2017 South Florida Bulls football team

The 2017 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and were led by first-year head coach Charlie Strong. The Bulls competed as members of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 10–2, 6–2 in AAC play to finish in second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl where they defeated Texas Tech.

2017 South Florida Bulls football
Birmingham Bowl champion
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 21
APNo. 21
2017 record10–2 (6–2 The American)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSterlin Gilbert (1st season)
Offensive schemeVeer and Shoot
Defensive coordinatorBrian Jean-Mary (1st season)
Base defense3–3–5
Home stadiumRaymond James Stadium (Capacity: 65,890, grass)
2017 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 6 UCF xy$  8 –0     13 –0  
No. 21 South Florida  6 –2     10 –2  
Temple  4 –4     7 –6  
Cincinnati  2 –6     4 –8  
UConn  2 –6     3 –9  
East Carolina  2 –6     3 –9  
West Division
No. 25 Memphis xy  7 –1     10 –3  
Houston  5 –3     7 –5  
Navy  4 –4     7 –6  
SMU  4 –4     7 –6  
Tulane  3 –5     5 –7  
Tulsa  1 –7     2 –10  
Championship: UCF 62, Memphis 55
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of January 9, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll.

Previous season

In 2016, the Bulls had their most successful season in school history, finishing 11–2, 7–1 in American Athletic Conference play. They finished as co-champions of the East Division, but lost out on participating in the Conference Championship Game on a tie-breaker to Temple. They received an invitation to the Birmingham Bowl.[1]

Before playing in the Birmingham Bowl, head coach Willie Taggart was hired by Oregon.[2] Interim head coach T. J. Weist led the Bulls to victory in the bowl game, beating South Carolina 46–39 in overtime.

Offseason

Coaching changes

The coaching vacancy left by Willie Taggart was filled when USF hired Charlie Strong as head coach on December 11, 2016.[3] Strong had been the head coach at the University of Texas before being fired after three seasons.

Sterlin Gilbert was named the new offensive coordinator on January 5, 2017.[4] Gilbert had been Charlie Strong's offensive coordinator at Texas in 2016. USF hired Brian Jean-Mary as the new defensive coordinator on January 8, 2017.[5] Jean-Mary has been on Charlie Strong's coaching staff since Strong started coaching at Louisville in 2010. He was Texas's linebackers coach in 2016.

Disciplinary issues

In late March 2017, senior USF defensive back Hassan Childs was dismissed from the team after being involved in a road rage incident in which he was shot three times. He was charged with aggravated assault and marijuana possession after the incident.[6]

In early May, another USF player was arrested, this time defensive end LaDarrius Jackson, who was charged with assaulting a female in student housing.[7] Judge Margaret Taylor, of Hillsborough County, criticized head coach Charlie Strong's lack of control over his players, saying that she was "ashamed of being an alum." Coach Strong had only been employed at the school for five months at the time of Jackson's arrest and had not recruited either of the players in question. A video of Judge Taylor's comments went viral, and she later recused herself from the case.[8]

Preseason

In the preseason AAC media poll, the Bulls were picked to finish first in the East Division of the AAC, receiving all 30 first-place votes.[9] They also received 26 of 30 votes as the favorite to win the AAC championship.[9]

Schedule

South Florida announced their 2017 football schedule on February 9, 2017.[10]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 267:30 p.m.at San Jose State*No. 19
CBSSNW 42–2213,377
September 24:00 p.m.Stony Brook*No. 19
ESPN3W 31–1726,460
September 157:00 p.m.Illinois*No. 22
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNW 47–2335,404
September 217:30 p.m.TempleNo. 21
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNW 43–724,325
September 3012:00 p.m.at East CarolinaNo. 18
CBSSNW 61–3134,883
October 14 [a]7:30 p.m.CincinnatiNo. 18
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNUW 33–343,708
October 217:00 p.m.at TulaneNo. 16
ESPN2W 34–2817,256
October 28 [b]3:45 p.m.HoustonNo. 17
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNUL 24–2832,316
November 4 [c]3:30 p.m.at UConn
ESPNUW 37–2018,430
November 168:00 p.m.TulsaNo. 23
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNW 27–2026,195
November 243:30 p.m.at No. 13 UCFNo. 22
ABCL 42–4947,129 
December 2312:00 p.m.vs. Texas Tech*No. 23
ESPNW 38–3428,623
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
^[a] The game between UMass and USF was cancelled. The game between Cincinnati and USF was moved from October 28th to October 14th.
^[b] The game between Houston and USF was moved from November 4th to October 28th.
^[c] The game between UConn and USF that was cancelled on September 9th was rescheduled for November 4th.

Game summaries

at San Jose State
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 19 Bulls 0 28 7 7 42
Spartans 16 0 0 6 22
See also: 2017 San Jose State Spartans football team

Stony Brook
1 2 3 4 Total
Seawolves 7 3 0 7 17
No. 19 Bulls 7 0 10 14 31
See also: 2017 Stony Brook Seawolves football team

Illinois
1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Illini 2 7 0 14 23
No. 22 Bulls 9 14 14 10 47
See also: 2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Temple
1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 0 7 0 0 7
No. 21 Bulls 3 17 13 10 43
See also: 2017 Temple Owls football team

at East Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 18 Bulls 21 10 17 13 61
Pirates 10 14 7 0 31
See also: 2017 East Carolina Pirates football team

Cincinnati
1 2 3 4 Total
Bearcats 3 0 0 0 3
No. 18 Bulls 3 20 7 3 33
See also: 2017 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

at Tulane
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 16 Bulls 7 13 14 0 34
Green Wave 0 7 7 14 28
See also: 2017 Tulane Green Wave football team

Houston
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 0 14 14 28
No. 17 Bulls 0 7 7 10 24
See also: 2017 Houston Cougars football team

at UConn
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 10 17 3 37
Huskies 0 7 0 13 20
See also: 2017 UConn Huskies football team

Tulsa
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Hurricane 7 10 0 3 20
No. 23 Bulls 21 3 3 0 27
See also: 2017 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

at UCF
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 22 Bulls 7 13 14 8 42
No. 13 Knights 21 0 7 21 49
See also: 2017 UCF Knights football team

vs. Texas Tech–Birmingham Bowl
1 2 3 4 Total
Red Raiders 10 0 14 10 34
No. 23 Bulls 3 7 7 21 38
See also: 2017 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team and 2017 Birmingham Bowl

Rankings
Further information: 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP 19 21 22 21 18 18 18 16–T 17 RV 22 23 22 23 23 21 
Coaches 21 20 21 17 17 16 15 13 14 23 21 20 19 23 24 21 
CFP Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

Roster
2017 South Florida Bulls football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 1 Chris Barr Jr
RB 2 D'Ernest Johnson Sr
WR 3 Darnell Salomon So
RB 6 Darius Tice  Sr
QB 7 Brett Kean So
WR 8 Tyre McCants  Jr
QB 9 Quinton Flowers Sr
QB 10 Chris Oladokun  Fr
WR 11 Marquez Valdes-Scantling  Sr
WR 12 Temi Alaka  Sr
WR 14 Deangelo Antonie  So
QB 16 Mike Dean Fr
QB 17 Kyle Trina Fr
WR 18 DeVontres Dukes  Fr
RB 22 Duran Bell Jr. Fr
RB 27 LaDarion McBride Sr
RB 31 Elijah Mack  Fr
RB 32 Jordan Cronkrite Jr
RB 36 Davion Sutton Jr
TE 40 Derek Hintze  Fr
FB 40 Riley Sheehan So
TE 48 Spencer Adkinson Sr
TE 49 K. J. Miles  Sr
OL 50 Christion Gainer  Fr
OL 52 Michael Wiggs  Fr
OL 55 Eric Mayes Jr
OL 61 Jacob Maxfield Fr
OL 64 Demetris Harris Fr
OL 66 Matt Nelson  Fr
OL 67 Hal Roberson  Fr
OL 68 Michael Galati  Jr
OL 69 Erik Listoe  So
OL 70 Glen Bethel Sr
OL 71 Jeremiah Stafford Fr
OL 72 Brooks Larkin  So
OL 73 Jeremi Hall  Sr
OL 74 Cameron Ruff  Sr
OL 75 Jean Marcellus Fr
OT 77 Marcus Norman  So
OG 78 William Atterbury So
OL 79 Grant Polk  So
TE 80 Ryan Hintze Sr
WR 80 Trevor Steinke Sr
WR 81 Ryeshene Bronson Sr
WR 83 Jernard Phillips Fr
WR 84 Randall St. Felix Fr
TE 85 Elkanah Dillon  Jr
WR 86 Stanley Clerveaux  Jr
TE 87 Frederick Lloyd Jr. Fr
WR 88 Kevaughn Dingle Fr
TE 89 Mitchell Wilcox  So
TE 97 Nicholas Munera Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
CB 3 Deatrick Nichols Sr
DE 4 Jimmy Bates  Jr
DT 10 Deadrin Senat  Sr
LB 12 Andre Polk Jr.  Fr
CB 13 Tajee Fullwood Sr
DB 14 Mike Hampton  Fr
DE 15 Vincent Jackson  Jr
S 18 Jaymon Thomas Jr
CB 19 Ronnie Hoggins Jr
S 20 Devin Abraham Sr
S 21 Khalid McGee  Jr
DB 22 Mekhi LaPointe Fr
CB 23 Mazzi Wilkins  Jr
DB 24 Nick Roberts Fr
DB 25 Bentlee Sanders Fr
S 26 Craig Watts  Fr
DB 27 Naytron Culpepper Fr
DB 28 Donelle Thomas Fr
LB 29 Devon Jones-Stewart Sr
DB 30 Jeffery Farrar  Jr
LB 33 David Small Fr
LB 34 Keirston Johnson Fr
DE 35 Jabreel Stephens Fr
CB 37 Nate Ferguson Jr
CB 38 Nick Cuccia So
DB 39 Trent Shaw So
LB 41 Greg Reaves  So
LB 43 Auggie Sanchez  Sr
DT 44 Garry Cadet Jr
DE 45 Darrien Grant Fr
LB 51 Mi'Cario Stanley  Fr
LB 53 Danny Thomas Jr
LB 54 Nico Sawtelle So
LB 55 Josh Black  Jr
DE 56 Juwuan Brown  Jr
LB 57 A. J. Franco Fr
LB 58 Anthony Beko Jr
LB 59 Andrew Mims Fr
DT 60 Bruce Hector  Sr
DT 90 Kevin Kegler Fr
DE 91 Frank Johnson Jr
DE 92 Marquies Price Jr
DT 93 Brandon Boyce Jr
DE 94 Kirk Livingstone  So
DT 95 Marlon Gonzalez So
DT 96 Kevlin Pinkney Jr. Fr
DE 98 Mike Love  Sr
DE 99 Kevin Bronson  Jr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 35 Emilio Nadelman  Sr
K 38 Marco Salani Fr
K 42 Jake Vivonetto Sr
P 44 Jonathan Hernandez  Sr
LS 46 Zach Deitz So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Sterlin Gilbert (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach)
  • Brian Jean-Mary (Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach)
  • Blue Adams (Defensive Backs)
  • Justin Burke (Tight Ends / Special Teams Coordinator)
  • Damon Cogdell (Defensive Ends)
  • Sean Cronin (Defensive Tackles)
  • Shaun King (Running Backs)
  • Matt Mattox (Offensive Line / Run Game Coordinator)
  • Charlie Williams (Wide Receivers)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 10, 2017

[11]

Players in the 2018 NFL Draft
See also: 2018 NFL Draft
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Deadrin SenatDT390Atlanta Falcons
Marquez Valdes-ScantlingWR5174Green Bay Packers

References
  1. "USF headed to Birmingham Bowl (UPDATED)". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  2. "Oregon hires USF's Taggart to be next coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  3. John Del Bianco (December 11, 2016). "South Florida hires Charlie Strong". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  4. Allison Leslie (January 5, 2017). "South Florida Hires Sterlin Gilbert As Offensive Coordinator". Sports Talk Florida. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  5. Jeff Odom (January 8, 2017). "USF hires Brian Jean-Mary as defensive coordinator". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  6. Nick Simon (March 28, 2017). "Hassan Childs dismissed from USF football". The Daily Stampede. Vox Media. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  7. Joey Knight (May 2, 2017). "USF football player LaDarrius Jackson arrested on sexual battery charge". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  8. Mark Schlabach (May 4, 2017). "Judge Margaret Taylor recuses herself from LaDarrius Jackson case over critical comment toward South Florida Bulls coach Charlie Strong". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  9. "USF Is The Favorite In 2017 American Athletic Conference Media Poll". theamerican.org. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  10. 2017 USF Football Schedule Announced. February 9, 2017. GoUSFBulls.com. University of South Florida Athletics. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  11. Football - Staff. GoUSFBulls.com. University of South Florida Athletics. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
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