College football

Steady as he grows, Julmiste settles in at QB

Pat Julmiste matures into the consistent leader that the Bulls need with Louisville next.

By GREG AUMAN
Published September 21, 2005

TAMPA - The whole world has slowed down a bit for Pat Julmiste.

A year ago, in his first full season as USF's starting quarterback, football was a blur at times, one week sharp, the next week nothing like it.

"When you start in high school, it's like flying bullets around you. And when I got here, everything was flying bullets," said Julmiste, who will lead the Bulls against No.9 Louisville on Saturday in both teams' first Big East game. "The years go by, you get some experience under your belt, everything slows down, and then you just have to execute."

The knock on Julmiste last season was his inconsistency, and to appreciate how steady he has been in USF's first three games, you almost need a level. When it comes to completion percentage, his bubble is right between the lines: 60 percent against Penn State, 60 percent against Florida A&M, 62.5 percent against Central Florida.

"The only thing I keep thinking is "Don't do anything to hurt the offense,' " said Julmiste, who has no interceptions in his past 59 pass attempts. "Keep the chain moving. Put us in position to score touchdowns. Don't make bad throws and be consistent."

Teammates have seen a difference in the huddle, a new comfort level and poise that have been there since he replaced a struggling Courtney Denson late in the first quarter against Penn State.

"It just seems like he's playing more confident, going out there with more enthusiasm," senior guard Chris Carothers said. "He's just playing the game, not thinking too much. You can get caught in thinking too much about strategies and schemes, and that can hold you back."

Carothers saw the difference in Julmiste in one play as the team watched film this week. The Bulls led Central Florida 14-0 with 1:09 left in the first half and were facing third and 4 on the UCF 26. Julmiste found multiple defenders collapsing on him, but had just enough time to float a screen pass to running back Andre Hall, who scored for a 21-0 halftime lead.

"He's just playing heads-up football," Carothers said. "He seems to see a lot of things better now. Maybe more game experience has been what's caused that."

Julmiste has come a long way just in the past three weeks. Denson started the opener, but Julmiste has outplayed his competition so convincingly that Denson has practiced at receiver, and freshman quarterback Carlton Hill started working exclusively at receiver this week. As the Bulls enter a defining stretch of their season, Julmiste has entrenched himself at a position that was up for grabs a month ago.

The Bulls (2-1) have set out to establish their running game in the past two weeks, setting school records for yards (377 against Florida A&M) and attempts (66 vs. UCF). To keep up with Louisville's high-scoring offense, the Bulls will need balance, which is where Julmiste comes in.

"The first three games, we wanted to see what our offensive line can do, wanted to get Andre (Hall) going with his yards," he said. "This game, we have to be balanced, we have to keep Louisville's defense off-balance."

Louisville was a flying-bullets game for Julmiste last year, as he went 3-for-20 for 67 yards, setting a team record for lowest completion percentage. He rebounded well, however, going the next four games without throwing an interception, a span of 99 passes.

"We had a lot of dropped balls, and I had a lot of bad throws, and with those two things, you're not going to get anything moving," he said. "Playing against a defense like that, you make a mistake and they're good enough they'll make you pay."

The Bulls need to slow down Cardinals defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who set an NCAA record with six sacks against Kentucky, then had three in last week's 63-27 drubbing of Oregon State. Again, experience is in Julmiste's favor, as the quarterback has seen Dumervil coming for four years now.

"I'm not surprised at what he's doing. He was great in high school," said Julmiste, who first encountered Dumervil after his senior year at Miramar when he was sacked by the Miami Jackson star in a postseason all-star game. "He's a great athlete, very strong. I thought he'd be doing this last year."

USF has given up one sack in three games, and if Julmiste gets protection, the junior could be in position for a breakout game against the nation's 112th-best pass defense. USF has kept much of its offensive playbook under wraps in the past two weeks with only 26 total pass attempts. No Bulls receiver has reached 40 yards in a single game.

If the Bulls are to run with Louisville, that will change, and reliable quarterback play is something USF is coming to expect with Julmiste's experience.

"He's been through a lot of different things," coach Jim Leavitt said. "He's getting older, he's run the offense longer. You hope that people get better as they get older and have more experience."

[Last modified September 21, 2005, 00:25:10]