Tag: USF

Jason Pierre-Paul picked a unique new jersey number to wear with the Saints

Jason Pierre-Paul picked a unique new jersey number to wear with the Saints, representing his fourteenth year in the NFL:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czo9tHMPBjC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

The newest member of the New Orleans Saints has made a unique choice for his jersey number: Jason Pierre-Paul announced his formal signing with the Saints practice squad on Tuesday, including an edited photo showing the pass rusher in his new uniform, featuring the No. 14 jersey. Pierre-Paul said it’s to represent his 14th year in the NFL in a post from his official Instagram account.

Though it isn’t reflected on the team’s website roster (where Pierre-Paul is not yet listed at all), this means that Pierre-Paul will be designated as a linebacker, even if he primarily plays defensive end. The No. 14 jersey only recently became available for linebackers and defensive backs after being limited to offensive players, kickers, and punters. If Pierre-Paul were listed as a defensive end, the only other options for him would have been Nos. 59, 60, 61, 63, 65, 66, 69, 72, 76, and 79. For the most part, those are all thoroughly swaggerless.

Pierre-Paul wore No. 4 with the Baltimore Ravens last year; before that, he had only used No. 90 in the NFL and in college at USF. He wore No. 91 at College of the Canyons in California and No. 9 at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas after using No. 98 at Deerfield Beach High School in Florida.

So he’ll be using No. 14 for the first time in his football career. Former Saints quarterback Andy Dalton used it last season after running back Mark Ingram II wore it a year before; the number fell in disuse for decades until wide receiver Tommylee Lewis brought it back in 2020. Let’s hope Pierre-Paul wears it well.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Analysis: Breaking down Alabama’s defensive personnel ahead of playing Vols

Analysis: Breaking down Alabama’s defensive personnel ahead of playing Tennessee

No. 8 Alabama (6-1, 4-0 SEC) will host No. 15 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Rankings reflect the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Kickoff between the Vols and Crimson Tide is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT and will be televised by CBS.

Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel defeated Alabama, 52-49, last season at Neyland Stadium.

Vols Wire highlighted how Utah State provided a blueprint for Tennessee’s offense to have success against Alabama last season.

Utah State played at Alabama in Week 1 last season and had a similar scheme to Heupel’s.

Anthony Tucker served as running backs coach (2018-20), passing game coordinator (2019) and co-offensive coordinator (2020) under Heupel at UCF. He was Utah State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022.

The Vols have a similar situation in 2023.

Alabama defeated USF, 17-13, on Sept. 16. Former Vols’ offensive coordinator Alex Golesh is in his first season as head coach at USF.

Tennessee-Alabama football top 15 matchup by the numbers

Ahead of Saturday’s Tennessee-Alabama contest, Vols Wire provides analysis of the Crimson Tide’s starting defensive personnel against USF’s similar offensive scheme to Heupel’s.

Alabama football drops to No. 13 in Week 4 AP Poll

Alabama football drops three spots in Week 4 AP Poll despite two touchdown victory

Despite a two-touchdown victory, it felt like Alabama’s victory against the USF Bulls yesterday was one of the poorest games of the Nick Saban era, at least on the offensive side of the ball. The Tide didn’t find the endzone until the second half against a USF team that won just one game a season ago. The Tide has now seen three quarterbacks take significant snaps with none of the options separating themselves from the pack. However, the sky isn’t falling and there were some good things to take away with the first being all wins count the same.

Running back Roydell Williams looks like a guy that OC Tommy Rees can rely on to carry the rock 20-25 times a game as he went for 129 yards and a score while averaging 7.6 yards a carry. In hindsight, the defense played pretty as well as they only surrendered three points on the afternoon, and the only reason that happened was due to a muffed punt from the Alabama special teams unit.

Even though Alabama survived with a victory, it was reasonable to expect they might drop a bit in the AP Poll after back-to-back poor showings. The Week 4 AP Poll dropped the Crimson Tide three spots to No. 13 in the rankings. Ole Miss moved up to No. 15 after a win over Georgia Tech yesterday setting up for Top 15 showdown in Tuscaloosa next weekend.

Georgia and Michigan still hold the top two spots in the Poll, but Texas jumped Florida State after the Seminoles poor showing against Boston College. The USC Trojans round out the top five behind the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama survives road scare and beats USF 17-3

Alabama survives a scare form USF in Tampa before heading into SEC play next week

A win is a win, but it doesn’t get much uglier than it was this afternoon for Alabama. A late Ty Simpson one-yard rushing TD sealed the deal for a 17-3 victory.  The defense played well for the most part only allowing three points and Roydell Williams carried the ball 17 times for 129 yards and a score, but for Tide fans, there weren’t a lot of positive takeaways.

The quarterback play was sub-par, but Simpson seemed to find a bit of rhythm in the second half, but the QB battle will rage onto next week. Buchner clearly wasn’t the guy and likely will not get another shot for the remainder of the season. The wide receivers combined for six catches that went for 49 yards.

The offensive line struggled to say the least and there are many things to clean up heading into Ole Miss next week – a team who is currently averaging 55 points a game. I expect Simpson to get the start next week, but will likely have a short leash with a lot of people rallying behind Milroe.

But, a win is a win and the Tide still can achieve all of their goals for the 2023 season.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama fans react to Tyler Buchner and slow start in Week 3

Alabama fans react to slow start vs. USF start during weather delay

Week 3 was supposed to be a tune-up game for the Tide before heading into conference play against Ole Miss next week. However, things could not have started slower for the Tide as they trail USF 3-0. Alabama may have caught a break as the game was delayed by lightning allowing the Tide a chance to regroup.

Former Notre Dame quarterback, Tyler Buchner, made his first career start for the Tide and fans are not thrilled with what they have seen. Going into the delay, Buchner is 4-10 for 25 yards with a couple of balls dug into the dirt. In his defense, the weather was less than stellar from the start which inevitably led to the delay.

Former Tide players and fans chipped in to share their assesment from Alabama’s slow start:

Social media reacts to Spencer Shrader’s program-long field goal

Nice leg on the transfer.

As advertised, NC State has provided Notre Dame with its greatest test so far, at least in the first quarter. The Irish’s offense was unable to do anything on its first two drive, but the defense likewise held serve on the other end.

On the offense’s third drive, it finally was able to put something together, getting to the Wolfpack’s 36-yard line on third down after [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] was penalized for intentional grounding. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] opted to send [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] out for a 54-yard field goal, and the USF transfer had plenty of leg to split the uprights on the longest successful kick in Irish history:

The fact that Shrader hasn’t really been needed until now shows how easy the Irish’s first two games were. The tougher the opponent, the more valuable Shrader becomes with points coming at a premium. Hopefully, that doesn’t come very often, but regardless, here is what folks had to say on social media after the kick:

The Claw, University of South Florida’s golf course, will close in September

The course is set to close Sept. 5.

More than a decade ago, the University of South Florida received a $1.3 million donation for its public golf course, The Claw. The money was used to build a practice facility for the Bulls’ golf teams.

On top of serving as a preparation track for USF’s squads, students flocked to the golf course located across the street from the Tampa campus. How do I know that?

I was one of them.

The course struggled to maintain well-groomed conditions, but the tee sheet was often full.

However, the course hasn’t served as the Bulls’ home course in years and has lost money in recent seasons.

“In recent years, the course has lost nearly $200,000 annually, as operating costs have far exceeded revenues,” an email to USF alumni said. “The course operations have required USF to inject cash each year to keep it open, and those financial resources could be used elsewhere to better support our students.”

The golf course — opened in 1967 — is set to close Sept. 5.

According to the email, the school will find another use for the 120-acre piece of land.

Alabama football announces start times for remaining non-conference matchups

Alabama football has announced kick times for the remainder of the Crimson Tide’s non-conference opponents in 2023!

The 2023 season is a crucial one for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide after missing out on the playoffs last season. The Tide will face one of the toughest schedules in the country with two new coordinators and a quarterback.

Alabama already announced that their non-conference game against Texas will be in primetime at 6:00 p.m. CST on ESPN. Today, the Tide announced the kickoff times for their three remaining non-SEC games.

Middle Tennessee comes to Bryant Denny Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kick-off under the lights on Sept. 2. Then, the Tide travel to Southern Florida for a 2:30 p.m. start against the Bulls on Sept. 19. Finally, the Tide will host Chattanooga at 11 a.m. on Nov. 18, the week leading up to the Iron Bowl.

The Longhorns will without a doubt be the toughest test for the Tide of those four games, but it is imperative Alabama doesn’t drop any games outside of SEC play. Texas gave Alabama a scare in 2022, but with it back in Tuscaloosa now, the game will be really interesting.

[lawrence-auto-related count=2 category=1134]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Mike Brey will not coach at USF after all

Stop the presses.

When it was reported that former Notre Dame coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] was about to take over the USF program, reactions were mixed. They ranged from being happy for him to wondering what the heck he was thinking. Whatever one thought, it’s time to throw it all out the window. ESPN’s Pete Thamel has reported that USF’s interest in Brey was just that, and Brey won’t be coaching anywhere next season:

After 28 consecutive seasons of being a head coach at Delaware and then Notre Dame, it probably is best for Brey to take time for himself. Don’t even consider the possibility that he still will help pick his successor with the Irish. He deserves to move to Florida anyway and spend time drinking pina coladas, laying on the beach or whatever. It will be nice to see him on TV in some capacity, but it will be even better knowing he has enough time to detox after so many years in a high-stress job.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

[lawrence-related id=70920]

College basketball news: Mike Brey headed to South Florida

Mike Brey has found a new home…

Weeks ago, Mike Brey made it clear that he was done at Notre Dame but that he wasn’t done coaching.  Would that mean coaching back home in the Washington, D.C. area?  Would it be on at a high school?  Would he be a consultant for some of his friends in the coaching world?

We have an answer as reports surfaced Monday that Brey will be the next head coach at South Florida.  This makes a lot of sense not only because Brey previously mentioned he wasn’t interested in Midwest winters any longer.  Furthermore, Brey’s son is a football coach at IMG Academy that isn’t far at all from USF.

It didn’t end how anyone wanted, but there’s no ill-will from anyone in South Bend to Brey.  All the best to him in this next chapter.