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#ScottsTots21: USF Football Early Signing Day Wrap Up

Although the early signing period is still active, all seems quiet on Fowler Avenue for now.

By Robert Steeg
Central Florida v South Florida Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

What. A. Day.

USF football put together one of the most talented signing classes in recent memory based off of talent and ratings alone. It was refreshing to get a good mixture of Bay Made prospects, top talent in Florida, and high profile transfers from big schools.

Although the early signing period is still active, and the class of 2021 isn’t yet finalized, it’s apparent that USF is trending in the right direction and are creating a buzz around the progrum we haven’t seen in a few years.

Who Signed From High School

Of the 20 recruits that were committed to South Florida prior to Early Signing Day, 16 of them signed on Wednesday.

Who Else Signed From High School

One of the bigger surprises of the day was that of Sanford Seminole (and teammate of fellow recruit Timmy McClain) WR Jimmy Horn. Horn was lightly recruited out of high school due to missing all but one game his junior year due to a broken wrist. Then when COVID-19 hit, many of the camps where he could showcase his skills and speed were canceled.

The stud wideout started gaining some traction in recruiting in the last few weeks, garnering offers from Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, and even Jackson State, who is now coached by NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

Who Didn’t Sign

One signing that was not going to be happening was that of Carrollwood DT Demond Mamudi, who flipped to Virginia Tech very early in the morning and is now Blacksburg bound. That makes it two years in a row that Jeff Scott lost a defensive talent to a middling P5 progrum, and one whose coach is on the hot seat going into next season.

Additionally, USF did not receive the signatures of three additional recruits who were previously committed:

It is unknown why Hobbs and Blackmon did not sign on Wednesday, but they still have the opportunity to sign during the early signing period. Additionally, they do have the traditional signing day in February to ink their names to the Bulls.

There had been rumblings that Williams would not sign until the class of 2022. However, with the Bulls needing to add young talent to their defensive line roster (four seniors), they should be looking to bring in at least one this recruiting cycle.

Who Portal’d Into USF

The Transfer Portal seemed to be a gateway out of Tampa, with 10 players from USF in the Portal to begin Early Signing Day. However, by noon on Wednesday, the Portal finally provided talent to Tampa. Jeff Scott is bringing in five players who played at four different Power Five progrums to help up the talent on the roster.

Bringing in these players is only going to benefit the Bulls, especially considering nearly all of them have at least three years of eligibility remaining, and with the NCAA recently announcing that all transfers will be immediately eligible, they can have immediate impacts for USF.

What the Future Has In Store

It’s to be seen what USF is going to do with the three unsigned players from high school that are currently committed, as well as the overloaded roster in regards to scholarship. Coach Jeff Scott did mention yesterday in his post-recruitment briefing that in the Class of 2022, they will look to add 10 high school players and four to five transfers due to the scholarship allotment.

However, this is subject to change as the NCAA seems to be becoming more generous towards schools and college athletes in recent years.

As always, wear a mask, wash your hands, be socially distant, and be safe so we can watch the Bulls in action live in 2021