In 36 years of reporting sports, I can count on one hand the number of athletes who would shake the hands of all the reporters in a media scrum.. before, and after, the interview. But there was Quinton Flowers, the USF Bulls’ record-setting quarterback, doing just that with an intimate gathering of less than a dozen media members after Monday’s first practice. Not that shaking hands is a sign of success, but it sure is nice to see from a 22-year-old college student. No one in green and gold talks much about the Heisman Trophy this season. For that matter, any season. But there is a distinct possibility that it could happen this year for the Bulls.
Quinton Flowers could join the conversation in 2017
Remember pre-season 2016? Louisville’s Lamar Jackson was just one of a couple dozen candidates to win the Heisman, along with Baylor’s Seth Russell and Oregon’s Royce Freeman, neither one receiving a vote at the end of the season. LSU’s Leonard Fournette was the favorite. Jackson won, with a spectacular season, and stats that were just a little bit better than Flowers.. not that much better.
The point is, the senior from Miami could emerge as a top contender. There usually is a player or two who emerges from the shadows to join the top players in college football.
This is the season of high expectations, not only for Quinton Flowers but for the USF Bulls. The media already picked them to win the AAC championship. And some pundits have them running the table.. yep, winning every regular season game. They might be favored in every game they play.
Related Content: Why Tampa's USF Bulls Are Poised to be the Best in AAC East
And it starts with the quarterback.
“If you’ve got a good quarterback, you’ve got a chance to do some good things,” said USF head coach Charlie Strong, after Monday’s practice. Well, the Bulls have a great quarterback in Flowers, so you can see why there is so much optimism. The toughest part early on may be getting accustomed to new coaches.
“It works both ways, I’m getting to know Coach Strong, and he’s getting to know me,” Flowers said on Monday. ”Coach Sterlin Gilbert (offensive coordinator/QB coach) and I are getting to know each other too. We’re trying to build off what I did last year. It’s all coming together, and we have to keep working.”
Gilbert will be Flowers’ third QB coach in his four years at USF. But they won’t be changing much from that record-setting offense. “It’s the same offense, with different terminology,” Flowers said. “We’re trying to run the next play, 12-15 seconds after the previous play. The coaches want you to go faster and play faster.”
Expectations have never been this high for the Bulls.
But then again, they have 16 senior starters returning. “We have a target on our back,” Flowers admitted. “We’re coming off an 11-2 record, the best in school history. A lot of people are out for us, but we’re out for a lot of people. We just have to come together as a team and keep playing.”
The Bulls have some time to get that done. They open in just over a month, Aug. 26, at San Jose State when Tampa Bay's Bulls fans have the chance to see, will this QB blossom into Heisman material? Follow local sportswriter David Wirth on the Sports Page and his 813area Local Contributor page. (Photo from Monday's first practice session, courtesy of USF Bulls Football)
