It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF

[Brad]

CSTV.com

It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF

Coach and team gearing up for most anticipated season in program history

Aug. 13, 2007

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

Jim Leavitt swears he doesn't care if it happens. It makes no difference to him whether or not his team is ever ranked in the Top 25. He's perfectly content to sit on the outside looking in, as his South Florida squad is heading into the 2007 season.

"It doesn't do anything for me either way," Leavitt said of being ranked.

That's about the only thing the only coach the Bulls have ever known can sit idly by and not worry about. Known for his intensity - possibly as a result of his love for Pepsi, according to his players - Leavitt is a different breed in the Big East.

No other head coach has been at their job longer in the Big East than Leavitt, who took the head coaching position at the Tampa school when it wasn't even playing football games. Officially started in 1995, Leavitt was hired in December of that year before he had any team or staff to direct.

Since then, he's seen the Bulls profile rise from their first game in 1997 as mere nobodies, to their days of Conference USA, to their days in the Big East and finally their first bowl victory last December in the Papajohns.com Bowl, all the while slowly gaining more and more respect nationally, but no Top 25 ranking. And if that never happens, that's alright with him.

"Maybe a lot of coaches say it gives you a lot of respect for your program," Leavitt said. "It's a nice thing, but because I know it has absolutely nothing to do with how we're going to play on Saturday [it doesn't matter]. For me personally, I don't get caught up in it all. It doesn't do anything for me at all."

But that may very well change this season as USF will field its best team in school history and is considered by some to be a darkhorse Big East Championship candidate.

With the likes of Matt Grothe under center and a defense that could easily be the fastest in the Big East, the Bulls will be in another before-Christmas bowl game and at best, they could be BCS bound - there's that much potential in this group.

But they're still considered a long shot, picked fourth in the Big East behind West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers. Chances are South Florida won't be favored when they face the three best teams in the conference, but don't expect Leavitt to pull the underdog card to get his team motivated. Despite the fact the Bulls just won their first bowl game last season or that he's been the underdog marginally more in his coaching career, Leavitt always feels his team is the favorite. He never goes into a game trying to earn respect because he feels they've already earned it. 

"I've been motivated by the challenge of building a program," Leavitt said. "I don't want our guys to ever think they're worse than other people or they're inferior or not that good. So I always tell them you have a lot of talent, God has blessed you with the talent to play. Go out and use it."

As Leavitt's built his program, the Bulls have increasingly been a thorn in many team's sides, knocking off the Mountaineers last season and nearly doing the same to Rutgers while upsetting Louisville the year before.

And they've slowly, but surely, increased their profile, so much so that people actually know a little bit about the Bulls outside of the Tampa-area. Now, Leavitt believes he has his best team ever, as USF gets ready to play its toughest schedule in school history, with road games against Auburn and Rutgers while Louisville and West Virginia come to Raymond James Stadium, the home of the NFL's Buccaneers that the Bulls also share.

Wins in any of those games and it could very well catapult the Bulls into the Top 25, especially their Week 2 showdown with Auburn whose preseason ranking has them sitting at No. 14.

The coach is looking forward to the matchup with the Tigers and the players can't wait. They know it'll be a challenge going into Jordan-Hare Stadium and coming away with a win against what should be one of the highest ranked opponents the program has ever faced.

But that's part of the fun of college football and building a program. Each step and every win could potentially be monumental and another chance to raise their profile that much more.

"That's how you get your recognition, playing good teams," senior linebacker Ben Moffitt said.

And it's how you earn respect. Leavitt may not be motivated by it, he may not think his team needs it, but there's no denying the wonders some unexpected wins - or that Top 25 breakthrough - could do for his team. 

"I don't think I've ever told our players, to use as motivation, that we don't get respect," Leavitt said. "I don't think I've used that because I can't control any of those things. What we've always done is we're going to work, we're going to grind and we're just going to play as good as we can and never give up."

The coach that runs the drills with his players, who has a focus unlike any they've ever seen before, with a thirst most easily quenched by soda, aims for the most hyped season in South Florida history to be its most successful.

But when it's all said and done and the season's long gone, Leavitt won't judge the success of the season on wins and losses or even respect. Of course those are important, the wins most especially, but he'll truly judge the season based on whether the program is in a better position than it was a year ago.

Eleven years of building something from nothing will change your perspective on things a little bit. And knowing Leavitt's famous focus and the talent he has under his direction this year, chances are the team is going to put a smile on his face when he's able to genuflect when the season's done.

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[Velcro]

genuflect?  is that the right word there?  i mean, i hope we have a season that is worthy of worship...

[crambone]

Misspelling?

[Matt]

another good write up.

these things are all over the place.

and big thanks to Brad for tracking all these done so i can come to one place and read them

[Jamie]

They mentioned Auburn would be one of USF's highest-rated opponents. So just for fun, these are the teams that USF has played that were ranked at the time (AP poll, so no Bowling Green):

Oklahoma (#2, 2002)

West Virginia (#7, 2006)

Louisville (#9, 2005)

Miami (#9, 2005)

Louisville (#10, 2006)

West Virginia (#12, 2005)

Louisville (#15, 2004)

Southern Miss (#17, 2000)

TCU (#18, 2003)

Pittsburgh (#21, 2004)

Rutgers (#23, 2006)

[smazza]

They mentioned Auburn would be one of USF's highest-rated opponents. So just for fun, these are the teams that USF has played that were ranked at the time (AP poll, so no Bowling Green):

Oklahoma (#2, 2002)

West Virginia (#7, 2006)

Louisville (#9, 2005)

Miami (#9, 2005)

Louisville (#10, 2006)

West Virginia (#12, 2005)

Louisville (#15, 2004)

Southern Miss (#17, 2000)

TCU (#18, 2003)

Pittsburgh (#21, 2004)

Rutgers (#23, 2006)

great list but usf should have been playing at least 2 OOC ranked teams a year for last 5 years

[Matt]

well its my first smazza sighting of the new season.

its almost football time

[Guest]

They mentioned Auburn would be one of USF's highest-rated opponents. So just for fun, these are the teams that USF has played that were ranked at the time (AP poll, so no Bowling Green):

@ Oklahoma (#2, 2002)

@ West Virginia (#7, 2006)

vs Louisville (#9, 2005)

@ Miami (#9, 2005)

@ Louisville (#10, 2006)

vs West Virginia (#12, 2005)

@ Louisville (#15, 2004)

@ Southern Miss (#17, 2000)

vs TCU (#18, 2003)  <-- Ended USF's 21-game home winning streak

vs Pittsburgh (#21, 2004)

vs Rutgers (#23, 2006)

USF is 2-9 all-time against AP-ranked opponents... but we're on a 1-game winning streak!

Looking to make it 6-9 by the end of the season!!

[Guest]

"I've been motivated by the challenge of building a program," Leavitt said. 

This is why he has turned down or never talked to Indiana, Miami, Alabama, Kansas State, among others...

[USF Colby]

"I've been motivated by the challenge of building a program," Leavitt said. 

This is why he has turned down or never talked to Indiana, Miami, Alabama, Kansas State, among others...

While I respect him for not leaving USF, none of those jobs would have been better for him than USF aside from possibly the money side of things but I bet if push came to shove USF would give Leavitt his money. Indiana has been the worst Big Ten program for a decade, Miami wants national championships every season, Alabama wants Bear Bryant to crawl out of his grave, Kansas State had a couple of great years but he would always be behind Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado in the Big 12.

With USF the sky is the limit. Every year aside from 2004 he has improved his team and with both West Virginia and Louisville coming to Ray Jay it is time for the Bulls to make their move. This might be the year that they win the Big East title, but if not this year than watch out in 08. Grothe will be a junior, Mike Ford will have a year of 1-A football under his belt and I think he can be a superstar, and defensively the Bulls will still be strong.