#55 LB Josh Black
Junior(?), 6'2", 225 lbs.
2015 Stats: Black battled a nasty hamstring injury last year. He appeared in only one game, against Navy, and did not record any statistics. We aren't sure if this makes him a junior instead of a sophomore. He played as a true freshman the year before and still has a redshirt year available, but Navy was in the second half of the season, which normally means you can't use a redshirt retroactively.
Position on Depth Chart: Josh isn't listed on the post-spring depth chart, possibly because he missed spring practice with a foot injury.
How He Came To USF: Josh played at Sickles High School in Tampa. Like yesterday's player on our countdown, Black went berserk his senior year, rolling up 103 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 20(!) sacks, and three forced fumbled for the Gryphons as they went 11-2 and reached the regional finals. He was named to the Class 7A all-state first team and received the Tampa Bay Times' Defensive Player of the Year award. Black had offers from Arizona, Iowa State, and Minnesota, and committed to Marshall two weeks before signing day, but when it was time to put pen to paper, Josh chose USF.
Recruiting Rankings: Josh was a three-star recruit according to all the recruiting sites.
Projected Playing Time: Last year we were convinced that Black was going to be a breakout player. That didn't happen at all. Since he's been sidelined with injuries since then, we don't know where he fits into Raymond Woodie's plans right now. We have no idea how much playing time Josh will get this year. Get back to us in August.
Follow Him On... Josh hasn't tweeted since 2014, but his handle is @darkassassin_12. We can't find an Instagram among the many people named Josh Black.