Skip Holtz to USF is close to happening...

[RyanLeaf16]

Per the Tampa Tribune, the deal could be done today and Holtz introduced tomorrow.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/14/usf-deal-holtz-reportedly-could-be-finalized-today/sports-colleges-bulls/

Thoughts? Frankly, I LOVE this hire. I think Holtz is a fantastic coach and someone who fared well with less talent. The fact that he can recruit well is also a plus. He really won't have to travel far to ink some excellent prospects. The talent field in this state is fertile and, in reference to the article I posted earlier about the number of BCS recruits in the state of Florida alone, there is plenty of talent to go around.

Some might say this is a stepping-stone job. And it may be at this point. However, this job can grow into one of the most attractive jobs in the country due to the recruiting base. USF is finally moving forward. The talent on the current roster is excellent, Leavitt just worked the kids so damn hard that half the time they were broken down come conference play.

I think Skip Holtz will do a hell of a job and I'm excited to see what kind of staff he brings in and how many of our current recruiting class (which is pretty good) he can keep.

[FirstTimer]

Good for Skip.

[NAHSTE]

Looking forward to seeing his offense run through that really athletic young QB. Solid hire but I wouldn't be shocked if Skip was somewhere else in 3-5 years.

[KillaK]

As an ECU fan I would hate for Skip to leave us. Hes done so good turning the team around.

[RyanLeaf16]

It's done! Per Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times:

East Carolina coach Skip Holtz will be announced as USF's new head football coach on Friday after accepting the Bulls' offer on Thursday morning.


Holtz has called a 1 p.m. meeting of his ECU staff and will address his team at 3 p.m. before heading to Tampa.

[Woy]

Well at least South Florida won't collapse every year like they do with Leavitt.

Good hire, maybe he'll help make the Big East a respectable BCS conference.

[RyanLeaf16]

I missed that link.

Anyway, good move by USF.

Link is below and so is the text if you don't want to open a new browser window. Great read BTW! Just shows how much talent is in Florida and how much of that talent WANTS to stay in Florida.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/01/08/leavitt/index.html

South Florida fired coach Jim Leavitt after he allegedly struck a player
Proximity to prime athletes makes South Florida job an attractive one
USF may not offer big initila contract but could be springboard to bigger job


Thousands of coaches will descend on Orlando, Fla., this weekend for the annual American Football Coaches Association convention. If they're smart, all but a few will come, resume in hand, to the hotel room of South Florida athletic director Doug Woolard.

The firing of Coach Jim Leavitt on Friday for allegedly striking a player is a shameful end to what should have been a fantastic story about a man who built a program from scratch, but anyone who spent any time around the program could have guessed Leavitt's story would end unhappily. His reputation for hotheadedness and for driving assistants too hard was going to catch up to him even if he hadn't had his confrontation with walk-on Joel Miller at halftime of the Louisville game.

This is a chance for USF -- and for one lucky coach -- to write a new chapter. Few jobs in America offer a first-year coach the opportunity to win a BCS conference title in 2010. USF's does. Few jobs in America allow a coach to recruit a BCS conference champion without ever buying a plane ticket. USF's does.

Don't believe USF sits atop a goldmine? Consider this. In the past six years, the state of Florida has produced 1,186 BCS conference signees. In last year's SI.com study of how location affects recruiting and on-field success, we found that programs that can draw players from within 200 miles from campus have a prohibitive advantage over schools that cannot. So guess how many players from within 200 miles of USF's campus signed with a big-six conference team or with Notre Dame in the past six years? Nine hundred nineteen.

If you need to look away, wipe your eyes and look again to make sure that number is correct, go ahead. It's still 919. That means the 200-mile radius surrounding USF produces an average of 153 BCS-conference caliber players a year. Schools can only bring in 25 a year, so even if Florida, Florida State and Miami take their pick, USF still has three signing classes worth of players from which to choose. And if the new coach can win a conference title or two, it won't be a given that a recruit will choose one of the other three over USF.

So if I'm Tommy Tuberville, I roll the dice and yank my name from the Texas Tech search and hop the first flight to Tampa. Texas Tech is a fine program, but no matter how good the coach is, the Red Raiders will lose most recruiting skirmishes with Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. USF has had more raw talent than anyone in the Big East for the past three years, but Leavitt wasn't able to mold that talent into a team that could play consistently for 12 games.

The right coach can. That may be Tuberville, a great gameday coach who must prove he'll hire a staff that will aggressively recruit the Sunshine State and compete with Florida, Florida State and Miami for players. (He served as an assistant at Miami from 1986-93.) It could someone like former USF assistant and Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney, who is now the defensive line coach at Florida. It could be a hot young assistant such as Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who just celebrated a BCS title on Thursday night.

All three of these coaches would be excellent for the job. They're smart. They know how to win, and, unlike Leavitt, they understand a program of USF's stature needs as much positive publicity as it can get. Tuberville and McCarney are masters of the media interview, and while Smart isn't available for many interviews, he's candid, witty and cerebral when he is.

The winning coach's agents may have to settle for a lower salary than most schools with potential BCS conference championship programs can pay, but USF isn't awash in cash. A smart agent will realize the second payday will be well worth the small sacrifice after a couple of Big East titles. So will a smart coach.

So polish up those resumes, boys. A golden opportunity awaits.

[Sportsbuck]

Good hire for USF... Skip is a great guy and a great coach and he's going to do a great job in Tampa.

That said, I believe USF will never be anything more than a stepping stone job. It may be situated in the state of Florida, but just being located in that recruiting area doesn't make it a potentially great job. Virtually every program in the country pulls into the state in some way, so most of the top talent that doesn't go to Miami, UF, or FSU gets gobbled up by teams such as Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, VT, Georgia, etc.

There's a lot that goes into being one of the "Destination jobs", and frankly I don't see USF becoming one of those.

[RyanLeaf16]

Good hire for USF... Skip is a great guy and a great coach and he's going to do a great job in Tampa.

That said, I believe USF will never be anything more than a stepping stone job. It may be situated in the state of Florida, but just being located in that recruiting area doesn't make it a potentially great job. Virtually every program in the country pulls into the state in some way, so most of the top talent that doesn't go to Miami, UF, or FSU gets gobbled up by teams such as Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, VT, Georgia, etc.

There's a lot that goes into being one of the "Destination jobs", and frankly I don't see USF becoming one of those.

I would have to respectfully disagree with you. USF over the last 4-5 years has continued to pull players away from UF, FSU and UM that want to stay close to home. Right now, the biggest attraction is immediate playing time. Many people, including myself, have actually said that man-for-man USF can matchup with a lot of other programs around the country. The problem is the lack of depth and attrition as the season goes on.

USF is making in-roads in the recruiting game and if they continue to improve, they will continue to compete with the "big three" for recruits. When Ryne Giddins chose USF over UF he was asked "why USF...why not Florida?" Giddins said "Why not USF." Just because you aren't a powerhouse doesn't mean you can never be. UF wasn't really much of a powerhouse until Spurrier came along. Yet, most people seem to believe UF was a dominant force prior to that.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I would have to respectfully disagree with you. USF over the last 4-5 years has continued to pull players away from UF, FSU and UM that want to stay close to home. Right now, the biggest attraction is immediate playing time. Many people, including myself, have actually said that man-for-man USF can matchup with a lot of other programs around the country. The problem is the lack of depth and attrition as the season goes on.

USF is making in-roads in the recruiting game and if they continue to improve, they will continue to compete with the "big three" for recruits. When Ryne Giddins chose USF over UF he was asked "why USF...why not Florida?" Giddins said "Why not USF." Just because you aren't a powerhouse doesn't mean you can never be. UF wasn't really much of a powerhouse until Spurrier came along. Yet, most people seem to believe UF was a dominant force prior to that.

Last season was the first year they pulled players from UF and UM. 4-5 years? Bogus.

Kayvon Webster, Sam Barrington, and Ryne Giddens is the damage so far...and it all happened last season. Webster was the only real steal of the bunch...Miami wanted him badly. The other two...Barrington was a Plan B kid for Miami and Ryne Giddens was low on the list for Florida.

This year? No one so far, and it doesn't look like they will get anyone from one of the Big 3.

Leavitt was the guy making in-roads, and it took him years to do it...I doubt the next guy comes in with such luck...relationships like that take a while to develop.

[Sportsbuck]

Florida was an above average program that was knocked down by probation in the 80s... their 1984 team was ranked as the national champions by numerous publications despite being ineligible for post-season play.

College football is so much different today than it was in the 1980s... especially in terms of recruiting Florida. Virtually every major team in the nation hits the state hard, and most of the guys that don't sign with one of the Big 3 will end up at another BCS power.

1-2 recruits choosing USF because of playing time really isn't going to make that much of a difference... they past 5 years they have ranked 29th (2009), 54th (2008), 58th (2007), and 59th (2006), and 50th (2005) - And they are currently 53rd in 2010 -, all the while averaging to oversign which would make thier class higher in the rankings based on having more people than other teams. Every few years a team will snatch a player from a powerhouse... its bound to happen especially with scholarship restrictions, etc.

Am I saying its impossible for USF to become a powerhouse? No. I just think its extremely unlikely.

[RyanLeaf16]

Last season was the first year they pulled players from UF and UM. 4-5 years? Bogus.

Kayvon Webster, Sam Barrington, and Ryne Giddens is the damage so far...and it all happened last season. Webster was the only real steal of the bunch...Miami wanted him badly. The other two...Barrington was a Plan B kid for Miami and Ryne Giddens was low on the list for Florida.

This year? No one so far, and it doesn't look like they will get anyone from one of the Big 3.

Leavitt was the guy making in-roads, and it took him years to do it...I doubt the next guy comes in with such luck...relationships like that take a while to develop.

That's not true. Leavitt has been able to pull players from the big three for over the last few years...both JUCO and HS recruits. For example, this year Brion Carnes gave a verbal to Leavitt and USF...whether he stays now that Leavitt is gone remains to be seen. Right there though is a 4-star quarterback prospect. Todd Chandler is another 4-star prospect that has committed. A majority of the recruits are 3-star players, but, with continued improvement Holtz can pull players away from the larger programs and those 3-stars become 4-stars and so on.

Florida was an above average program that was knocked down by probation in the 80s... their 1984 team was ranked as the national champions by numerous publications despite being ineligible for post-season play.

College football is so much different today than it was in the 1980s... especially in terms of recruiting Florida. Virtually every major team in the nation hits the state hard, and most of the guys that don't sign with one of the Big 3 will end up at another BCS power.

1-2 recruits choosing USF because of playing time really isn't going to make that much of a difference... they past 5 years they have ranked 29th (2009), 54th (2008), 58th (2007), and 59th (2006), and 50th (2005) - And they are currently 53rd in 2010 -, all the while averaging to oversign which would make thier class higher in the rankings based on having more people than other teams. Every few years a team will snatch a player from a powerhouse... its bound to happen especially with scholarship restrictions, etc.

Am I saying its impossible for USF to become a powerhouse? No. I just think its extremely unlikely.

I'm also not saying that USF is going to go out and be gang-busters in the course of just a few years. What I am saying is that the talent pool is there to take the program to new heights and that kids have already started choosing USF over bigger programs and I believe Holtz is a good enough coach and recruiter to continue with that success. I too don't believe that they will be a powerhouse in just a few seasons, but, he can certainly make a dent over the next few years.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

That's not true. Leavitt has been able to pull players from the big three for over the last few years...both JUCO and HS recruits. For example, this year Brion Carnes gave a verbal to Leavitt and USF...whether he stays now that Leavitt is gone remains to be seen. Right there though is a 4-star quarterback prospect. Todd Chandler is another 4-star prospect that has committed. A majority of the recruits are 3-star players, but, with continued improvement Holtz can pull players away from the larger programs and those 3-stars become 4-stars and so on.

Bro, you aren't correct on this matter.

They have no one this season anyone from the Big 3 want...even former 'Cane commit Todd Chandler...Miami never gave him a commitable offer due to his poor play his senior year. C'mon, use your head...do you really think a kid from MIAMI NORTHWESTERN would go to USF if Miami wanted him?

If you think USF has stolen guys from Florida, FSU, and Miami outside of Kayvon, Sam, and Ryne...name them. Brion Carnes has no offer from them. Todd Chandler doesn't (btw - look for him to go to Louisville). I just looked through every USF commit in the past decade...not one offered, legitimately, by the Big 3 outside of the guys I listed.

[RyanLeaf16]

Bro, you aren't correct on this matter.

They have no one this season anyone from the Big 3 want...even former 'Cane commit Todd Chandler...Miami never gave him a commitable offer due to his poor play his senior year. C'mon, use your head...do you really think a kid from MIAMI NORTHWESTERN would go to USF if Miami wanted him?

If you think USF has stolen guys from Florida, FSU, and Miami outside of Kayvon, Sam, and Ryne...name them. Brion Carnes has no offer from them. Todd Chandler doesn't (btw - look for him to go to Louisville). I just looked through every USF commit in the past decade...not one offered, legitimately, by the Big 3 outside of the guys I listed.

I just did the same and you are right. However, my confusion probably sparked from the fact that multiple USF commitments over the last few years were speaking with those schools. I just checked out rivals though and while many were talking with them, no actual offer came from those schools. So, I stand corrected.


However, I will say that USF is making strides in the recruiting game and I think Skip Holtz will only help our recruiting efforts and will actually get USF to take the next step.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

USF has made strides, but it took Leavitt, LITERALLY, a decade-plus to make inroads and make relationships that landed him Kayvon (who is legit) via Sterling Griffin...taking a lot of "FIU-level" level Miami kids (remember Ro Clarke? Quavon Taylor? Alwan Lee and Joey Jackson from Booker T.)

Took a while to build those relationships for Leavitt down here.

With that said, is Holtz a better recruiter? I don't know.