide receivers, tight ends, and tackles. You can also check out their countdown of the 5 greatest moments of USF football last year.

- Who likes Lee Roy Selmon's BBQ? Do you like an AYCE buffet with draft beer included? What about a bus ride to a Rays game that has said free beer included? I see everyone is pretty excited. Well LRS is doing all of that plus a ticket to the game and a Rays/USF hat all for $75. With Toro just arriving back in Tampa, I'm sure there will be at least one V5er doing this.

- The Oracle is starting to rev up again with a countdown of 10 players to watch at fall camp. Pretty much all the usual suspects you would expect in a list like this, but I don't know why you would include Sterling Griffin. It seems that he wouldn't even be ready for fall camp, but what do I know.

- Speaking of fall camp, Greg Auman is reporting that the football team might be staying at Dodgertown in Vero Beach for the first two weeks of fall camp. Skip went to the Berkshire Mountains while at UConn for camp, and Dr. Lou frequently did this while at Notre Dame. Skip talked about the positives while at camp on Friday saying,

"I think we need to get into a camp atmosphere -- we have to have camaraderie and chemistry building, players getting used to coaches and coaches getting used to players. This allows us to do that with zero distractions, and as a new staff, there's an advantage in being able to do that."

I'm a huge fan of this. With it being the first year of the Holtz regime, having the coaches and players get to know each other's tendencies would be huge in an isolated setting. Plus being at a place like Dodgertown is awesome. It's a great facility, and it just oozes with history and tradition.

- To all those Bulls fans who love wasting $75 on a tie, Vineyard Vines has just the thing for you! They have just released two USF ties, and they both look pretty dang good. Wearing one of those would be great for USF Fridays, but those are just a little bit out of my price range. (h/t gopbull07)

The USF YouTube of the week and more for you after the break.

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There is a lot out there that we don't get to, here is the best of the rest for the past two weeks.

- First let's welcome in Green, Gold, and Bold, which means there are now 2.5 Bulls blogs out there! (If you don't know, TheBullGator is the .5) He has done a great job so far, and you can check him out doing some position reviews with the running backs and fullbacks.

- There is a challenger for the title of the USF Human Victory Cigar! Fred Lewis Jr., son of the USF great Fred Lewis, is walking on at USF this season. The 6'4" Lewis was Hillsborough County's leading scorer this year, averaging 26 points a game for Bayshore Christian. Scott Carter spoke with Fred Sr., and spoke about why Fred Jr. chose to walk on at USF instead of taking a scholarship at the University of Tampa.

"He wanted to stay close to home and hopefully he can grow a little more and add some weight while he is at USF. After a year, we’ll re-assess where he’s at and what’s best for him. The experience of being around a Division I program and the big-time competition should only help him get better.’‘

Right now I'm still leaning towards giving the USFHVC title to Jordan Heath, but at the very least, it's nice to have another quality person in there battling with guys like Hugh Robertson and JAWANZA! Poland in practice.

- Speaking of walk-ons, Greg Auman is reporting that Lakewood Ranch H-Back Jake Carlton will be a preferred walk-on when fall practices start up next month.

- Greg Auman is reporting that 2010 season tickets are down slightly this year, with 21,576 tickets being bought so far this season. At the same time last year there were 22,697 tickets purchased. It looks like most people are in a wait and see mode with the new staff, but I think it also contributed that Pitt is the best team on the home slate this season.

- Dominique Jones is now richer than you or I will ever be. Jones inked a guaranteed 2 year deal with the Dallas Mavericks worth almost $2 million. There are club options for the following two seasons, but we wanted to wish Jones the best of luck, and to make sure that he sends a nice donation to the Athletic Department when his new contract comes around.

- USF Related YouTube of the Week:

USF Football intro 2005 (via USFootball05)

- Finally, GoUSFBulls has two stories up with some of USF's new hires. First they have a very nice interview with new men's golf coach Chris Malloy, and Lelo Prado announced that former UTampa assistant Frank Maldonado will be the baseball team's new volunteer assistant.

Land O'Lakes High School quarterback Stephen Weatherford, who verbally committed to USF on Friday. via hometeam.s3.amazonaws.com

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Before we get to the links, you may have noticed we haven't done a "15 for 15" post this week. Toro has been trying to contact this week's honoree, who is #12 on the list, so he can put together a story involving the two of them. We may just do #12 and #11 (who I think Toro is also trying to get in touch with) together next week, so stay tuned.

If you're trying to guess who they are, here's a hint - they both played the same position.

OK, on to the links:

- Two new recruits for 2011, one who came out of the shortened SuperBull, and one who has two older brothers you've probably heard of. First is Sebring linebacker Zack Bullock, who committed on Sunday. Here's the Rivals profile on Bullock, who hasn't been given a star rating yet by them or Scout. One thing we do know for sure, though, is that Bullock is psyched to become a Bull.

"It is like I can’t even wrap my mind around it," Bullock told USFBullsEye.com. "I am going to get to play Division I football in front of thousands and thousands of people every week and it is very close to my hometown, so my family and friends get to see me play.

"I couldn’t think of a better scenario.’‘

- College football fans in Florida are probably familiar with the Weatherford quarterbacking family. Oldest brother Drew Weatherford went to Florida State, who ended up having a "meh" college career with a huge assist to Jeff Bowden's inept offensive coordinating. The second brother, Joe, ended up transferring from UCF to West Georgia after failing to win the Knights' job the last two seasons. Now the youngest of the three, Stephen, is coming to USF in the class of 2011.

Two reasons I linked to Greg Auman's story on this commitment. One, it does mention Stephen's previous run-in with the law. He was arrested and charged with burglarizing an unoccupied home, but was never charged. Second, the commenters actually had a civil and useful conversation (which doesn't always happen if you read them regularly). Speculation is that Skip Holtz will add another quarterback to the class, and two of the preferred targets may be Jacoby Brissett and Phillip Ely. Let's start with Ely, the quarterback of the defending 5A state champion Plant Panthers. Remember, Holtz's son Trey is enrolled there and might be in line to take over the position when Ely graduates. The Bulls obviously need depth under center, especially one who can be ready to take over when B.J. Daniels moves on. That could be Ely (who already has a boatload of offers), or it could be Brissett, from Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens. Brissett is also a basketball player, and he might be able to contribute to the basketball team while he redshirts on the football field. Then if he ends up being a major player for Holtz, he could shift away from hoops like Daniels did last season.

- As for this year, Auman did an excellent summary of what Holtz might do with the remaining scholarships available for 2010. Holtz could either give them to new players, or give them to walk-ons who have earned it on the field. By the way, count me among those who are surprised that Mistral Raymond doesn't have a scholarship.

More about the rest of the sports on campus after the jump.

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Well, Dominique was right and I was wrong.  I'm an only child, so this is truly difficult for me, but here it goes:  I'm sorry Dojo.  I was a doubter (never a hater, but certainly a doubter) about where you'd be picked.  But now you go to what might be the perfect franchise for your development.  A team that will allow you to fill a small role right away, but filled with enough veterans and stars where you can continue to get better every day against NBA competition.  Plus you got first round (and thus guaranteed) money.  And the best owner in sports paid $3 million straight up for your rights because he thought so highly of you.  He saw all the things that I do... that you're going to make it in the league.

You were right, and I was wrong.  I will attend a Mavs game this season wearing a Jones #20 Mavs jersey in the American Airlines Center.  And I live in Vegas, so I will make it out to your NBA Summer League opener on July 9^th.  I will "come watch Dominique Jones play."  And I will smile.  Because sometimes dreams do come true, nice guys finish first, hard work gets rewarded, and good things happen to good people.  Godspeed, Dojo.  I can't wait to watch.

ESPNDallas.com is saying the Mavs believe they have assembled their backcourt of the future with Roddy Beaubois and Jones.  Let's hope they're right. 

NBA.com breaks down the process of how Dojo ended up a Maverick.  Notice the stacks of Sugar Free Red Bull in front of Cuban in the Mavs war room video.

The scene at Dominique's home in Lake Wales was a celebration, and the St. Pete Times' Greg Auman gives his account of everything from Polk County.  The Tampa Trib's Scott Carter also chimes in on the big evening.

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While I get a search party together or call in Lassie to go find Ken and Toro, here are some of the highlights from the past week in USF athletics. (Maybe they're camping out for the SB Nation Tampa Bay launch party on Wednesday night. Tampa Bay Brewing Company, 6-8 pm, be there!)

First off, there's lots of recruiting news, both for this year's and next year's football team.

- Running back could very well be a position of need next year, with Mo Plancher finishing up this season and lots of question marks after that. Skip Holtz already has a 2011 recruit verbally committed, though. Willie Davis, from Stephenson HS in Stone Mountain, Georgia, is coming to the Bulls. Good stuff from Larry Weisbaum at USFNation.com, as he was able to talk to the 5'10", 190-pound Davis, a three-star recruit who had been offered by West Virginia, Louisville, Connecticut, and others.

- Weisbaum also had a story on wide receiver commit Alex Mut, who badly sprained his ankle during USF's annual Sling & Shoot 7-on-7 tournament but came back to play the next day. I don't think his coach at Charlotte High School would be too excited about that, though.

- USF has a pipeline going at Tallahassee's Lincoln High School. Ryan Gilliam, Keeley Dorsey, and of course B.J. Daniels have all come from there, and in the 2011 season they will be joined by Chris Garye, Jr., a 6'3", 205-pound safety. Garye expects he'll be a strong safety for the Bulls -- Greg Auman has the whole story.

- Auman also has the story of a potential transfer for this season, Spencer Boyd. Boyd played running back at Cape Coral high school, then was a cornerback during spring practice at Notre Dame. He is looking to transfer and USF is at the top of his list, where he would line up as a wide receiver. What we don't know is whether Boyd can play this year, although he would be willing to redshirt if need be. He might want to do that anyway since he's still taking summer classes at Notre Dame and wouldn't join the Bulls until August.

Now on to everything else.

- Jim Fee, longtime men's golf coach, has taken a vacant position in the athletic department overseeing events and championships. (I assume this is for things like USF hosting conference tournaments, or when the NCAA hosts a regional at the St. Pete Times Forum or wherever.) There's really no getting around the fact that men's golf has been badly underperforming the last few years, considering that much like baseball, we're in Florida and there's a huge recruiting base to work with, in addition to being able to play the sport year-round. The statement from USF says Fee was looking to move into athletics administration, so this might be a chance to kill two birds with one stone. A national search has been started for Fee's replacement.

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