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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2002
TAMPA -- Kawika Mitchell doesn't clearly recall going from his passenger seat through the windshield and landing 40 feet from the van in which he was riding. But he knows he was lucky to escape with a minor shoulder injury. Early in the morning on June2, Mitchell, a middle linebacker, was riding with a friend as they turned onto an exit ramp from I-75 to I-4.
"We started spinning, and the car hit the guardrail. And on the contact, I went through the windshield," Mitchell said Wednesday at media day.
"I don't really remember it too well. I didn't even really realize what had happened. I got back up and thought we would keep going, but the van was too messed up."
Mitchell, South Florida's leading tackler last season with 106, had only a right shoulder sprain and scrapes and bruises. He was back to full speed in the weight room in less than two weeks.
THE NEW GUY: Wednesday was Craig Lloyd's first day on the team. The 5-foot-11, 225-pound freshman linebacker from Daytona Beach Mainland missed the first two days of practice for newcomers (full-squad practice begins today) to be evaluated by the medical staff.
Lloyd, a high school teammate of freshman defensive tackle Ramon McCullough, injured his back while lifting weights before last season. It hampered his performance, and he said it caused many Division I schools to stop recruiting him.
"(USF) kept in touch," Lloyd said. "For some reason, South Florida stuck with me until the end."
He earned a qualifying test score on his last try in May, and USF offered a scholarship. The final step was medical clearance.
"They wanted me to get checked by their doctors," said Lloyd, who likely was headed to Fork Union Military Academy if he didn't qualify. "I feel good. I'm ready to go."
COMEBACK KID: Elgin Hicks is eager to use his next two years of college to put the first three behind him.
After redshirting a season at Florida, sitting out a transfer season at USF and being academically ineligible for the first half of last season, the former high school All-American said he is ready to make an impact.
"It's been very, very frustrating," said the receiver who had four catches last season. "I wasn't really striving for what I needed to do. But now my head is focused, and I'm ready to go ahead and take it to the top.
"This is the hardest that I've worked since I've been in college, and this is the most confidence that I've had."
THE MAN: Quarterback Marquel Blackwell, coming off a record-setting junior season, has been cited by numerous national media outlets as one of the nation's premier players.
He drew the most attention Wednesday, by far, but his teammates aren't jealous.
"It's great for him and great for the team," Mitchell said. "Positive publicity like that can only help South Florida football.'
ON DEADLINE: Receiver Hugh Smith and defensive end Emerson Morris said they will graduate Saturday, earning the season of eligibility they lost as freshmen partial qualifiers.
But offensive lineman Ken "Shaq" Dawson was not at media day, leaving his status in doubt. Leavitt said Dawson was in class. "It's going to be tight," Leavitt said.