Bulls still looking for fits at receiver

Posted Sep 15, 2010 by Adam Adkins

Updated Sep 15, 2010 at 10:03 PM

Here is Wednesday’s practice report courtesy of correspondent Phil Neary:

Like it has been since the start of fall camp, USF coach Skip Holtz and his offensive staff are trying to find the pieces that fit at wide receiver.

Now with senior Dontavia Bogan nursing an ankle injury, things could shake up even more.

“That’s one of the advantages (to having a bye week).  You have a chance to roll some people around,” Holtz said.  “Would you put (freshman Stephen) Bravo-Brown there.  (redshirt sophomore) T.J. Knowles is having a good week right now.  Do you turn and flip (sophomore) Evan Landi over to X? That’s what we’re looking at this week in practice.”

Wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan said Wednesday the “swelling has gone down” in Bogan’s ankle since earlier in the week and he’s optimistic Bogan will be able to play when the Bulls host Western Kentucky Sept. 25.

But even with Bogan at full strength, receiver is still a position of little depth and much youth, and Holtz said this week is about giving the less experienced players game reps.

“We know when we put some of these freshman out there, they have a long way to go,” Holtz said.  “They’re all young guys.”

Freshman walk-on Stephen Bravo-Brown, who emerged during camp, is a possibility to start if Bogan is somehow unable to go next Saturday at his normal X position.  Other guys like Knowles, sophomore Daniel Bryant, senior Faron Hornes, sophomore Derrick Hopkins, sophomore Lindsey Lamar, sophomore Joel Miller, and redshirt freshman Isaac Virgin are in the mix as the Bulls look to have some of their youth emerge.

“We need some young guys to make some plays,” McGeoghan said.  “There’s a million names.  Somebody needs to assert themselves and say I’m going to take the reigns at this point and be a marquee guy we can’t count on.”

PUTTING ON THE BREAKS: Even though it worked, running sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels a team-high 17 times on Saturday wasn’t necessarily the plan.

Holtz said Daniels, who had just five rushes in the first game, ran on his read several times on Saturday.

“We have to probably take the ball out of his hands a little bit more where he can’t make those decisions knowing that his decisions are not selfish ones, they’re competitive ones,” Holtz said.

“Running the ball and doing some of the things he does well athletically take a lot of emotion where playing quarterback takes a lot of poise.  Those are tow totally different things in the middle of game day.”

HITTING THE ROAD: Taking advantage of the bye, Holtz said he and his staff will be on the road visiting potential recruits Thursday and Friday.

“It’s very important,” Holtz said of recruiting during a bye week.  “You try to do two things at one time. You’re trying to get out there and recruiting, and it gives us an opportunity to get a little farther away.

“I think it’s important that we have the opportunity to continue to build the relationships with the high school coaches and make the evaluations on where we are, not only for 2011 but there are a lot of 2012 evaluations going on right now too.”

BULLS BITS: Holtz said Wednesday the offensive line has been a position of strength this year.  “Those five are playing really well together”… Senior defensive end Craig Marshall (knee) and senior offensive tackle Jake Sims (ankle) sat out their second straight practice, but Holtz said both will be back soon.