Don't get me wrong. What Jim Leavitt did for South Florida was remarkable. He brought the program from operating out of trailers and holding meetings under shade trees to bordering on the state of Florida's fourth football school.

I say "bordering" because the Bulls are not quite there. They're streaky to be honest, going from ranked #2 in Week 7 of the 2007 season with 11 AP first place votes to losing three straight and four of their final seven games including the Sun Bowl against Oregon. I don't mean to sound negative about what Leavitt did as head coach, but to be considered in the same class as Miami, Florida State and Florida, you have to win 10 games in a season at least once, or maybe a dozen times, and South Florida has never done that, not even in Division 1-AA.

Leavitt did have the Bulls on their way, though. Who knows, maybe if he were given a couple more seasons USF would have gotten that elusive 10 win season. But after the 'incident' it became clear that it was time for a change.

Don't worry Bulls fans, Skip Holtz is just the man to take over what Leavitt started. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that Holtz will do what Leavitt did not do in nine seasons in the FBS and take the Bulls to their first 10 win season. I'll even go as far as to say that the Holtz hiring is the best hiring of any program this offseason; better than Brian Kelly to Notre Dame and Lane Kiffin to Southern Cal.

How He Got Here

Holtz began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with Bobby Bowden at Florida State, but his football education likely began the moment he came into this world as the son of Lou Holtz, then a young coach just beginning his own coaching education. By the time the younger Holtz was 28 years old, he was an offensive coordinator at one of the most storied programs in all of college football: Notre Dame.

Working under his dad, he worked closely with the eventual second overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, Rick Mirer. Mirer recalls his time with Skip, only six years older than he, as an enlightening experience. "We knew he was just getting started in coaching, but he knew a lot of football. As a player, you were drawn to the guy because there was a positive energy around him. Not everybody is like that. He was always very positive, very enthusiastic, a high-energy coach, upbeat and optimistic."

Holtz then took the head coaching job at the University of Connecticut, then a Divisions1-AA football program, and led them to their first postseason appearance and victory with a 42-34 win over Hampton. After spending a few up and down seasons again under his dad at South Carolina, Holtz became the 19th head coach at East Carolina.

Holtz's first bowl game as a head coach of a Division 1-A school came in a losing effort against South Florida in the 2006 Papajohns.com Bowl. In the following season the Pirates defeated 24th ranked Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl and then opened the 2008 season with upsets over 17th ranked Virginia Tech and 8th ranked West Virginia. Holtz led ECU to two consecutive Conference USA titles in 2008 and 2009 before leaving East Carolina for South Florida.

What's Next?

So just what exactly can USF fans expect to see when their 2010 Bulls take the field for the first time under Holtz? Well not even Holtz himself knows that yet. According to TampaBay.com, "Holtz has said he doesn't know yet what kind of offense or defense he will run at USF, and that he wants to evaluate the talent on his roster and find an offense that best matches the Bulls' strengths."

Too often head coaches bring their system from a previous gig with them to a new program with new players whose talents and abilities are, for the most part, unfamiliar to them. Sometimes it results in trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. His willingness to work with the type of talent and strengths he has at South Florida shows maturity even beyond his 45 years.

South Florida has more of a clear direction than either Connecticut or East Carolina had when Holtz took over, but that's not saying all that much. When Holtz took over East Carolina, the Pirates had won just 3 games in two seasons under John Thompson who was fired after the 2004 season. He took the Pirates to the top of C-USA and coached future NFL MVP Chris Johnson to an outstanding senior campaign in 2007.

Now he faces new challenges with South Florida. The Bulls have not had a losing season since 2004 and it will be up to Holtz to keep that up not only in 2010 but for seasons to come. The Bulls are on the cusp of becoming a perennial force to be reckoned with in the Big East.

USF is almost to the top of the hill, but whenever it looks as though they'll get there, they slip a few yards. It's likely that Leavitt would have gotten them there, but Holtz will get them there sooner.

By the way, I could very well end up eating these words, but Notre Dame may end up regretting passing on Holtz in favor of Kelly. - Danny Hobrock

Danny is a sports journalist primarily covering college football and professional baseball. His work for Xtra Point Football has garnered national attention and is critically acclaimed. Danny is the former editor of a political and current events website and the editor of our college football content.

Take a look at a wonderful series we are doing profiling NCAA players that YOU REQUESTED who will be entering the NFL draft. Here are the first few, you can check back weekly for more. If you have a particular request, shoot us an e-mail.  While it's not likely that we will be able to get to every player submitted, we'll certainly try.

• NFL Draft Prospects: Dexter McCluster, Running Back, Ole' Miss Rebels
• NFL Draft Prospects: Aaron Hernandez, Tight End, Florida Gators
• NFL Draft Prospects: Terrence Cody, Defensive Tackle, Alabama Crimson Tide
• NFL Draft Prospects: C.J. Spiller, Running Back, Clemson Tigers

If you haven't voted in our poll on the site yet please do so. We are trying to get a feel for how our readers are looking at the game of NCAA Football so we can write about things they want to hear. The poll question is, "Do you think the NCAA should have a Playoff to determine the National Champion rather than the BCS / Bowl System?" - Please vote.

Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment