Colleges

Heath helps Bulls sign QB from Tallahassee

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published February 7, 2008

TAMPA - USF scored a signing day coup, drawing the signature of four-star Tallahassee Lincoln quarterback B.J. Daniels.

But give basketball coach Stan Heath an assist on the play.

Daniels, who chose USF over Memphis, mentioned his two-sport aspirations as he announced he was signing with USF, and coach Jim Leavitt went out of his way to thank Heath for taking time to talk with Daniels during an official campus visit.

"From everything I've learned, he's going to be as good a walk-on as we're going to have," said Heath, who has not seen Daniels play but talked with other coaches who have. "And he's a quarterback, and I always want to have players with leadership skills on my team."

A closer look

BIGGEST PLAYER: Officially, it's Plant City tackle Mark Popek at 6 feet 7, 310 pounds, but Danous Estenor is probably just as proud not to have that honor. The 6-3 two-way lineman from Palm Beach Central weighed 355 last summer when his coach, John Timmons, made him a deal.

"I said, 'If you lose the weight, I'll let you play some defense,'" he said. "He worked his tail off, and now he's 305 pounds."

USF will let him play some defense, too - the Bulls see him as a defensive tackle.

SMALLEST AND FASTEST: George Baker, a cornerback from Miami Archbishop Carroll, is listed at 5-11, 168 pounds, 2 pounds lighter than kicker Maikon Bonani of Lake Wales. Baker, who was lured out of a commitment to Auburn, has a 40-yard time of 4.38 seconds to go with a 38-inch vertical leap.

IDENTIFYING TALENT EARLY: USF's first commitment to this class was Jeff Hawkins, a 6-4, 232-pound tight end from Ocala Vanguard. But in truth, the Bulls had seen him much earlier than most programs.

Turns out, Hawkins' father, Jim, coached tennis at West Point at the same time USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory coached at Army.

During the recruiting process, the Hawkins family was looking through old photos and found one of Jeff, 2 weeks old, held by a proud Jim at work. In the background is Gregory.

CONNECTIONS: Winter Springs punter Justin Brockhaus-Kann is the son of former NFL and USFL punter Jeff Brockhaus, whose time at Missouri overlapped with that of USF coach Jim Leavitt. ... B.J. Daniels and receiver Daniel Bryant went to different Tallahassee high schools, but the two were quite the connection at Deer Lake Middle and look forward to being reunited. ... Defensive end Craig Marshall played with linebacker Kion Wilson, who enrolled at USF in January, at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi. He played with tight end Andrew Ketchel at Choctawhatchee High in the Panhandle.

NOT SIGNED YET: Jim Leavitt said the faculty committee that reviews potential student-athletes would not allow him to sign Justin Green, an offensive lineman from Palm Beach Gardens.

"I'm hoping after a little bit of time there's some reconsideration," said Leavitt, who could not disclose details.

Green, whom Scout.com lists as a three-star recruit, said he was "a little bit" surprised. He added he believes the matter is academic related and is making up a math class from the fall.

"I'm going to wait for USF," he said.

Greg Auman can be reached at auman@sptimes.com or 813 226-3346.

Impressive numbers

55 Career-long field goal for kicker Maikon Bonani
223 Tackles credited to linebacker Mike Lanaris as a senior
235 Weight of punter Justin Brockhaus-Kann, who also played TE

[Last modified February 7, 2008, 00:44:02]