TRAVIS TRICKETT
I’m leaning toward excited and I’ve got anticipation because all our pieces are not out there, the newness is off and it is a little off and adopting the verbiage and I’m excited to get out there and the guys are excited to get out there and they have some pride. The pieces are starting to come together but we are nowhere near where we need to be. I’m excited about the pieces and the mentality and the pieces coach Scott had in place are great and our offensive staff are great, when we get the pieces back that have been out, we will be pretty good.
Any transfer will be like me when Coach Scott reached out to me, when you get boots on the ground you see how close we are and you see the investment from top to bottom and you meet Michael Kelly and Coach Scott and the staff and you feel like you know, you get this feeling. The guys that transfer are looking for a place to find the right fit and we have to find.
Growing up as a coach’s kid, you do what your players do best, and everyone has an opinion of what your players do best, but you have to have your core beliefs, you’ve got to be able to adapt. Our system fits to this, our offense and what I believe in, you can adapt the offense, I’m 100-percent Jimmies and Joes, not Xs and Os, a DB and WR go down the field and the Jimmy and the Joe will make the play. We need to identify our best players and put them in spots to make plays and if there is a mismatch not in our favor minimize that. If we have weaknesses we can avoid those so it doesn’t bite us.
Every kid wants a clean slate and a fresh set of eyes, have you thought of doing this with this guy, in a room five guys are better than one, I want ideas. I can’t have an ego and that I know it all, you watch it and I let them write their story for me. I meet with kids one-on-one and I do not let coaches tell me anything about a kid first then we go out.
Timmy needs consistency, last year as a true freshman from Sanford Seminole a great HS, consistency and making decisions is the next thing. When he know what we are doing he is pretty good, but when the eyes wander then he struggles. The third thing is protecting the ball and being a distributor let the play make itself and make sure we have another down to play the ball and every drive ends with a kick. We have to protect the ball in the pocket, you have to get the ball out quickly. That is all young QBs. I love Timmy McClain and I love all our QBs, Timmy has such a good heart, now it is showing him how to do that on a daily basis and stacking days.
There have been ebbs and flows, but there has been a steady gain. We have a lot of pieces that are out, some guys got class or practice gets moved and guys are in class instead, all of the sudden the result of the play might not be the same. We want to be process-oriented and everyone is like kiss my rear end we want results, but we need to make plays. He explained a broken play that worked because the DB looked the wrong way at the last second, but the QB missed an open read and he had to show them where the ball should go. The WR room has stepped up and our young guys are no longer young guys, they are process-oriented and I’m excited about the pieces we are putting in place and a plan for summer and go into fall to take a step forward. We were able to keep the same system with terminology and there is no anxiety from the kids on that.
Byrum Brown, Katravis Marsh take the majority of the reps and Jordan Smith is out with an injury, Marsh has gotten better this spring and stacking days and understanding the habits it takes to be a QB, I say heavy is the head that wears the crown and sometimes you’ve got to be the QB and lead in every aspect across the board and he has improved in the last few weeks with that. He continues daily to attack for him and him getting comfortable with what I’m looking for, the first week he wasn’t sure and I’m different from the QB coaching in the past and I’m more like what he had at Miami Central. He has all the abilities in the world.
Byrum Brown is a young guy and EE and should be doing prom, he is an old soul. His favorite drink is milk and he drinks two gallons of it a week. His parents raised a great young man. You can coach him like an older guy and I hold him to the same standard, we’ve got really good guys in our room that are just young. They have to understand what it takes at this level to become a QB and be great
WR- AJOU AJOU
Why USF, that is a great question, honestly I chose USF because coach Scott recruited me to Clemson and he knew he was getting the job, he told me to go to Clemson because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I picked USF because I knew I could trust him, when I hit the portal he hit me up first and I knew where I needed to go. I played at CAI my senior year and I’m coming home.
On running down the hill at Clemson, I don’t think there is a comparison, those 20 seconds the moment you hop on the bus and you ride around the stadium and get off the bus it is awe and shock and being from Canada it was different.
Coach Trickett wants me to be consistent, to go out there and ball and I know who I am and what I can do and being me and just playing.
I’m a big guy, I play physically and to compare myself to another guy, I used to say I want to be like Julio Jones, but I want to be like Megatron (Calvin Johnson) it was 90/10 he would get it. Whatever is necessary, just put it in my vicinity and I’ll get it.
I’m named after my grandpa, it is a really long story but to cut it short, I have to explain it in my language but I was named after my grandpa who was super powerful and he carried himself a certain way and I’m supposed to this juice.
It is kind of the same as Clemson, tempo-wise and all of that, really just the off the field and making sure I’m straight. Spending time in Clearwater has made the transition easier for me.
RB- MICHEL DUKES
Really I just wanted as the caliber of player I am I needed to be on the field and with coach Cam and coach Scott here it was easier to come here and some things didn’t go as planned there.
I play RB and coach Bentley said I could move in the slot during the season and punt return and kick return.
The offense is really not that different, the calls and the signals are not that different it was easy to transition to USF and then coach Cam and the other RBs have really helped me hone in on the little things here to work on.
It was chilling going down the hill in Death Valley, but being a part of it was chilling and I tried not to fall, I took my time going down, I wish when I went there they still had the balloons that went up.
On Ajou Ajou, he brings a lot to the team, he is a nasty catch anything guy with a wide base and can block, he gets the team going, he will be a leader. He has been showing flashes early this spring and greatness and as the season goes along he will show it.
The biggest adjustment, hasn’t been football, just outside the school and my living situation, it is more city vibes and Clemson is more country with hills and trees, and USF feels like the beach with a city vibe, it reminds me of Charleston, SC where I’m from, it has been smooth.
OL- MIKE LOFTON
It is definitely a transition at least for me, I always wanted to go to USF, but I felt like UCF at the time was a better fit for me. The guys have done a great job of bringing me and the other transfers in and making us feel at home.
Right now I’m playing center and both guards, but mostly playing right guard.
Coach Mo is really good, he brings that fire and grit to OL, every play we need to put our heads down and work, he preaches we have to go to work every day, the best is the standard. It has been a transition and me getting reps now is really good, when we play BYU in September, I’ll be ready to go and seeing all the different looks from the D with blitzes and also gelling with the senior guys is really good for us in the long run and that will take us in those games late in November and December.
It is definitely an advantage going fast once we get that down pat it will be an advantage for us and knowing how to practice and play fast and elite attention to detail like coach Trickett said and we can read our keys.
I am a bay area guy and I grew up in Clearwater and went to school there, I always wanted to play here and my grandma was a season ticket holder from when I was young until my freshman year, so I’ve always wanted to come here.
The spring game to a player, we take it seriously and we want to take it like game day, but at the end of the day I want to increase where I’m at and treat it like a game, see if I am in shape and what I need to work on in the summertime and things I can do better and what I do well. You get a little more competition and pressure with people in RayJay, just trying to lock in on my technique and craft.
I think it could be center, we have a good freshman center Cole Best has been working with the two group, I really like him at center, but if it comes down to it I will play there. I’m learning from a good group Meech and Brad to get questions answered.
For me in the offseason working on flexibility and conditioning are things I can work on more and coach AJ will get us to work on. Coach Mo wants us to see in the OL room and seeing the blitzes and stunts and all of things he wants us to see to get us where we want to be.
I’m leaning toward excited and I’ve got anticipation because all our pieces are not out there, the newness is off and it is a little off and adopting the verbiage and I’m excited to get out there and the guys are excited to get out there and they have some pride. The pieces are starting to come together but we are nowhere near where we need to be. I’m excited about the pieces and the mentality and the pieces coach Scott had in place are great and our offensive staff are great, when we get the pieces back that have been out, we will be pretty good.
Any transfer will be like me when Coach Scott reached out to me, when you get boots on the ground you see how close we are and you see the investment from top to bottom and you meet Michael Kelly and Coach Scott and the staff and you feel like you know, you get this feeling. The guys that transfer are looking for a place to find the right fit and we have to find.
Growing up as a coach’s kid, you do what your players do best, and everyone has an opinion of what your players do best, but you have to have your core beliefs, you’ve got to be able to adapt. Our system fits to this, our offense and what I believe in, you can adapt the offense, I’m 100-percent Jimmies and Joes, not Xs and Os, a DB and WR go down the field and the Jimmy and the Joe will make the play. We need to identify our best players and put them in spots to make plays and if there is a mismatch not in our favor minimize that. If we have weaknesses we can avoid those so it doesn’t bite us.
Every kid wants a clean slate and a fresh set of eyes, have you thought of doing this with this guy, in a room five guys are better than one, I want ideas. I can’t have an ego and that I know it all, you watch it and I let them write their story for me. I meet with kids one-on-one and I do not let coaches tell me anything about a kid first then we go out.
Timmy needs consistency, last year as a true freshman from Sanford Seminole a great HS, consistency and making decisions is the next thing. When he know what we are doing he is pretty good, but when the eyes wander then he struggles. The third thing is protecting the ball and being a distributor let the play make itself and make sure we have another down to play the ball and every drive ends with a kick. We have to protect the ball in the pocket, you have to get the ball out quickly. That is all young QBs. I love Timmy McClain and I love all our QBs, Timmy has such a good heart, now it is showing him how to do that on a daily basis and stacking days.
There have been ebbs and flows, but there has been a steady gain. We have a lot of pieces that are out, some guys got class or practice gets moved and guys are in class instead, all of the sudden the result of the play might not be the same. We want to be process-oriented and everyone is like kiss my rear end we want results, but we need to make plays. He explained a broken play that worked because the DB looked the wrong way at the last second, but the QB missed an open read and he had to show them where the ball should go. The WR room has stepped up and our young guys are no longer young guys, they are process-oriented and I’m excited about the pieces we are putting in place and a plan for summer and go into fall to take a step forward. We were able to keep the same system with terminology and there is no anxiety from the kids on that.
Byrum Brown, Katravis Marsh take the majority of the reps and Jordan Smith is out with an injury, Marsh has gotten better this spring and stacking days and understanding the habits it takes to be a QB, I say heavy is the head that wears the crown and sometimes you’ve got to be the QB and lead in every aspect across the board and he has improved in the last few weeks with that. He continues daily to attack for him and him getting comfortable with what I’m looking for, the first week he wasn’t sure and I’m different from the QB coaching in the past and I’m more like what he had at Miami Central. He has all the abilities in the world.
Byrum Brown is a young guy and EE and should be doing prom, he is an old soul. His favorite drink is milk and he drinks two gallons of it a week. His parents raised a great young man. You can coach him like an older guy and I hold him to the same standard, we’ve got really good guys in our room that are just young. They have to understand what it takes at this level to become a QB and be great
WR- AJOU AJOU
Why USF, that is a great question, honestly I chose USF because coach Scott recruited me to Clemson and he knew he was getting the job, he told me to go to Clemson because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I picked USF because I knew I could trust him, when I hit the portal he hit me up first and I knew where I needed to go. I played at CAI my senior year and I’m coming home.
On running down the hill at Clemson, I don’t think there is a comparison, those 20 seconds the moment you hop on the bus and you ride around the stadium and get off the bus it is awe and shock and being from Canada it was different.
Coach Trickett wants me to be consistent, to go out there and ball and I know who I am and what I can do and being me and just playing.
I’m a big guy, I play physically and to compare myself to another guy, I used to say I want to be like Julio Jones, but I want to be like Megatron (Calvin Johnson) it was 90/10 he would get it. Whatever is necessary, just put it in my vicinity and I’ll get it.
I’m named after my grandpa, it is a really long story but to cut it short, I have to explain it in my language but I was named after my grandpa who was super powerful and he carried himself a certain way and I’m supposed to this juice.
It is kind of the same as Clemson, tempo-wise and all of that, really just the off the field and making sure I’m straight. Spending time in Clearwater has made the transition easier for me.
RB- MICHEL DUKES
Really I just wanted as the caliber of player I am I needed to be on the field and with coach Cam and coach Scott here it was easier to come here and some things didn’t go as planned there.
I play RB and coach Bentley said I could move in the slot during the season and punt return and kick return.
The offense is really not that different, the calls and the signals are not that different it was easy to transition to USF and then coach Cam and the other RBs have really helped me hone in on the little things here to work on.
It was chilling going down the hill in Death Valley, but being a part of it was chilling and I tried not to fall, I took my time going down, I wish when I went there they still had the balloons that went up.
On Ajou Ajou, he brings a lot to the team, he is a nasty catch anything guy with a wide base and can block, he gets the team going, he will be a leader. He has been showing flashes early this spring and greatness and as the season goes along he will show it.
The biggest adjustment, hasn’t been football, just outside the school and my living situation, it is more city vibes and Clemson is more country with hills and trees, and USF feels like the beach with a city vibe, it reminds me of Charleston, SC where I’m from, it has been smooth.
OL- MIKE LOFTON
It is definitely a transition at least for me, I always wanted to go to USF, but I felt like UCF at the time was a better fit for me. The guys have done a great job of bringing me and the other transfers in and making us feel at home.
Right now I’m playing center and both guards, but mostly playing right guard.
Coach Mo is really good, he brings that fire and grit to OL, every play we need to put our heads down and work, he preaches we have to go to work every day, the best is the standard. It has been a transition and me getting reps now is really good, when we play BYU in September, I’ll be ready to go and seeing all the different looks from the D with blitzes and also gelling with the senior guys is really good for us in the long run and that will take us in those games late in November and December.
It is definitely an advantage going fast once we get that down pat it will be an advantage for us and knowing how to practice and play fast and elite attention to detail like coach Trickett said and we can read our keys.
I am a bay area guy and I grew up in Clearwater and went to school there, I always wanted to play here and my grandma was a season ticket holder from when I was young until my freshman year, so I’ve always wanted to come here.
The spring game to a player, we take it seriously and we want to take it like game day, but at the end of the day I want to increase where I’m at and treat it like a game, see if I am in shape and what I need to work on in the summertime and things I can do better and what I do well. You get a little more competition and pressure with people in RayJay, just trying to lock in on my technique and craft.
I think it could be center, we have a good freshman center Cole Best has been working with the two group, I really like him at center, but if it comes down to it I will play there. I’m learning from a good group Meech and Brad to get questions answered.
For me in the offseason working on flexibility and conditioning are things I can work on more and coach AJ will get us to work on. Coach Mo wants us to see in the OL room and seeing the blitzes and stunts and all of things he wants us to see to get us where we want to be.
