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TAMPA - South Florida fans, wondering if they'll have a competitive team in the Big East this fall, got an answer of sorts Saturday night.
One? Perhaps. But the Bulls definitely don't have two.
"When we put everybody together, on one team, we'll have a chance," coach Jim Leavitt said after his Green team rallied for an ugly 14-7 win over the White in USF's spring game. "Tonight ... you put people all over the place and you don't have any continuity. What I loved about this was I saw some emotion, some enthusiasm there, and all the guys played hard."
Fans looking for an answer at quarterback didn't get an encouraging one Saturday as returning starter Pat Julmiste threw for 40 yards and walk-on Anthony Severino threw three late interceptions that allowed the Green, despite little offense all night, to escape victorious.
Severino completed just 11-of-34 passes for 133 yards, but the interceptions in the final 4:53 cost the White team a victory. Sophomore safety Danny Verpaele intercepted a lob and returned it 36 yards for a tying touchdown, then Drametrice Smith got another interception with 3:11 to play.
That set up the go-ahead 1-yard touchdown with 1:13 to play by Ed Louis, an otherwise anonymous junior college walk-on from Fort Lauderdale Stranahan who joined the team mid spring. A last-minute desperation pass from Severino was intercepted by Verpaele to seal the win.
The attendance at Raymond James Stadium was announced as 3,800, but never looked to be more than 1,500 or so on a chilly Saturday night. The offenses moved the ball well on its opening drives, resulting in a missed field goal and a 2-yard Andre Hall touchdown, but there was little after that to arouse excitement offensively.
Julmiste, nursing a sore shoulder, never got into a rhythm, completing 5-of-18 attempts for 40 yards while rushing for 32. Severino completed four passes on the opening touchdown drive, but missed his next 10 passes after that.
"We know we have to be great at that position," said Leavitt, who said Julmiste remains the starter entering fall practice. "It'll be pretty competitive to find out who we're going to have at the position. We're going to give (incoming freshmen Carlton Hill and Matt Grothe) a lot of reps to see how far they can come along."
If the passing game was woeful, the running game wasn't any more promising. Hall, who rushed for a school-record 1,357 yards last season, played sparingly, rushing six times for 22 yards in the first half. Freshman Ricky Ponton of Hillsborough, expected to be Hall's top backup in the fall, rushed 17 times for 65 yards, but his night was spoiled by two lost fumbles.
There were moments of intrigue, such as seeing defensive tackle Tim Jones lining up at tight end a la Warren Sapp, the position he played as a freshman. Safety Johnnie Jones had a cameo at outside linebacker as well, and walk-on kicker Kyle Bronson had a 51-yard field goal bounce off the crossbar, just inches short.
The Bulls open their 2005 season Sept. 3 at Penn State.