Holtz calls USF signing day an 'uneventful' success

The University of South Florida Bulls not only attracted some promising 11th-hour prospects, but they also fought off some strong challengers to protect the cornerstones of their recruiting class.

For that, USF coach Skip Holtz declared Wednesday a success.

"The best part about signing day was it was an uneventful one,'' Holtz said.

The Bulls held onto a pair of four-star recruits — Citra North Marion tight end Sean Price and Winter Park wide receiver D'vario Montgomery — who were being wooed by other prominent schools, right until the moment their signed scholarship papers were being faxed to Tampa.

Additionally, USF signed Oakland Park Northeast 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive tackle Kameron Davis and Gainesville linebacker Tashon Whitehurst. Davis picked USF over West Virginia and East Carolina. Whitehurst, who had given an oral commitment to Syracuse, selected USF over the Orange and Rutgers, which he visited when new Bucs coach Greg Schiano was still in charge.

USF had a 20-player recruiting class, including 15 from Florida. Nine signed early and enrolled in January. The other 11, including Armwood defensive back Jarvis McCall and Plant City wide receiver LaMarlin Wiggins, were secured on Wednesday.

"Recruiting has changed,'' said Holtz, whose team is coming off a 5-7 season that snapped a streak of qualifying for six consecutive bowl games. "Used to be, guys were making decisions in December. Now they're making them in June and you've got to keep recruiting them. Before it's all said and done, they're going to have other opportunities.''

Price had a few.

Despite an early commitment to USF, Price drew late attention from Oklahoma and Georgia, who lost Tampa's Orson Charles early to the NFL draft. Price, a 6-3, 235-pound participant in the Under Armour All-American Game, stayed true to his word. Praised for his versatility and ranked as the nation's fifth-best tight-end prospect by Rivals.com, Price had 25 receptions for 530 yards and six touchdowns for North Marion.

"He's athletic enough to line up as a true tight end, a slot receiver or as an outside receiver,'' USF offensive coordinator Todd Fitch said. "He will create some matchup problems.''

Meanwhile, Montgomery, who attracted attention from LSU, is capable of making a first-season impact, according to Holtz. Montgomery, at 6-3, 210 pounds, is further proof of USF's commitment to increasing the physical size and depth of the receiving corps. In his final two seasons, Montgomery had 96 receptions for 1,662 yards and 21 touchdowns.

"Like Sean Price, D'vario is one of those guys you look at and just say, 'Wow!' " Holtz said. "There aren't many with his level of speed, athleticism and playmaking ability.''

Even with B.J. Daniels entering his senior season this fall, the Bulls failed to sign a quarterback. Last summer, dual-threat Jupiter quarterback Tyler Cameron gave USF a non-binding verbal commitment, but he switched to Wake Forest in December.

"We had told the other (quarterbacks) that we were full, we were done,'' Holtz said. "When a young man changes his decision, it's hard to pick up in January and start calling quarterbacks and saying, 'Oh, hey, we're interested again.' Things have changed. You've lost six months of relationship-building and the trust factor.

"We didn't want to take one (quarterback) just to take one. I'd rather hold onto it. Now you have a chance (in 2013 with Daniels' departure) of getting one of those difference-makers rather than saying this year we took one just to take one. I think that hurts you down the road.''

South Florida Signees