Only Bruce Hector Days Until USF Football Season

#60 DT Bruce Hector
Redshirt Junior, 6'4", 296 lbs.

2015 Stats: Hector played in 12 of USF's 13 games last year. Even though he didn't start any of them, he still tied for the team lead in sacks with five, and recorded seven tackles for loss among his 19 total stops. He picked up two sacks against Florida A&M and two more against Cincinnati, forcing a fumble by Bearcats quarterback Hayden Moore on one of them (the picture at the top of this story).

Position on Depth Chart: Hector is listed as the starting nose tackle after spring practice.

How He Came To USF: Bruce played at Robinson High School in Tampa, after moving down from New Port Richey's Gulf High School. In his two years as a Knight, Hector recorded 86 tackles and 6.5 sacks. In his senior year, he was named to the Florida Class 5A all-state first team after compiling 55 tackles and 9.5 TFL, helping Robinson win 12 games and reach the state semifinals*. He committed to USF early in the 2013 recruiting class and stuck with the Bulls after the coaching change to Willie Taggart.

* - I just can't wrap my head around Robinson ever being that good at football. Then again, I still really can't wrap my head around Plant ever being that good at football. They were both godawful when I was in high school.

Recruiting Rankings: Hector was a two-star prospect according to Rivals, ESPN, and Scout. 247 gave him three stars.

Projected Playing Time: Bruce's stats improved as the team improved around him last fall. But his playing time may not actually increase that much now that he's the starter. The defensive line is rotated pretty well and Deadrin Senat (last year's most productive defensive lineman) is right behind him. I wonder if he might also feature at the regular defensive tackle position instead of the nose guard, so he can get more chances to rush the quarterback.

Follow Him On... Bruce's Twitter handle is @BigBabyRondo (evidently a late-2000s Celtics fan), and he's on Instagram at usf_brucehector.

Trivia: Only three players have ever come to USF football from Robinson High School. Bruce Hector is one. Can you name the other two?