TAMPA — It never gets old.
This week, the USF football team surprised former walk-ons Sean Atkins and Isaiah Cromarty by putting them on full scholarship.
You can watch the video here:
"I was kinda standing in the back, and I had a little bit of a heads up of it," said Bulls offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. "So I was making sure to watch Sean [Atkins] the second that coach [Jeff] Scott told him that they were on scholarship. I just got to see his face. Kinda, jaw-dropped-to the floor. It just warms the heart."
The Bulls have their third preseason scrimmage this weekend, and one of the players can't wait to try and grab the starting running back spot. Sarasota-native Brian Battie is entering his second season at USF. He capped his rookie campaign with a career-high 102 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 2020 season finale shootout loss to Central Florida.
"[The UCF game] Showed me that I could break tackles, make people miss, outrun players," Battie said after practice. "That UCF game definitely boosted my confidence a lot. Not too much, just enough to make me get that knowing that I can do it."
Despite losing four receivers, two running backs, and the top two quarterbacks from last year's team, Coach Weis isn't going to change the team's fast-paced philosophy.
"That’s definitely going to be one of the principles of what we do," Weis said. "Both myself in the past and coach Scott at Clemson. We’ve been up-tempo teams. We definitely are going to be an up-tempo offense and get things rolling with that."
USF opens the season Thursday, September 2nd at North Carolina State.
