USF football team looking bigger and tougher

USF spring football is underway and the first thing you notice about the 2014 Bulls is size.


The offensive line is bigger and stronger looking more suited to carry out Willie Taggart's style of
offense.


The average weight of he returning starters on the offensive line is 310 compared to 297 last season. Much of that is due to their hard work and a conditioning program set up by strength coach Hans Straub.


“We’re putting in a lot more time after our workouts.  I know me and about five guys are doing an hour after every workout every day,” said senior center Austin Reiter of Lakewood Ranch who gained 13 pounds in offseason conditioning to get up to 286.


The new size comes with a new attitude says USF head coach Willie Taggart, the former Manatee High quarterback great and All-American at Western Kentucky.


“It’s been a different attitude with our guys and watching them,” Taggart said. “Out of 79 guys we had go through workouts and our winter conditioning we had 66 make every last one of them. It’s huge, big-time, and it says a lot about our football team.”


“We need people movers out there, big strong guys to move people out of the way so we can run the football and we can protect."

Lakewood Ranch product Austin Reiter front runner for starting center job at USF

Austin Reiter heads into spring practice as the front runner to take over the starting center position for the University of South Florida football team.

The Lakewood Ranch High product will be trying to replace Chaz Hine, who started there for the Bulls last season.

The 6-3, 278 pound Reiter will be a redshirt sophomore next season. He graduated Lakewood Ranch early and joined the Bulls in midyear of 2010 and sat out the season, but gained valuable experience.

Reiter appeared in 10 games last year as a backup and was on special teams. When he decided to join the Bulls after high school he was told he would have a legitimate chance at earning the starting nod at center his redshirt sophomore year and is right on schedule.

Lakewood Ranch's Reiter moving up the depth chart at USF

Austin Reiter appears to be jettisoning up the depth chart on the University of South Florida football team.

The Lakewood Ranch graduate completed spring practice listed as the backup center for the Bulls beating out Danous Estenor.

Reiter, who enrolled at USF in December, has drawn raves from the USF coaches. Some are saying he is potential to be as good as Sampson Genus, who finished his career last season and is considered one of the best centers in the history of the program.

Reiter is 6-4, 273 pounds and very agile on his feet. Coaches would like to see him put on about 15 to 20 pounds and believe he can do it without losing any of his athleticism. He will backup senior Kevin McCaskill, who is six-feet, 315 pounds.

Lakewood Ranch's Reiter holds onto backup center spot at USF

Austin Reiter finished spring practice as the backup center for the University of South Florida football team.

The Lakewood Ranch High graduate, who will be a redshirt freshman for the 2011 season, is behind redshirt senior Kevin McCaskill (6-0, 315).

The 6-4, 273 pound Reiter enrolled in USF in the winter of 2010, participated in spring drills last spring, but sat out the season working with the scout team. He did a solid job in this year's spring game.

Southeast High grad Faron Hornes, who is headed into his senior season at USF, is listed as one of two backups at the slot receiver position.

Future bright for Reiter at USF

Austin Reiter, the former standout offensive lineman from Lakewood Ranch, appears to have a good future ahead of him at USF. It’s just that he might have to show little patience for awhile.

Lakewood Ranch head football coach Shawn Trent said the USF coaches told him the 6-4, 250 pound Reiter was now the third string center. It’s not so bad for the true freshman, who might sit out this season as redshirt.

The two guys ahead of him are talented, but also in the latter stages of their college careers. Sampson Genus, a 6-1, 315 pound senior, is the starter and a pre-season All Big East Conference selection in several publications.

The backup center is 6-1, 308 pound junior Kevin McCaskill, who has appeared in 10 career games with one start after taking a redshirt season in 2007. He started the last regular season game last year against Connecticut when Sampson was injured.

“I don’t know if USF will redshirt him this season, but I would assume they would try to do that,” Trent said. “They were thinking after spring ball that he could eventually be a three year starter. He was great for us. We even put him on the defensive line for about 15 plays a game and he dominated.”