As we're counting down the USF roster from 99 to 1, some days we won't be able to look back at players who used to wear a certain number because a current player has it. So when I find something from the past that I think is overlooked, I'll do a Stampede Bonus like this one.
------------
The first #83 in USF history was a tight end named Trevor Hypolite, who played for the Bulls in 1997 and 1998. Hypolite started his college career as a wide receiver at Kentucky after starring at Rockledge High School. He transferred to South Carolina and sat out the 1996 season. Then he decided to transfer again, moving to USF to be closer to home along with another Gamecocks transfer, Chad Barnhardt.
Hypolite led the Bulls in receptions in the inaugural season, catching 34 passes for 390 yards and scoring one touchdown. He just missed scoring a second touchdown, though, and it would have made him the answer to one of the great trivia questions in USF football history: Who was the first Bull to score a touchdown? That honor went to Rafael Williams, but you could argue it should have gone to Hypolite.
Hypolite had the speed and the angle to get to the end zone, but for some reason he veered out of bounds at the 3. Did he lose his balance? Did he not know how close he was to scoring? Was there some kind of conspiracy at work to give the first touchdown to a pre-determined player? We may never know. Still, it should be noted for the record that in addition to being maybe the best pass-catching tight end in school history, Trevor Hypolite was a step or two away from forever stamping his name on the history of USF football.