Jeff Scott Can Feel The Energy Surrounding His University Of South Florida Football Program

TAMPA — Excited.

That is how Jeff Scott said he felt Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours before his South Florida Bulls kick off spring practice.

It also mirrors the feeling of the program’s supporters throughout the Tampa Bay area since the former Clemson co-offensive coordinator was hired in early December.

A team that lost 14 of its last 18 games under Charlie Strong was in need of a jumpstart and, while it is only three months and zero games into Scott’s tenure, the 39-year-old first-year head coach has brought much energy to the Tampa campus. 

That energy has resulted in new season-ticket deposits soaring sevenfold beyond what they were at this point a year ago. A meet-and-greet with Scott prior to a USF men’s basketball game in February attracted more than 1,000 existing football season-ticket holders. Such an event typically drew maybe a couple of hundred.

“I can’t tell you how many people I have met that are generally excited and optimistic about the future,” said the former Clemson receiver, who won a pair of national championships while helping guide the Tigers’ high-powered offense under Dabo Swinney. “I realize where we are, but to have the potential to really raise the bar, I think, is probably what really excites me after meeting with so many different people the last three months.”

Another thing that excites Scott is the fresh canvas that the Bulls’ roster represents to an entirely new staff. What takes place starting this week, and not what took place last season, will determine the pecking order on both sides of scrimmage and special teams.

“I still have not watched one play from last season, practice or game,” said Scott, who hired Charlie Weis Jr. to be his offensive coordinator and Glenn Spencer as defensive coordinator. “(Tuesday) will be the first time I see any of these guys in their college career. Really, it’s to give each and every one of them a fresh, clean start and let the depth chart build itself.” 

That is the way it should be. Again, wins have been sparse and the Bulls do not have one returning player who rushed for as many as 400 yards or had as many as 300 yards receiving last season. That is not to say the cupboard is bare. Rather, Scott will be stocking the cupboard based on what he sees on his watch and not what may have taken place on somebody else’s watch.

What Scott, who signed a five-year, $12.5-million deal, wants to see effective this week are 88 players that buy in, are accountable and disciplined. Those are among fundamentals that will serve as the program’s bedrock.

They are fundamentals that extend to academics. It is one thing to be in class, which team managers will be making sure of. More importantly, what are you doing while you are in class?

“I have not coached a player that in my 14 years of college coaching and four years in high school that has been undisciplined off the field and then all of a sudden walk on the practice field or the game field and be a disciplined player,” he said. “That’s kind of what my message has been to our guys. It is to be on time for class, be on time for tutor appointments, be prepared and not just show up. Are you showing up with a pen and notebook ready to take notes and be engaged?”

Indeed, no detail whether away from the gridiron or on it will be viewed as too small. The little things, Scott said, lead to big things. That is how a culture is built. That is how is the USF football program will proceed. No wavering. No questions asked.

The foundation’s principles apply to a staff that is working together for the first time and is prepared to adjust on the fly because they are working with a group of players they are still getting to know. What works today may not work tomorrow. It is, after all, a fresh canvas for the coaches as well.

It is a staff that includes Scott’s father, former South Carolina coach Brad Scott. The elder Scott, a Sunshine State native who received a degree from USF in 1979, was brought on board to be the program’s chief of staff. It is a role in which he can serve as a pillar of sorts.

“He is around watching every day and can bring a fresh perspective or different viewpoint for me to consider as opposed to if he was in South Carolina and came down to watch practice one day,” said the younger Scott. “I am definitely going to lean on him as we move forward.”

Moving forward is something that USF has certainly done at times in its 23-season history. As Scott pointed out Monday, the Bulls were No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings in October 2007. A decade later was another notable achievement. The 2017 season was the back end of a two-year stretch in which USF went 21-4, including bowl victories over Power Five programs.

While there has been success, there has also been the inability to sustain the good times.

“I feel as a program there was a lot of good momentum early and then somewhere over the last few years, for whatever reasons, that momentum has kind of slowed down,” said Scott. “Now this boulder, if will, that had been moving has been kind of sitting still for the last year, two years, whatever. I feel there are a lot of people that are standing by this boulder looking at each other and they are ready to push.”

Many players may already have their hands on the rock. As he exited the Selmon Athletics Center on Sunday, Scott received a text from an athletics administrator. The contents of that text revealed the sight of players working out on the practice fields among themselves over the course of the previous few days, which was something that person had not seen the last couple of years. 

“The best teams that I have been around have some leadership and ownership where they set their own practices and meetings,” said Scott. “I had already started to see (players working out on their own). For me, that’s a really good sign. We have a long way to go, but I am more optimistic at this point than probably where I expected to be from the day that I took the job.”

True, there is a long way to go. The journey can prove fruitful, though, with players buying in and doing those small things that allow the program to take large strides.

Just ask the coach who has two national championship rings.

It’s a game of inches—and dollars. Get the latest sports news and analysis, once a week in your inbox, from the Forbes SportsMoney Playbook newsletter. Sign up here.