Class is in session for new Bulls

Posted Jun 28, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Jun 28, 2010 at 11:45 AM

The newest members of USF’s football team spent last week attending orientation.

They spent the weekend getting physicals and taking care of other matters related to starting their college careers.

Today, they start classes as USF’s Summer B session opens.

USF football coach Skip Holtz met with the players last week as they began to arrive on campus and is looking forward to finally turning his full attention to the 2010 season.

“This brings a little more reality to getting ready for the season,’’ Holtz said late last week. “It creates a little more excitment now that we know the freshmen are here. We talked about this day happening and now it’s finally here.’‘

The only official academic casualty of Holtz’s initial recruiting class is Lake City Columbia RB Tiger Powell, who failed to quality and is enrolled at Jones (Miss.) Community College.

Four members of the 2010 recruiting class—OL Adam Reiter, DE Brandon Wilkerson, OLB Curtis Weatherspoon and DE Claude Davis—started classes in January and participated in spring drills.

WR Jamaal Montague, a teammate of Powell’s in high school, remains the biggest question mark. As of Friday, Montague still had not cleared the final academic hurdles needed to enroll. If he doesn’t qualify, he’ll head off to junior college in hopes of joining USF in two years.

Meanwhile, two junior-college transfers in the 2010 class—Blinn (Texas) RB Michael Hayes and Saddleback (Calif.) WR T.J. Knowles are not expected to start classes until August.

Other notes:

++ Holtz remains uncertain of how he’ll fill the graduate assistant spot left open when J.R. Reed left to resume his playing career with the Florida Tuskers of the UFL.

“There are a couple of options I’m looking at,’’ he said.

Holtz is waiting to see if there is any other movement among last year’s grad assistants before making a final decision.

++ Sophomore QB B.J. Daniels is progressing nicely and should be 100 percent by the time fall camp starts, according to Holtz.

Daniels is working overtime in the weight room to rebuild the strength in the non-throwing shoulder he underwent surgery on in the spring, forcing him to avoid all contact during spring practice.

“He is doing great,’’ Holtz said. “I feel really good about his progress. We haven’t had any setbacks.’’