The Long Snapper (3/4/10)
There’s still a chance
Seantrel Henderson
doesn’t end up playing for
Lane Kiffin
at
USC
. It’s a small chance, but it’s still there.
“So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
Of course, it doesn’t appear that there’s much of a chance at all that he ends up at
Florida
.
“Like one in a million.”
The Gators are perfectly happy with the way their 2010 recruiting class ended up (as are all of us) and while Henderson would make a great addition, no one is losing sleep over it. Should Henderson not end up with the Trojans, it looks like
Miami
or
Ohio State
top the list of his likely destinations, but don’t tell that to all-world all-everything super recruit
Ronald Powell
. Powell became good friends with Henderson over the past year or so and would love for the talented offensive lineman to end up a Gator (maybe he can just leave his dad behind). Powell hopes all his friend needs is some convincing that he’ll look best in orange and blue. Don’t bet on it though.
The ship may have officially sailed on Henderson
coming to Florida weeks ago.
Looking ahead to the 2011 recruiting class, Florida has made an offer to Plant City tight end Jordan Prestwood. Prestwood figures to be one of the higher ranked TEs in the 2011 class and is even being looked at to move inside to offensive tackle by some schools. A move he doesn’t seem to really want to make. He already has offers from 14 schools and big names at that. A big senior season should have Prestwood wanted by virtually every school in the nation. He admits he grew up a fan of FSU (nobody’s perfect), but is wide open when it comes to where he’ll end up playing college ball. At 6’6”, 250 lbs., Prestwood is already a great size for a versatile tight end at the collegiate level. The way the TE is used in Urban Meyer’s system, Prestwood seems like he would be a perfect fit. Good size, solid speed, great hands, big enough to block if asked to. But don’t expect any kind of commitment anytime soon though. Prestwood plans to wait until after his senior season is over.
After dropping Adarius Bellamy from the 2010 recruiting class and dismissing Mike Ford from the team (sigh), USF fans needed some good news in the running back department. That came with the announcement that Mo Plancher has been granted a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA (my application for additional years are apparently still being reviewed). Plancher was the leading rusher among RBs in 2009 and his experience was greatly needed to return. He will anchor a running back corps that could be a strong point of the Bulls’ offense. New head coach Skip Holtz has mentioned wanting to get the carries to the backs and away from B.J. Daniels. Daniels’ scrambling ability is a plus, but he shouldn’t be leading the team in carries and yards. Plancher’s return gives USF a definite starter and a good looking three-back rotation with Lindsey Lamar and Jamar Taylor.
Holtz recently answer some questions posed by USF fans. Among those was possible changes to the Bulls’ uniforms and Holtz didn’t shy away from saying change could come. He mentioned being approached by several players regarding the white helmets. Count me in on that one. Nothing against the gold helmets, but in my humble opinion, the whites are much, MUCH better. Not every team needs white helmets (after watching Florida lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, I hope to never see the “futuristic” Gator helmets again…although I do love me the throwbacks), but USF looks great in them. The subtle differences in the uniforms with the white over the gold are a nice touch and one I’d like to see made permanent. Either that or bring back the yellow! Just kidding on that one of course. We don’t need an Oregon clone. The Ducks clone themselves enough for everyone’s viewing displeasure. And to my knowledge, the football team may be one of the few Bulls’ programs to never actually wear the yellow.
Today’s list should be titled nothing more than simply “Girls are Mean!” Kudos to One Eyed Willy on that one. Sugar and spice and everything mean. At least that’s what today’s list indicates.
1. Maybe I had it all wrong about women’s basketball!
The Sixth Man: That’s right, USF is the most improved basketball team in any of the six major conferences (they can also be referred to as the BCS conferences for those of you that are still stuck in the world of the pigskin). The Bulls currently sit at 18-11 after finishing last season at 9-22. Double your wins and halve your losses and you’re probably in store for a pretty good season. What could be more impressive is the fact that USF has a chance to finish .500 in the Big East. Considering the conference’s basketball success, that isn’t an easy feat at all. The Bulls are currently 8-9 in conference play. That’s twice as many Big East wins as last year and one more than each of the last two seasons combined. With one game left against UConn, USF has a very real chance to get to 9-9. The Huskies have struggled this year and are actually behind the Bulls in the Big East standings. A win against UConn and a strong showing in the Big East Tournament and USF could actually find itself in the midst of Big Dance talk. Although that would be the ultimate goal, even if the Bulls don’t get a bid, the season shouldn’t be look at as a disappointment. Stan Heath is building something in arguably the nation’s toughest conference. I’ll say it, USF basketball is actually fun to watch. And that’s coming from someone who would rather have football player year round.