Starting QB Daniels rusty in scrimmage

Posted Aug 14, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Aug 14, 2010 at 09:39 PM

By Phil Neary
Tribune correspondent

VERO BEACH— In their first live scrimmage since the spring, QB B.J. Daniels and the South Florida offense struggled to find their rhythm in Saturday’s scrimmage. The Bulls ran about 150 plays in front of hundreds of USF fans at the Vero Beach Sports Village.

Daniels said he was a little rusty, and at one point he was 1-for-12 passing before finishing 7-for-22.

“There’s a lot things I can definitely improve on the help this team,” Daniels said. “Defense usually comes along a little faster than offense, but we’re getting better.”

“Right now, we’re a long way from being productive as an offensive football team,” USF coach Skip Holtz said. “With the penalties and dropped passes and missing open receivers and inconsistencies in the passing game, it’s very difficult to get anything into rhythm.”

Daniels had a 20-yard run on the first play, but he couldn’t find chemistry with his receivers until the Bulls went to a no-huddle offense late in the second half.

Freshman QB Jamius Gunsby, battling freshman Bobby Eveld for the backup spot, completed 12 of 17 passes, including a 58-yard strike to senior WR Faron Hornes down the sideline.

“He handled himself very well — he’s athletic, did some good things with his feet, stood in the pocket and made some nice throws,” Holtz said.