Holtz excited after first look at freshmen

Posted Aug 4, 2011 by Adam Adkins

Updated Aug 4, 2011 at 10:42 PM

The opening day of fall camp for the University of South Florida football team didn’t come without a minor hiccup, with some inclement weather nearby forcing the team off the field for a short amount of time.

But the day ended with the Bulls getting in all their planned work, and coach Skip Holtz was more than pleased.

“I thought there were an awful lot of positive things out there,” Holtz said. “I loved the attitude, I loved the leadership from some guys that have been here that understand how we do things. And I’m really excited about a lot of these freshmen.”

Thursday marked the first time Holtz and his staff was able to see the 17 newcomers from the 2011 recruiting class on the field. The group could provide a big impact this season, with Holtz previously stating up to eight of the newcomers have a chance to contribute.

“They’ve been names to us since we signed them,” Holtz said. “We haven’t been able to be on the field with them. But then to come out here and see how they move in person, because a lot of these guys you watched them on film, you got a chance to meet them as people, you got a chance to see the transcripts, but this is the first time we’ve been on the field with a lot of them. You really get a great up-close evaluation of where they are right now.”

A few in the newest crop of Bulls even managed to catch Holtz’s eye Thursday. Cornerback Kenneth Durden earned some praise for his work, notably while fielding punts, and linebacker Zack Bullock also impressed a bit with his performance.

The Bulls coaching staff will get an even better look at the newest crop today. With the freshmen finishing up summer classes this morning USF will hold two practice sessions, with the veterans going this morning and the newcomers in the afternoon.

Holtz said it was nice to be able to incorporate the freshmen into Thursday’s workout, where they got a feel for the tempo and how things are done, but he was looking forward to working with the group in a more isolated setting.

“It will be great to give them that type of individual attention,” Holtz said. “They need that individual attention right now, especially with everything you’re trying to throw at them because all those freshmen are like this football team the first day of spring practice last year when they’re just looking at you like, ooh, I have no idea what that means. Right now we’ve just got to really slow it down for them and teach.”

As for returning players, they too were excited to get back to work.

“It felt great being back out here after we had a great summer,” junior linebacker Sam Barrington said. “You see some younger guys coming in, getting into the rotation. It feels great, and I think I’m speaking for the team when I say that.”

There was certainly a different feel for the veterans from this point last year with the team entering the second season under Holtz.

“The comfort level has changed around everybody,” sophomore defensive end Ryne Giddins said. “You can tell everybody’s more relaxed because they’ve been in the system a while. Coach Holtz, he knows what he’s doing, and we love it.”