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USF becoming easier sales job

Success and conference tie-ins making Bulls more attractive to football recruits.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 3, 2001

TAMPA -- When coach Jim Leavitt first started recruiting for the University of South Florida, it was all brand new.

Not for Leavitt, the longtime assistant who spent years in the trenches of Big 12 recruiting. But very much so for the South Florida program he started when hired on Dec. 5, 1995.

There was no blueprint on how the sales pitch should go.

He had no tradition to hang his hat on, no past success or failure to point to. And no former great players to speak of when meeting with prospective players.

So Leavitt went with what he had.

"I sold them on a dream and a vision," he said. "I sold them on the fact that we could be a successful program."

Five years later, Leavitt is still selling high school players on his dreams and visions for the football program.

But this year it has been a different ball game.

The stakes are higher, the sought-after talent is better, and, oh yes, there is now a strong sales pitch: Conference USA and Division I.

"Conference USA is huge because bowl games are tied with conferences," Leavitt said Thursday during a break from the final week of recruiting before national signing day Wednesday. "If you're not in a conference, you have probably zero chance of getting into a bowl, unless you're Notre Dame. And Notre Dame is in their own conference -- the Conference of Notre Dame."

South Florida officially joins C-USA in 2003, but the Bulls already have two league teams on the schedule next season and three in 2002. The Bulls also enter Division I this season.

The league announced last month it had entered into a deal with ESPN and ABC for more nationally televised C-USA games. More TV means more exposure, another recruiting tool.

So has joining Division I and garnering that C-USA affiliation made the recruiting trail a lot smoother for Leavitt and his coaching staff?

"Yes," he said emphatically. "We're in the hunt with Florida, Florida State and Miami now. We weren't in as much of a hunt before. Now, that doesn't mean we're beating those schools, but they (recruits) are thinking longer and harder now. The only thing we're missing is tradition."

While the tradition may be lacking, South Florida has success. The Bulls are 18-2 in Raymond James Stadium, 21-4 at home, including games at Houlihan's Stadium.

Then there's that matter of its home stadium.

"Now we can sell the fact that your home is the same as where they played the Super Bowl," Leavitt said.

In the past, promising an impending conference affiliation was one thing. Delivering is another.

Clearwater offensive lineman Chris Carothers' decision to orally commit to USF hinged on exactly the goods Leavitt has been selling. However, the Division I aspect, Carothers said, didn't sway him as much as being a part of a program's rise and its ability to compete for post-season competition.

"It's one of the hottest programs, it's on the rise right now and I wanted to be a part of that," said Carothers, 17. "I really think it is a great program. Plus it is right around the corner from my family and friends."

With the changing years have come various changes in Leavitt's approach. But one constant -- the one he has pushed as much this season as ever -- is education.

"Really, the top thing we sell is academics," Leavitt said. "We have what we think is a tremendous institution. We feel like that is our biggest sell."

But the program's rise that has impressed recruits as well.

"Look at where they came from and where they are now," Carothers said. "They came from scratch and now all the hard work the coaches have put into it is paying off. They have a great coaching staff and I think it's just a great program."

For Leavitt personally, there is one other selling point that seems to be hitting home with many of the recruits: the chance to play in Tampa. A majority of the Bulls' roster last season included Florida natives, many from this area.

It may be the most heartfelt portion of Leavitt's pitch.

"This is my home," he said. "When I talk about South Florida and I talk about this area, they know it's coming from my heart. I don't think Steve Spurrier is from Florida. But I grew up here. It's the greatest place in the world to live."

Recruiting information

On the internet

BorderWars: www.borderwars.com

Bobby Burton: www.rivals100.com

Max Emfinger: www.maxemfinger.rivals.com

Bill Hodge: www.fansonly.com

Tom Lemming: www.espn.go.com/recruiting

PrepStar: www.prepstar.com

Allen Wallace: www.cnnsi.com/football/college/recruiting

Phone the Big Three

Florida: Gator Bait, (900) 860-4286

Florida St.: Osceola, (900) 860-4378

Miami: CaneSport, (900) 454-2263

Facts and terminology

SIGNING DAY: The first day athletes may sign binding national letters of intent. It is the first day of a signing period, which this year begins Wednesday for football. Coaches are not allowed to comment on recruits until recruits have signed.

ORAL COMMITMENT: A non-binding announcement by an athlete about what school he intends to sign with. Players may change their minds until they sign.

ALL-AMERICAN: A prospect named to a national all-star team by a publication (such as USA Today or Parade) or by a recruiting analyst.

Coming up

Florida (Sunday); Florida State (Monday).

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