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Hopes Couldn't Be Higher For Selvie And The Bulls

Tribune File Photo

George Selvie greets Bulls fans after at Raymond James Stadium after a game against Pittsburg in 2006.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

TAMPA - It started toward the middle of last season, right around the time the national media began to discover the University of South Florida's sack machine known as defensive end George Selvie.

The media wasn't alone.

Opponents began to give him extra attention — shifting a tight end to his side, keeping a running back in to block him, that sort of thing. They tried basically anything to keep him from blowing up their passing game. It worked.

The numbers tell the story. Selvie had 11.5 sacks in USF's first six games — all wins.

He had three sacks in the Bulls' remaining seven games — they went 3-4.

"I didn't know how to handle that, because it had never happened to me before," he said.

No one is remotely suggesting USF's sluggish finish last year should be laid on Selvie, and it didn't keep him from being the Bulls' first consensus All-American. Indeed, defensive coordinator Wally Burnham suggests, "George has turned into one of those special guys."

As USF's new season begins Saturday night with a home game against Tennessee-Martin, though, Selvie's goal is to recapture the magic of those first six games. Most people are betting he will.

"As he refines his skills, I think he'll get even better," defensive ends coach Kevin Patrick said. "I think he can be a lot better. He's a great college player, obviously, but he's still working hard to improve. He's a great person, too. He's the type of guy you'd feel comfortable introducing your kids to."

Missed The Playmates

He also is what you'd call a "pure football" guy.

He was selected to the Playboy All-America team this year, which got him a summer trip to a resort in Phoenix with the other players for photos and a few days of socializing. Ponder this for a moment: red-blooded young college men, at a swanky resort, sponsored by Playboy.

So what happened?

"We just kind of relaxed, played games and stuff like that," he said. "We just talked about football and each other's teams and conferences."

Oh, and there were no Playmates, either.

"I was kind of disappointed about that," he said.

Selvie could match football stories with basically anybody there, though. He was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. His 31.5 tackles for loss led the nation. He won a bunch of other awards. Even with the slow finish, he finished second nationally in sacks.

This year, he wants more.

"I'd like to have 20 sacks," he said. "I'll put it up there, aim high, and if I don't get it I can at least look for it."

He has done more than talk and set high goals.

"George is probably working as hard as I've ever seen him work, throughout the summer and in the weight room," Bulls coach Jim Leavitt said.

Better Prepared

Basically, any offensive game plan against the Bulls has to account for Selvie first and build from there. How he handles that — and what he learned from last year's experience — will be a big factor in how far USF can go.

"They'll do all sorts of things [against him]," Patrick said. "They'll run away from him, run misdirections at him, give him extra blockers. This year he'll see some double-teams, chip blocks, all of it. We've talked a lot about that.

"But George is an athlete with a lot of composure, and he understands the game and expectations. He also understands that if teams pay too much attention to him, it opens up for other players. They're not going to be able to double-team everybody."

So it begins — the most anticipated season in USF history. The Bulls have a preseason national ranking for the first time, and expectations couldn't be higher. Not for them. Not for Selvie.

"It's all about winning," he said. "That's all that matters. We're going to focus on coming out fast and getting it going, then go from there. All I want to do is help my team win a championship. That's what's important. Everything else will take care of itself."

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