Braden River's Casseus appears headed to Iowa State

It appears Braden River senior Jeff Casseus will be headed to Iowa State next year to play football.

The 6-6, 250 pound offensive lineman will make an official visit next weekend to the Ames, Iowa school and says he could make a verbal commitment.

Casseus is currently playing basketball and is a key cog in what is likely to be the best boys basketball team in Braden River school history. But with his size and athleticism, his sport on the next level if football.

if Casseus signs with Iowa State, he will join former Manatee High standouts, receiver Quenton Bundrage and defensive lineman Quinton Pompey, who are freshmen there.

Casseus is one of many Florida players being recruited by Iowa State defensive coordinator Wally Burnham, who was an integral part of the emergency of the University of South Florida football program and previously coached at FSU.

Southeast's Poole rated 41st best player in USA and second best cornerback

Brian Poole is rated the 41st best player in the country by Scout.Com in the class of 2012 and the nation's second best cornerback.

The Southeast High junior is also a standout running back, but his future in college football and beyond is as a defensive back, most likely at cornerback where he is very unique with his size, strength and speed.

Offers are flowing in for the 5-11, 185 pounder and he says he has no favorite at the moment. Among those offering are in state schools Florida, FSU, Miami and USF along with Alabama. Georgia, Notre Dame and USC just to name a few.

The only cornerback rated ahead of Poole is Ronald Darby at 31st from Potomac High in Maryland. The 5-11, 175 pound Darby has verbally committed to Notre Dame.

College scouts love everything about Poole, including his ability to cover those speedy receivers and come up and get physical at the line of scrimmage.

Mistral Raymond's NFL stock rises as lockout continues

The NFL draft begins Thursday and there’s hope that a couple of Palmetto grads will have their name called before it ends Saturday with rounds four through seven.

Receiver Joe Hills is the most likely. Mistral Raymond was considered a long shot, but he is looked at differently now because a pro-long lockout creates a need for a defensive back who can step in at corner and safety.

There are reports the Bears could take Raymond because of the versatility he showed at USF playing both corner and safety at a high level. They need depth at corner behind Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings and could use help at safety alongside Chris Harris.

Raymond is viewed as a hybrid because he can play corner or safety and teams that need help at both are starting to look at the 6-1, 195 pounder more seriously.

The Bucs like to play a lot of nickel and dime defenses and with Ronde Barber not getting younger and Aquib Talib not getting it, you would think they might take a chance on a hometown guy like Raymond.

Tennessee likes Hills and could see him as a fifth receiver with Randy Moss reportedly unhappy and Kenny Britt arrested earlier this month.

On normal years without the lockout those two along with defensive tackle Terron Sanders from Florida/Southeast and perhaps defensive back Chris Smith (Northern Illinois/Palmetto) would be strong bets to at least get invited to camp.

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.

Trio joins USF football program at midyear

Junior college transfer LB Mike Jeune and incoming freshmen QB Matt Floyd and LB Antoine Pozniak enrolled this week at USF and will join the football program immediately, head coach Skip Holtz announced. Jeune is a mid-year junior college transfer, who played at Independence Community College in Independence, Kan. Floyd graduated early from Milton High School in Milton, Fla., while Pozniak, a resident of Jersey City, N.J., spent last fall at Oak Ridge Military Academy in Oak Ridge, N.C.

“We’re very excited to have these three young men join the program,” Holtz said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to get acclimated academically, adjusted socially and begin their athletic careers as Bulls. They’ll have the opportunity to go through winter conditioning and a full spring, which will really help in their development as players. They’ll also be able to get a head start on their academics during the offseason, which will help them moving forward.”

USF accepts invitation to Meineke Car Care Bowl

USF will make its sixth consecutive bowl appearance when it travels to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Friday, Dec. 31.

This will mark USF’s second trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl and first return since its inaugural bowl-game appearance there in 2005. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. Eastern kickoff on ESPN.


“It's a great honor to be selected by the Meineke Car Care Bowl,” said USF Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Doug Woolard. “Executive Director Will Webb, Charlotte Collegiate Football and the wonderful volunteers associated with the bowl have established a terrific reputation for hosting a game and event that is truly first class.

"We had the opportunity to experience their hospitality firsthand, when we made our inaugural bowl trip to Charlotte in 2005. Our fans had a wonderful time and there is no doubt they will be very excited to return.”

USF is one of only six schools that have made a bowl appearance in every season as a BCS league member, joining Florida, Florida St., Georgia, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

The Bulls are 3-2 in their five bowl game appearances. In USF’s first trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl following their first season in the BIG EAST, the Bulls dropped a 14-0 decision to N.C. State. In 2006, USF headed to Birmingham, Ala. to face East Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl, earning a 24-7 victory.

After falling to Oregon in the Brut Sun Bowl in 2007, USF won its next two bowl games, a 41-14 victory over Memphis in the 2008 MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl and a 27-3 win over Northern Illinois in the 2010 International Bowl.

“I’m extremely excited for this coaching staff, these players and our fan base about having the opportunity to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl,” USF head coach Skip Holtz said. “This group has worked extremely hard throughout the year, so a trip to Charlotte is the perfect way to finish off the season.

"I’ve been fortunate enough to have many great bowl experiences during my career and I hear that the Meineke Car Care Bowl is as good as any bowl in the country. It is a first-class operation and we’re really excited to have the opportunity to represent the BIG EAST conference. We’re looking forward to a great week and a great game in Charlotte.”



USF finished the regular season at 7-5, winning four of its last six. All six games were decided by eight points or less, including two overtime victories. The Bulls will enter the Meineke Car Care Bowl looking to extend their streak of eight-win seasons to five. The game will mark the first-ever meeting between USF and Clemson.



“Currently, our program is riding a wave of momentum behind first-year head coach Skip Holtz. I think people around the country recognize that and it was reflected in our selection by the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Coach Holtz has done a magnificent job with this football team and program in just a short time. He has provided outstanding leadership from day one and built a very competitive product on the field. I am so proud of our football team. They have shown tremendous character throughout the year and the young men and their outstanding coaching staff are very, very deserving of this opportunity.”



To order tickets for the Meineke Car Care Bowl, visit the ticket page at GoUSFBulls.com. Tickets are priced at $95 for club level, $75 for lower level and $40 for upper level.

Mike Jenkins under fire

Dallas Cowboys Starting cornerback Mike Jenkins practiced Wednesday after missing more than two quarters last week against the Giants with a neck strain. Jenkins left the game in the second period when he was caught under a pile-up of players.

As long as the former Southeast/USF standout continues to practice, it appears he would return to his starting right cornerback post this weekend against the Lions this Sunday.

However, injuries might be the least of Jenkins problems. He has come under heavy fire this season for his play. He has been criticized for avoiding contact on plays in particular not attempting to tackle Green Bay Packers receiver James Jones in a recent game allowing the receiver to score a touchdown on the play.

Jenkins leads the NFL in pass interference calls with five after having only one pass interference call all of last season when he was a Pro Bowl selection. There has been quite a bit of talk that he needs to pick up his play if he wants to be with the Cowboys next season.

“This was a good week of preparation for the ’Boys. A lot of energy and inspiration from J.G.Physically I’m good to go against Detroit, passed all the tests for the week,” Jenkins said on his blog. “I thought our team came out and played hard (in win over Giants) when everyone was against us, even some of our own. The goal for us now is to find a way and finish strong.”




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Shed Haynes leaping into USF hearts

The University of South Florida men's basketball team enters the 2010-11 season stronger than ever, proven by strength and conditioning testing conducted in the Sun Dome during preseason training.

"We had great dedication this offseason and that is reflected in our testing numbers," says Graham Anderson, USF's strength and conditioning coach

The players were first tested last spring, again in July, then were checked a final time on Oct. 4.

Palmetto's Shedrick Haynes, a junior transfer from Lackawanna after a year at State College of Florida, is tied for the team lead with a 42 inch vertical after adding 2.5 inches to his leap since July and is tied for the team lead with a 36 inch no-step vertical.

Senior Jarrid Famous showed the most progress in the bench press, increasing his max weight in the one-rep press by 50 pounds. He also improved his 185-lb bench press to 25 repetitions, which would have been the most reps at the 2010 NBA Combine.

Junior Augustus Gilchrist pumped out 22 reps on the 185-lb press, which would have been in the top three at the NBA Combine and freshman Jordan Heath totaled 19 reps, which would have tied former Bull Dominique Jones for the top guard at the event.

Sophomore Toarlyn Fitzpatrick increased his vertical jump three inches while junior Anthony Crater is tied with Haynes with his 36-inch no-step verticals.

Hugh Robertson is just behind at 35.5 inches and sophomores Mike Burwell and Shaun Noriega are each at 33 inches. Six players have a running vertical jump of over 40 inches.

Poole's list of suitors continues to grow

The list of suitors seeking the services of Brian Poole continues to grow and there are now eight programs seriously interested in the Southeast High junior, including some big heavyweights.

It has not been determined whether the 5-11, 190 pounder will play defensive back or running back in college. But to most of the schools it doesn’t matter. They just want his services.

He is being pursued by schools from the SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big East and Notre Dame where he recently made an unofficial visit.

Florida and Georgia from the SEC have targeted Poole after he ran a sub 4.4 at the Gators Friday Night Lights camp last summer. Ohio State is also in there along with Notre Dame, South Carolina and Miami and South Florida.

In his first year as a fulltime running back, Poole is averaging nearly 7 yards per carry and has shown an elusiveness that could many didn’t know about until this season.

Poole says he would prefer to play defensive back in college because he believes that is his best path to the NFL. He points to former Manatee County standouts now playing defensive back in the NFL: Mike Jenkins (Dallas), Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie (Arizona) and Fabian Washington (Baltimore).

Smalls decides to concentrate on basketball

The Southeast High football team received some bad news, but for the ‘Noles basketball team it had to be good.

Reggie Smalls, one of the most talented athletes in the school, has decided to forego his senior year of football and concentrate on hoops.

The 5-11, 180 pound senior is coming off a big summer of basketball where he made a name for himself on the AAU circuit, showing a knack for being able to score from anywhere on the court coupled with his ability to hang in the air, maneuver his way to the basket.

Smalls also showed he has used his quickness to turn himself into a top flight defensive player. He shined at the prestigious Big Shot AAU Tournament in Myrtle Beach (SC) during the summer and received a scholarship to Lynn University, a Division II school in Boca Raton.

The biggest improvement for Smalls was in his long range shooting. Most people familiar with his body of work always believed he had the athleticism to play at the next level, but the question was whether he had the ability to hit the long range shot with consistency. He answered that during the summer.

Smalls figured to play receiver this year, but can also return punts or kickoffs and has the talent to play defensive back. However, right now he is concentrating on turning himself into a Division I basketball prospect.

Mistral Raymond finally gets scholarship

Entering his senior year at USF and second as a starter, Palmetto High grad Mistral Raymond got good news recently when Bulls head coach Skip Holtz told him he would now be on full scholarship.

It was particularly satisfying because Raymond gave up scholarship offers to other schools after he finished at Ellsworth Community College so he could be close to his family and play for USF. He was the only starter for the Bulls without a scholarship.

He made the decision to play at USF after the home his mother and other family members occupied in Palmetto was shot up by assailants, who reportedly targeted the wrong house.

The 6-2, 192 free safety began last season as a backup and worked his way into the starting lineup eventually finishing with 40 tackles, which is the most among the returning USF defensive backs this season. He had 21 solo tackles and one interception.

“Mistral has great passion for football and is very energetic on the field. He is a senior and knows now is his chance. He is going to have to play corner and safety for us,” Bulls defensive backs coach Rick Smith said.

USF lineman signs big contract; exceeds Jenkins

Jason Pierre-Paul was only with the USF football team for a year, but he will be remembered for a long time and it just won’t be for unseating George Selvie as the Bulls top defensive end in 2009.

The 15th overall pick this year’s NFL draft with the New York Giants, the 6-6, 260 pounder out of Deerfield Beach signed for a reported $20.05 million in a five year deal with $11.62 million guaranteed. He is the highest pick in the history of the 14 year-old program.

The deal between Pierre-Paul and the Giants was consumed on Saturday night, prior to the opening of the Giants training camp in Albany, New York. His contract is the biggest awarded to a USF player coming directly out of the draft.

Pierre-Paul had only season of major college football and the thinking is it might take some time for him to develop. The Giants are pretty well stocked at defensive end so the thinking is the staff is willing to wait awhile because the coaches are so enamored by his athleticism.

Last season, he had 45 tackles with 6.5 sacks for minus 29 yards and 16.5 tackles for losses with a team high seven quarterback pressures.

USF’S only other NFL first round pick is Southeast grad Mike Jenkins. The cornerback was the 25th selection in the 2008 draft and signed a $9.275 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys that included $3.1 million signing bonus and $6.75 million guaranteed.