TAMPA— The first thing University of South Florida center Sampson Genus noticed was the hands.

B.J. Daniels’ voice was a little shaky, his eyes as big as Frisbees, but those hands wouldn’t stop shaking when he took over for an injured Matt Grothe late in the second quarter of the third game last season.

“He was kind of antsy,’’ said Genus, the senior leader of the offensive line. “I was like, ‘B.J., we gotcha. It’s alright. Just calm down.’‘’

Daniels, 20, remembers the moment well. On one play, he watched Grothe take off for a 9-yard gain; on the next, he was suddenly USF’s new starting quarterback.

“I definitely was shaking a little bit,’’ Daniels said. “My first couple of throws, I probably threw the ball about a million miles per hour from all the excitement. I finally settled down.’‘

Six plays later, Daniels hit Dontavia Bogan for a 50-yard touchdown pass. A week later, Daniels led the Bulls to a historic victory at Florida State in front of a large group of family and friends in his hometown. And now, nearly a year later, Daniels is considered a veteran, the second-most experienced quarterback in the Big East with 10 career starts.

Ever since Grothe went down with that season-ending knee injury against Charleston Southern, Daniels has been on a treadmill that hasn’t stopped. He immediately proved his mettle by leading the Bulls to perhaps the most memorable victory in school history at FSU.

The storylines flowed that day like an uncorked bottle of champagne. But once reality set in, Daniels and the Bulls suffered five losses in their final eight games.

As Daniels prepares to enter his first full season as USF’s starting quarterback, he has taken all the experiences of the last year and used them to prepare for what he hopes is a successful start to the Skip Holtz Era.

“Last year was a confidence builder,’’ Daniels said. “I learned about myself as a player and as a person. It was tough trying to fill in for Matt. I didn’t want to be a drop-off. Matt’s done a lot for our program and I wanted to be consistent and carry the torch.’‘

Leading the way

Following his introductory news conference in January, Holtz immediately left the podium and headed for Daniels, who watched from the crowd that sunny afternoon.

Holtz made sure to let Daniels know that he needed him to make Holtz’s first season in Tampa a success. In the eight months since, Holtz has gained respect and confidence for the way Daniels has taken ownership of his role as team leader and spokesman.

“The best word I can use to describe him is professional, from the way he carries himself, from the way he handles himself, the way he dresses, he’s articulate … he’s got all those intangible things,’’ Holtz said. “I think he’s got the respect of this team.’‘

Recruited to USF by former coach Jim Leavitt with the promise that he could play both basketball and football, Daniels officially gave up basketball last season to focus on football. After taking over for Grothe, Daniels led the Bulls in rushing (772 yards) and became the first player in Big East history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in USF’s win over Louisville.

While those outside the program had questions about Daniels’ ability to stabilize the situation following Grothe’s injury, those who saw him at practice every day had a different view. Teammate Isaac Virgin, who was recruited as a quarterback but has since moved to receiver, quickly realized Daniels’ potential after arriving on campus.

“As a backup, I always thought he was a great leader,’’ Virgin said. “For somebody to come in as a redshirt freshman and do what he did, you have to have great composure and be a natural-born leader.’‘

Genus says Daniels continues to evolve as a player and person every day. The two often grab dinner together and just talk about football, school, movies, whatever. He sees a much calmer and mature Daniels.

While Daniels may not seem like the vocal take-charge leader we’re used to seeing from quarterbacks, Genus says don’t be fooled. The Bulls have a different view of him.

“He doesn’t put himself as the team leader, but we all look up to him,’’ Genus said. “He’s the quarterback. We expect him to make the right decisions.’‘

Big-play identity

As for the player everyone sees on the field, there is no disputing Daniels is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. Prior to hosting the Bulls late last season, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano stressed all week to his players that they had to stop Daniels, telling them Daniels reminded him of Michael Vick.

The Scarlet Knights had more success than any other team in a 31-0 victory, limiting Daniels to 140 yards of total offense in the Bulls’ only shutout loss in school history.

“He is a different type of quarterback that you have to worry about,’’ Rutgers senior safety Joe Lefeged said. “The thing with him, the play is never over. A play can last 10, 12, 15 seconds. You have to hustle to the football.

“He is a big play waiting to happen.’‘

USF defensive coordinator Mark Snyder learned that lesson during a recent scrimmage when Daniels was made live for full contact for the first time since undergoing offseason shoulder surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.

“We had the X-factor in that we lined up B.J.,” Snyder said. “What I saw I have not seen since I stood on the sideline and coached against Antwaan Randle El. It was pretty impressive to see.”

The task for offensive coordinator Todd Fitch is to find the proper balance between Daniels as a runner and as a passer. With a pair of freshmen behind Daniels on the depth chart, USF’s coaching staff is taking extra precautions to keep him healthy.

The offense features more pro-style sets and less designed runs for Daniels, and Holtz has stressed since spring that he doesn’t want Daniels to lead the team in rushing again.

“There will be runs designed in the scheme for him,” Fitch said, adding that he wants most of Daniels’ rushing yards to come from reading zone defenses and taking the option to run when it’s there.

“B.J. is very athletic,’’ Holtz said. “You look at the film from a year ago, and he made a lot of plays with his talent and athleticism. I’d like to see him make a lot of plays with his mind.’‘

Daniels has embraced the new offense, pointing out that in the spring game he threw 31 times and ran just twice. He also can laugh — without those nervous shakes — when thinking back to taking over for Grothe in an emergency situation.

“I’ve come a long way, I’ll say that,’’ Daniels said. “I was definitely learning as I went.’’