USF lands Chandler, Mitchell among Holtz's first class

The official letter-of-intent didn't arrive until shortly after noon Wednesday, but USF football coach Skip Holtz wasn't too concerned.

He had Terrence Mitchell to partly thank for that, and Todd Chandler's mother.

However, Holtz's outlook was a bit more skeptical entering the final weekend before Wednesday's National Signing Day. Chandler's commitment to USF still remained a primary concern after Mitchell, a standout at Hillsborough High, switched his commitment from Florida State to USF on Friday afternoon.

If USF could land Mitchell and Chandler - both players are ranked in the ESPNU 150 - Holtz's first recruiting class at USF would be considered a success by most recruiting analysts since Holtz had only two weeks to finalize a group whose foundation was built by former coach Jim Leavitt.

When Chandler, a 6-foot, 310-pound Miami Northwestern defensive tackle, finally made an official visit and sat in Holtz's office Saturday with his mother, Holtz felt better about what he called perhaps the most difficult task of his coaching career.

"Once he came on his official visit, it was done," Holtz said Wednesday afternoon. "It was very iffy and very questionable all the way to Friday in getting him here. We were in a dogfight to get him on campus."

Chandler's and Mitchell's signings Wednesday capped a furious race to the finish line for Holtz and his staff, who had less than three weeks after Holtz was hired Jan. 14 to put together a recruiting class.

"What was really hard was trying to establish relationships," Holtz said. "They had much better relationships with so many of these young men, and I think that was huge in allowing this class to get off the ground."

Holtz specifically credited the four holdovers from Leavitt's staff - Carl Franks, Larry Scott, Kevin Patrick and Phil McGeoghan - for helping bridge the transition and complete a recruiting class that features 19 players, 15 of them signed Wednesday.

The 15 signings Wednesday consisted of nine offensive players, five defensive players and kicker Chris Veron of Ocala Forest.

Mitchell's verbal commitment Friday afternoon helped build momentum into last weekend, when Williston athlete Deonte Welch, LaGrange (Ga.) QB Jamius Gunsby, and Thomas County (Ga.) Central defensive back Reshard Cliett verbally committed to USF.

"I feel good about the class we have," Holtz said. "It is a small class, which in all honesty, I think is a very positive thing. We didn't have a lot of seniors, so we only had a handful of scholarships this year, which might have been a blessing instead of going out and signing a full class of 25."

The only modest surprises Wednesday were the signing of linebacker Hans Louis, a Marshall recruit who opted to sign with USF and play for former Herd coach Mark Snyder; and the defection of Miami Central offensive lineman Jose Jose, who opted to sign with UCF instead of the Bulls.

Ten of the players signed Wednesday are from Florida, but Hillsborough's Mitchell is the only Tampa-area player. He was a player Holtz targeted shortly after arriving at USF.

"(Him) staying here at home was a huge get for us as a class," Holtz said. "He is the complete package. He's athletic, he's fast, but he'll throw his body around. He is not afraid of contact. I'm really excited about the opportunity to keep him at home."

In putting together a class that Scout.com ranked 50th in the nation, Holtz focused primarily on filling some needs in the secondary and making sure to sign a quarterback to back up starter B.J. Daniels. He also wanted to remain committed to players Leavitt recruited who were still interested in USF after the coaching change.

Finally, in the last couple of days, Holtz was determined to land Chandler, the No. 67 overall prospect in the nation according to ESPN.com. Mitchell is ranked No. 144.

"He's thick, he's quick, he's got a low center of gravity," Holtz said of Chandler. "I think he really has a chance to be an impact player and is a guy who could even possibly come in and play as a freshman."

Now that National Signing Day is over, Holtz gave his staff a long weekend off and plans to turn his attention to coaching and learning as much as he can about the players. He is meeting with them individually this week.

He can finally take a deep breath now that his first recruiting class is in the books.

"What made this one so hard, this one was fire, ready, aim," he said. "We didn't have a lot of opportunities to really sit down and decide where we wanted to target our aim."