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Selvie has been silent during Bulls' slide

The Associated Press

Against Pittsburgh, George Selvie had just one tackle and never even touched quarterback Bill Stull.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2009

Updated: 10/27/2009 06:54 am

TAMPA - When the University of South Florida's football fortunes are going badly, senior defensive end George Selvie reverts to his instincts.

Keep playing. Don't pout. Be a leader.

The Bulls (5-2, 1-2 Big East), losers of two straight games, need to reboot their season Friday night when the No. 20-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (6-1, 2-0) roll into Raymond James Stadium.

Selvie said he still believes in USF's future.

Everyone else?

They measure Selvie against his past. And in many ways, that's an impossible standard.

Where's George? That's the question posed constantly by offensive coordinators, who must account for Selvie's potentially damaging presence.

Where's George? It's also a question asked by USF fans, who wonder whatever happened to the free-flowing Selvie who was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American in 2007, a wrecking machine who rolled up 14.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for a loss.

"It always comes back to that, people saying, 'Where's the sophomore year George?'" Selvie said Monday. "I can't listen to all that stuff. They're just critics. They don't know what's going on out on the field or what I'm going through. I've just got to play my game.

"It's tough because I always want to make some more big plays. I just feel like everything is going to come together. My (individual) play right now really doesn't matter. I just want to win as a team."

USF's defense, particularly, has suffered in back-to-back losses against Cincinnati (34-17) and Pittsburgh (41-14), games in which the Bulls surrendered a combined 887 yards. Selvie, with just one tackle all afternoon, never touched Pittsburgh quarterback Bill Stull, who utilized a quick release and the protection schemes of his formidable offensive line.

When USF's defense is battered, there's always an initial suspect.

Where's George?

Coaches say Selvie, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound speed rusher, has been there all along.

Against Cincinnati, he had one sack, a forced fumble and two tackles for a loss. At Florida State, a 17-7 victory Sept. 26, Selvie registered one sack, two tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery.

"I think George has been very steady," USF defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said. "Of course, people expect the moon because of who he is. But he has a great demeanor. He keeps playing, no matter what. Believe me, the other teams know who he is."

Especially West Virginia.

Selvie has saved some of his best performances for the Mountaineers. As a freshman in 2006, Selvie had 3.5 tackles for a loss and a 9-yard fumble-return touchdown in an upset of No. 7 West Virginia. The following season - in a Friday night ESPN2 game before a USF-record crowd of 67,012, Selvie had eight tackles and a sack against the No. 5 Mountaineers.

"I wish George Selvie had left early (for the NFL draft) because that rascal has been an absolute thorn in our side since he has been there," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "He's the greatest rush guy in the game today. He's like Batman. He's everywhere."

Selvie's sack totals slipped to 5.5 last season, when he was haunted by a high ankle sprain much of the year. Through seven games as a senior, he has just three sacks.

"I don't know what his numbers say, but you know the guy is good when you see how the opponents prepare for him, how much he gets double-teamed," USF linebacker Sam Barrington said.

"I'm sure he's used to being the center of attention by now, but it still must be hard to see that all the time," USF defensive end David Bedford said. "On the back end, we've got to keep helping him, keep finding ways to spring him loose."

Selvie appreciates the backing of his teammates and the presence of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, a junior-college transfer who was recently named ESPN.com's Big East defensive player of the half-season.

"I enjoy having Jason on the other side," Selvie said. "He's tremendous. He can make plays at will.

"It's going to take all of us to get this thing back on track. We all have to look in the mirror and see what we can do. We need to get a win Friday night."

As for the more distant future - and a likely NFL career - Selvie said "that's the furthest thing from my mind right now." Selvie returned for his senior season when NFL intelligence indicated he wouldn't go in the first three rounds. So his short-term goal became improving as a player and winning a Big East championship.

The latter may be a mathematical impossibility, but don't tell that to Selvie.

"I'm just praying everybody in the Big East will get two losses, so we can move back up," Selvie said. "That's a lot of hoping and praying right there. But the biggest thing is us getting some more wins. We've got to get back where we were."

Where's George?

He'll be there Friday night. Still playing. Still striving. Still hoping and praying for a USF turnaround.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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