What would you do if you were Holtz?

Posted Mar 8, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Mar 8, 2010 at 08:54 AM

First, I must make an admission: I wouldn’t know Marvin Kloss if he came up to me right now and kicked me where the sun don’t shine.

Kloss is a kicker who played his high school ball at Barron Collier High. He reportedly has preferred walk-on status at a few schools in the fall, including USF, Florida International and Florida.

What does that mean? Basically, it means a coach doesn’t like you enough to offer you a scholarship, but if you want to come out for the team, you’ll be given more serious consideration than maybe the guy next to you who showed up wearing his Publix uniform.

Well, according to this story the Naples Daily News, Kloss was arrested Friday for having a little too much fun at a house party. Evidently, he was having such a good time he wanted to take some of the party home with him and is accused of stealing $8,200 in property from the home.

Since Kloss is not part of the team, Bulls coach Skip Holtz has no comment. Whether Kloss still has preferred walk-on status if he attends USF remains uncertain.

I say Kicker Kloss has bigger concerns than that right now.

But if you want a glimpse of Holtz’s philosophy on player accountability, he provided this take at last week’s town hall meeting on the USF campus:

“I will take a little less player to get a better student,’’ Holtz said. “I want to see every member of our team graduate, but at the same time, I’m not a truancy officer. I am a football coach. As I tell every student-athlete that I recruit, and every student-athlete on our team, I expect three things out of them.

“One, that they are here to get a degree. If they are not, then we’re going to have problems ... I want people who are going to make good social decisions and understand they represent more than just themselves, that everywhere they go the wear the University of South Florida football program and athletic department across their chest.

“And third, I want people that have a burning desire to be great, because I think that’s the only way we’re going to get where we want to be.’‘

Holtz gauges players and recruits “athletically, academically and socially.’’ Those are the criteria his philosphy is based on.

If you were Holtz, would you still consider Kloss as a potential member of the team one day?