TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 15, 2021 – Heading into his third season at the helm of the USF football program, head coach Jeff Scott added 24 student-athletes to the Bulls’ roster Wednesday – including 13 high school and junior college recruits and 11 four-year college transfers – when the NCAA Early Signing Period began, marking the first additions in his second, full-cycle USF signing class.
USF added 12 signees on defense and 12 on offense Wednesday, including six defensive lineman – three from the transfer portal – four wide receivers and two quarterbacks. The Bulls added seven Bay area players – including five through the transfer portal – and 12 players from the state of Florida. Among the Division I-transfers to join the Bulls, seven came from the ACC – including three Clemson transfers – two from The American and one each from the Big 12 and Big Ten. The Bulls’ transfer class was ranked No. 1 in the nation by CBS/247Sports.
The Early Signing Period runs through Dec. 17. The Late Signing Period for Division I college football begins on February 2.
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“I am really excited about the talent and depth we have added to our team and how these student-athletes work ethic and character will continue to build on the team culture we have established,” Scott said. “Our staff did a great job of leveraging the transfer portal to add players with prior collegiate experience and development while also landing a great class of high school players. We plan on a large number of this early signing class to enroll early and join our team in January, and are excited to get to work and have a very competitive spring as we build around a strong core of returners for 2022.”
On the defensive side of the ball, which will be led by new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop who has had six of his last nine defenses rank in the top 25 nationally in yards allowed, the Bulls added six defensive linemen including three Division I-transfers in James Ash (6-3, 285, Wake Forest), Nick Bags (6-3, 300, Temple) and Clyde Pinder Jr. (6-0, 300, North Carolina). Ash was a two-time all-conference selection at Tampa’s Chamberlain High School while Pinder was a four-star prospect out of Armwood High School. They will be joined by high school signees Jhalin Hobbs (6-2, 280, Ruskin, Fla.), Eddie Kelly (6-4, 265, Orlando, Fla.) and Jacquez Williams (6-2, 270, Savannah, Ga.). Hobbs helped Lennard High School to its first Florida Class 8A playoff, Kelly posted 71 tackles and 23 tackles for loss in his senior year at West Orange High School, and Williams was an all-region honoree that helped lead his team to the Georgia State Class 3A Final Four.
The Bulls also added three linebackers, including Minnesota transfer DJ Gordon IV (6-1, 230), who posted 126 tackles and 26 tackles for loss in his senior year at Bay area Plant City High School. High school signee DeAunte Hunter (6-4, 195, Valdosta, Ga.), who led Lowndes High School to the Georgia Class 7A quarterfinals, and junior college transfer Jhalyn Shuler (6-2, 215), who posted 88 tackles and 11 tackles for loss at Coffeyville Community College, also join the linebacker unit. Three new additions also joined the secondary, including transfers Aamaris Brown (5-11, 188, Kansas State), who had 80 tackles and 11 interceptions in his senior season at Tampa’s Armwood High School, and Ray Thornton III (6-1, 205, Clemson), who had 27 tackles in 15 games as a Tiger. High school signee Tavin Ward (6-1, 190, Fort Myers, Fla.), a third-team Florida all-state selection, also joined the secondary.
On the offensive side of the ball, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will have four new wide receivers to work into his scheme as the Bulls added transfers Ajou Ajou (6-3, 220, Clemson), who posted 39 catches for 686 yards and seven touchdowns in his senior high school season at nearby Clearwater Academy, and Khafre Brown (6-0, 190, North Carolina), the No. 32-ranked receiver nationally and a four-star prospect out of West Mecklenburg High School. Two high school signees also join the receiving corps in Javohn Thomas (6-3, 190, Tampa, Fla.), who posted 30 catches for 549 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior at local Sickles High School, and Cade Roberts (5-11, 183, South Walton, Fla.), who finished his career at South Walton High School as the all-time leader in receptions in Florida high school history with 261.
The Bulls also added a pair of very productive quarterbacks from the high school ranks in Byrum Brown (6-3, 193, Raleigh, N.C.), who passed for 3,703 yards and 43 touchdowns at Rolesville High School, and Gunnar Smith (6-4, 180, Lake Mary, Fla.), who threw for 2,180 yards and 22 touchdowns in his senior season at Lake Mary High School.
A pair of transfer lineman will join a Bulls’ offensive line that returns all five starters. USF welcomed transfers Derrell Bailey Jr. (6-6, 296, Virginia Tech) and Mike Lofton (6-2, 300, UCF) on signing day. They were joined by a pair of tight ends in junior college transfer Jayson Littlejohn (6-4, 236, College of the Sequoias) and high school standout Jackson Long (6-4, 216, Hendersonville, Tenn.), who caught 28 passes for 510 yards and five touchdowns.
The Bulls’ running backs room also got two new faces in Clemson transfer Michel Dukes (5-10, 198), a top 50 running back out of high school who concluded his prep career with 8,762 yards and 117 touchdowns rushing, and Jason Albritton (5-10, 225, Lithia, Fla.), who ran for 3,927 yards and 42 touchdowns at Bay area Newsome High School.
USF is slated to begin spring practice in early March as the Bulls return 10 starters on offense, nine on defense and their starting kicker and punter.
