Mitchell's tweets a USF first

University of South Florida junior WR Carlton Mitchell made school history Saturday night, becoming the first Bulls player to post a message on his Twitter page from the locker room before USF's game with Wofford.

Mitchell tweeted two posts in the locker room from his cell phone before kickoff. At about 6:30 p.m., Mitchell tweeted: "Lil weather delay sittin n the locker room still... so ready man I need 2 get out there. I understand the man upstairs run the show tho."

Then at 7:10 p.m., Mitchell sent out another tweet: "light now game time enough said!... Blessed"

USF's game with Wofford was scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff, but moved back to 7:25 because of weather.

A junior from Gaither High, Mitchell also tweeted during a team meeting at the school's football facility Saturday afternoon and on the bus ride to Raymond James Stadium.

Unlike the NFL, the Big East does not have a rule prohibiting coaches or players from sending Twitter updates from the locker room or field before or during games, Big East associate commissioner John Paquette said.

Grothe No. 1

QB Matt Grothe passed former Bulls QB Marquel Blackwell as USF's all-time leader in total offense. Grothe, who went into the game just 102 yards behind Blackwell (10,343), surpassed the mark in the second quarter.

Streak ends

Senior WR Jessie Hester's school-record streak of catching at least one pass in 22 consecutive games ended. Hester, who suffered torn ankle ligaments in the spring, has been limited during preseason camp.

Odds and ends

SS Jerrell Young (broken arm) was injured in the second quarter and is out indefinitely. ... Senior DL Aaron Harris wore No. 10 in honor of former Bull RB Keeley Dorsey, who died of natural causes in 2007. A senior will wear the jersey each game. Other seniors expected to wear No. 10 include LB Kion Wilson (vs. Florida State), DE George Selvie (West Virginia) and QB Matt Grothe (Miami). ... USF held a moment of silence before the game for former TE Will Bleakley and two NFL players who died at sea this past spring.

Tickets down

USF distributed 24,103 season tickets this season, the second-most in program history, but a 13.5 percent drop from last year's record total.

Of USF's 24,103 season tickets, a record 3,225 were non-revenue tickets that were given away or traded with sponsors.

This is the fourth time in USF's 13-year history that the Bulls have distributed more than 20,000 season tickets. Last year, the Bulls distributed a record 27,879.

Newbies

WR Sterling Griffin and CB Kayvon Webster became the first true freshmen to start a season opener since WR S.J. Green in 2003. Redshirt freshman NT Cory Grissom also made his first start.

Gregg Becnel