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Preview: 2008 South Florida Bulls

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 2, 2008

Will the real University of South Florida Bulls please stand: Is it the team that began last season 6-0 and reached No. 2 in The Associated Press and BCS rankings? Or is it the team that stumbled to a 3-4 finish, including a 35-point blowout loss in the Sun Bowl?

With 16 starters returning, the Bulls have the talent and experience to equal last year's record-setting start. If so, will the Bulls hold on down the stretch?

Here's a closer look at USF football heading into the 2008 season.

Q&A WITH USF DEFENSIVE END GEORGE SELVIE

How many teammates asked if you saw any Playboy playmates?

A lot of them. They thought I was at the Playboy mansion. I told them it wasn't at the mansion, it was at a resort in Phoenix. They were like, "Man, what kind of Playboy All-America team is it if you don't get to see the playmates?"

Was there a simple explanation why you guys struggled the second half of last season?

I think it was a number of different factors. I can't figure out one reason. Some people blame it on themselves; I blame myself. I could have played better. Coach Jim Leavitt puts every loss on his back. He said it's "my coaching mistakes." Everything goes into it.

I asked you this last year and wanted to be the first to ask this year: What will determine if you return for your senior season in 2009 Selvie is scheduled to graduate in May?

It all depends on how the season goes and how we end up. There's a lot that goes into it. I'm on course to graduate and I really want to get my degree before I leave here. A lot of stuff will go into it, what my family thinks I should do.

Last year you told me you were 100 percent certain you would return for the 2009 season. What's the percentage now?

Ninety-nine percent.

PICKING THE BIG EAST

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

THE HUNTER, NOW THE HUNTED: The Bulls historically have fared well under Coach Jim Leavitt in the role of underdogs. When they're expected to win, though, is when they tend to stumble. How will the Bulls handle the unprecedented attention, including perhaps the school's first preseason national ranking, and expectations this fall?

GO GROTHE, GO: His "Grohawk" mohawk haircut is gone and QB Matt Grothe has shed about 10 pounds since last year. A slimmer and trimmer (and quicker) Grothe prepares for his third season directing - uh, carrying - the Bulls' offense. And like the past two years, as Grothe goes, so go the Bulls.

THE HOT CORNERS: Answer: Jerome Murphy and Tyller Roberts. Question: Who has the inevitable task of replacing four-year starting cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams? Despite Murphy and Roberts' inexperience, defensive coordinator Wally Burnham insists the secondary will be the "strongest part of our football team." That's partly because the Bulls return four safeties (seniors Carlton Williams, Louis Gachette and Danny Verpaele and junior Nate Allen), who have combined for 59 starts.

CURIOUS ABOUT GEORGE: Last year, DE George Selvie put together the best season for a defensive player in school history. So how does Selvie follow up last year's monster season of 14.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss?

ROAD KILL? USF's Big East road games are at Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia. Historically that's not good for the Bulls. USF is a combined 1-4 at those sites, losing by an average of 24 points, and has never won at Louisville or Cincinnati.

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