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USF Football Early Signing Period Class Breakdown- Part 2

Just a little over a week after the end of the December early signing period, Steeg took an in-depth look at the incoming herd of Bulls heading to Tampa.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 08 Georgia Tech at USF Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Here’s the second part of our evaluation of USF’s Class of 2019 early signees. You can find part one here.

Today we look at six more future Bulls...

OT Matthew McDuffie

6’5, 310 pounds

★★★☆☆

Recruited out of Baker County High School in Glen Saint Mary, Florida.

Strengths

  • Attacks defenders on run blocking
  • Great lead blocker when pulling
  • Fantastic footwork
  • Great Size

Weakness

  • Sometimes awkward to get out of his stance
  • Doesn’t always keep his feet under him, can whiff on blocks

It’s always hard telling how good offensive linemen are in high school, typically the guys they are going up against aren’t going to be the same sized when they get to the college level.

McDuffie got to play some of the best teams in northeast Florida and is battle tested coming to Tampa. Sitting and learning behind Billy Atterbury and Marcus Norman will prove to be extremely useful for him. His aggression on both pass blocking and run blocking is something that has lacked across the offensive line this past season, and could be useful come Fall 2019.

McDuffie might be able to rotate in next season, but his playing time will be limited.

OT Dustyn Hall

6’4, 277 pounds

★★★☆☆

Recruited out of Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Pros

  • Aggressive on run blocking
  • Good slide step on pass blocking
  • Engages inside
  • Offensive bully in the trenches

Weaknesses

  • Undersized as a guard
  • Slow getting out of his stance
  • Slow on pulling
  • Sometimes looks for contact rather than the correct block

The Bulls definitely needed help along the offensive line last year, and they should now have plenty of depth behind the starters. Hall flipped from UCF to USF a couple of weeks ago and never looked back. Similarly to McDuffie, Hall is extremely aggressive in the trenches and loves getting pancakes and pinning players down. Though at times, it seems he goes for the best pancake rather than the correct block, he could slide outside to tackle and flourish there. Although he is unlikely to see the field in 2019, it’s a name we should get used to seeing in the starting lineup in the future.

WR Logan Berryhill

6’5, 186 pounds

★★★☆☆

Recruited out of Camden County High School in Camden County, Georgia.

Strengths

  • Tall receiver
  • Quick acceleration, long strides, runs through the endzone
  • Does a great job of recognizing when the play is breaking down and helps his QB
  • Works off a jam

Weaknesses

  • Needs to bulk up
  • Sloppy route running
  • Run blocking was almost non-existent

Berryhill comes onto campus as the tallest receiver in USF’s deplete WR core. His length is much needed for USF as the tallest receiver before he signed his LOI was Randall St. Felix.

The southeast GA native had a wonderful year for Camden County, but was lightly recruited out of high school. My favorite part of his game is the fact that he runs through the end zone regardless of the play (think Rodney Adams and Marquez Valdez-Scantling) and always gives maximum effort.

HS receivers rarely get a chance to show off their run blocking, and his film was non-existent for it, so it may be something for him to work on this year for him. We could see him make a rotation and possibly start a few games considering his length immediately poses a mismatch for most defenses.

CB Jayden Curry

5’11, 190 pounds

★★★☆☆

Recruited out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Strengths

  • Disciplined tackler
  • Reads the receiver well, knows when the ball is coming without even seeing it
  • Fantastic closing speed, doesn’t over pursue

Weaknesses

  • Slow play recognition
  • Occasionally will turn his hips too soon, can result in the receiver cutting off the route

The first ever Ascender to ever pledge to USF, Jayden Curry will take the hour drive up to Tampa to join the 2019 recruiting class.

Holding offers from Texas A&M and Maryland, Curry signed with the Bulls last minute to much elation from the coaching staff. Coming from IMG Academy, Curry got world class training and coaching and can come in as a strong player right away. His film showed he has incredible closing speed, but doesn’t over pursue the ball carrier. He has great discipline across the board and I have a feeling he’ll end up being the captain of our defense before he graduates.

He will rotate in and get significant playing time on special teams this year.

WR Leo Parker

5’11, 188 pounds

★★★☆☆

Recruited out of Plant High School in Tampa, Florida.

Strengths

  • High points the ball
  • Deceptive speed
  • Great route running
  • Relentless blocking

Weaknesses

  • Will need to bulk up
  • Ball security, sometimes runs with a breadbasket

Mr. Do-it-All for the Plant Panthers his senior season, Parker will stay home and play for USF this year.

As I mentioned previously, USF’s wide receiver core was decimated when three receivers were dismissed this offseason, so Charlie and company will need to rebuild it fast. Parker should supply some much needed rotation as he has very discipline route running. He also is a great in run support as a blocker, which was missing by the wide receivers next year (Thanks Veer & Shoot).

DE Tyrik Jones

6’2, 235 pounds

★★★☆☆

Recruited out of Arizona Western C.C. in Yuma, Arizona.

Strengths

  • Great size and speed
  • Sheds blocks quickly
  • Good pursuit

Weaknesses

  • Tackles high
  • Sometimes undisciplined in play style

A surprise on Early Signing Day was adding a from JUCO Arizona Western. He was originally from Ft. Lauderdale, played at Bowling Green where his transfer to Arizona Western remains unknown.

Tyrik dominated at the JUCO level, where his aggressive playing style and tackling lead to many fumbles. At times he seems overly aggressive, which could lead to penalties and negative plays.

He will be a rotational player for USF, occasionally cracking the starting lineup next season.