Notebook: Bulls honor Selmon in many ways

Posted Sep 11, 2011 by Adam Adkins

Updated Sep 10, 2011 at 11:39 PM

TAMPA Before Saturday night’s kickoff against visiting Ball State, USF paid tribute to Lee Roy Selmon, a beloved member of its athletics community who died Sept.4, two days after suffering a stroke at his home in Tampa.

During a pregame ceremony that began at approximately 6:50 p.m., a moment of silence was observed inside Raymond James Stadium for Selmon, which was followed by a short video montage in his honor. Both were met by standing ovations from the announced crowd of 45,113.

In addition, two circles with No.63, Selmon’s number with the Tampa Bay Bucs, were painted at midfield, one along each sideline, and 40,000 commemorative stickers were distributed to fans attending the game.

USF’s players honored Selmon by wearing patches on their jerseys with “LRS” and No.63 decals on their helmets. In addition, the school’s mascot, Rocky, led the team onto the field carrying a green flag with white lettering of “LRS” and “63.”

Selmon served in a variety of roles at USF dating to 1993, including director of athletics from 2001-04. At his funeral service Friday at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, USF president Judy Genshaft announced the university is renaming its main athletics building the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center at USF.

“I don’t think there’s anything that the university could do that would be enough to honor Lee Roy Selmon,” USF executive director of athletics Bill McGillis said.

QUICK STRIKE: USF’s first score Saturday night came 8 seconds into the game when sophomore S Mark Joyce scooped up a fumble on the opening kickoff, which was caused by a hit from junior LB Mike Jeune, and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown. That tied the program record for the quickest score.

The Bulls also scored 8 seconds into their 2007 matchup against Louisville, which also came on a fumble return for a touchdown (by Nate Allen) on the opening kickoff.

“I wasn’t aware that I tied any record, but that’s pretty cool. I’ll take that,” Joyce said. “It was amazing. It set the tone for the whole team. We’re always prepared to make big plays on special teams, so we did our job.”

It was the second career touchdown for Joyce and the second consecutive year he’s scored in the Bulls home opener. He had an interception return for a touchdown last year against Stony Brook.

BULLS BITS: Sophomore CB/S JaQuez Jenkins (hamstring) and senior WR Joel Miller (concussion) were held out of Saturday’s game. … Junior WR Victor Marc’s 20-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the first of his career. … Junior K Maikon Bonani tied Santiago Gramatica’s career mark of made field goals (38) with three successful kicks in the first half. … Sophomore WR Terrence Mitchell and redshirt freshman WR Deonte Welch made their first career starts. Mitchell finished with career highs in both receptions (seven) and receiving yards (60). … Junior RB Darrell Scott scored his first touchdown with the Bulls on a 1-yard run in the third quarter. Scott led the Bulls with 82 rushing yards. ... True freshman OL Thor Jozwiak underwent shoulder surgery Friday and will definitely redshirt this season. ... Three true freshmen made their debuts Saturday: WRs Andre Davis and Ruben Gonzalez and FB Tye Turner.