#United20 National Signing Day Approaches… (January 10th Update)

We roll on from Early Signing Day to National Signing Day as the Bulls coaching staff looks to continue to add to the USF Football 2020 Recruiting Class. Back at it with another recruiting update covering all recruiting news from January 5th – January 11th, without further ado, let’s get after it!

OLB Tyler Berrong Decommits

Through the highs and lows of recruiting, the decommitments come in many shapes and sizes over the course of a recruiting class. After staying committed to USF through the Charlie Strong firing and even a little after the Early Signing Day period, Tyler Berrong out of Atlantic HS (Port Orange, FL) decommitted from the 2020 class on January 7th via Twitter, becoming the 12th decommit for the Bulls this cycle. Berrong has already set up an official visit with former conference foe UConn on the 24th, leading me to believe that a reunion won’t be in store for Berrong and the Bulls in the future. Nonetheless, we wish Tyler nothing but the best in his future endeavors!

At this time, USF only has one LB recruit committed to the class in Levontae Camiel, putting the USF coaching staff in a tough spot with adding depth to the position in this class. At this time, I could see the staff either waiting until the 2021 class to hit the position hard and/or going through the transfer portal to add depth with no LB recruits currently on the radar for USF in February. However, stay tuned as things could change with less than 4 weeks to go until NSD in February as more offers could go out to LBs before then.

QB Katravis Marsh Re-Offered by USF

Offered by the Charlie Strong coaching staff back on May 17th according to 247Sports.com, QB Katravis Marsh out of Miami Central (Hialeah, FL) was re-offered by the Jeff Scott coaching staff on January 8th via Twitter, making Marsh a real possibility for the Bulls to wrap up the #United20 class next month. With QB Jordan Smith committed, Marsh could be the second gunslinger to the class (if Smith signs), bumping up USF’s scholarship distribution to 5 QBs at the position including Jahquez Evans who moved to WR early in fall camp, but played QB during the season.

If Smith does sign in February, I believe that USF will look to add one more QB with Marsh or Hunter Helms (who we discussed in my last article covering ESD) as realistic options on the table. Before the Helms offer, I originally thought that the plan was to add Smith and look to add another QB in 2021, but with offers going out to both Helms and Marsh, it looks like this could be a two QB class if the staff wants to get the position back to “ideal” numbers this year. (4 scholarship QBs being the norm that most programs like to have every year.) It was confirmed by Hunter’s dad on Twitter via Tiger Illustrated that “Helms will take an official visit to Clemson” this upcoming weekend with USF hosting Helms on a OV January 24th-26th. As mentioned in the note, Helms would join Clemson’s program as a preferred walk-on, so this will be an interesting decision for Helms to make at the end of the day. Regardless of who signs in February, good things are happening for the Bulls at this position, trust me!

Two More Offers Go Out… What Does This Mean for NSD?

The more the merrier right? Oh wait, that was last month… Anyways, the staff sent out a few more offers on the 8th, reaching out to WDE Gilber Edmond out of Fort Pierce Westwood (Fort Pierce, FL) and current Appalachian State commit WR Sincere Brown out of First Baptist Church School (Charleston, SC). Via 247Sports.com, Edmond will be taking an OV to both FSU and Tennessee later this month with Edmond not currently holding offers to either school. If USF can get Edmond on campus, the Bulls will have a good shot to land Edmond depending on whether or not FSU/Tennessee come through with an offer before NSD. The Bulls could sure use a DE commit or two in this class, losing seniors Greg Reaves, Kirk Livingstone, and Darius Slade this year. Keep an eye out for the DE position in this class/through the transfer portal heading into February, as there should be some guys in play once game time (NSD) commences.

Highlighting the other recruit that I mentioned earlier, the current App State commit did not sign with the Mountaineers back in December, leaving the door open for a program like USF to slide in last second before February 5th. This is definitely a position where depth is always good to have and if the Bulls are able to flip Brown from App State, the question will then be how many WRs will the coaching staff take this class. Will they bring in both Marquez Bell and Brown if both guys commit or just go with one and maybe look to add one from the portal? Time will only tell and we will keep you posted once we hear more!

From Cardinal to Bull, DT Bo Peek Transfers to USF

The 4th transfer for the Bulls heading into the 2020 season, former Stanford Cardinal DT Bo Peek announced his intention to transfer to USF on January 8th via Twitter. Peek did not see any playing time with Stanford from 2016-2018 until this season where he played in 3 games against USC, UCF, and Oregon according to GoStanford.com. According to 247Sports.com, Peek will have immediate eligibility with the Bulls in 2020, adding more depth to a DT position who saw a handful of guys see playing time in 2019. Across the DL, I’m more intrigued to see who starts at DE in 2020 with the interior of the line being a matter of who makes the rotation when the Bulls face the Longhorns on September 5th. Peek is a good add for a position that can always use depth, especially in a year with more questions at end than anything else on the line.

Leave your thoughts and comments below and be sure to tune in later this month with another update on all things USF Football recruiting with National Signing Day coming soon to a theater near you!