Landi allows Holtz to breath easier

You can forget about the USF depth chart. Until the new one comes out it doesn’t mean much particularly when it comes to the backup quarterback.

It is unlikely any player won over Skip Holtz’s heart more in USF’s spring football game last Saturday than Evan Landi.

Thanks to the 6-3, 214 pound sophomore, Holtz can feel somewhat at ease if starting quarterback B.J. Daniels get injured and he needs to use a backup.

That scenario had to be Holtz’s worst nightmare heading into spring practice. But Landi showed he should be able to handle the job as well as play receiver, which is the position that figures to get him the most playing time.

In the spring game, Landi completed 11 of 24 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown with one interception. He also caught two passes for 62 yards and rushed eight times for 36 yards.

“He did a great job out there as a quarterback,” Holtz said. “I feel much better going into fall practice knowing that if we need to put Landi in there to be our second quarterback or emergency quarterback he can fill that role extremely well.

“He did a great job balancing the wide receiver and quarterback positions and didn’t’ seem to have any problems doing that. He handled himself extremely well and is a poised young man.”

The first half of the spring Landi played wide receiver because Holtz had promised him an opportunity to win a position there. In the second half, he rotated with the second string quarterbacks.

“He is going to play a role for us and is going to help this football team. He is a great competitor,” Holtz said. “He is able to do so many things because he is so intelligent. He went one series at quarterback and the next at wide receiver and did a great job at both.”

Daniels is the only scholarship quarterback on the roster. The expected backup for the Bulls in the fall is Jamius Gunsby, a high school senior in LaGrange, Georgia, who will join the team this summer.