Post by dehayes35 on Sept 27, 2007 10:24:56 GMT -5
Bulls Preparing For Speed Week
By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com
No. 5 West Virginia runs an offense that defenses don't see any other week of the season. It's part option, part spread and all scoring, all the time.
It's not the Mountaineers' scheme, however, that has South Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney and his best player, defensive end George Selvie, concerned about Friday night's matchup between the 18th-ranked Bulls and West Virginia in Tampa (ESPN2, 8 ET).
"West Virginia has speed, lots of speed," said Selvie, the nation's leader in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (15). "I'm hoping to play fast ball and be relentless and swarm to the ball."
That is speed with quarterback Pat White, speed with tailback Steve Slaton, more speed with Slaton's freshman backup, Noel Devine, and speed on the perimeter with wide receiver Darius Reynaud.
Selvie, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound sophomore, understands what he must do against the Mountaineers. He played center on an option offense at Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest High. Selvie understands that White will look at him to decide what to do. He has seen White, who grew up 40 miles west of Selvie in Daphne, Ala., before.
"The scheme is really good," Selvie said. "Most teams don't really run with the quarterback. West Virginia will run. I know why. We played Daphne my sophomore and junior years in high school. Pat White had speed then. He was a good player. I knew exactly where he had come from. He committed to LSU, then switched. When he played, I knew how he was going to do."
There's another reason the eyes of all 'Eers will be on Selvie. Last November, Selvie arrived as a defensive force against West Virginia. He had 3.5 sacks, forced a fumble and returned another one nine yards for a touchdown in South Florida's 24-19 road upset. That loss ended the Mountaineers' bid for the Big East championship and a BCS bowl.
Not bad for a guy in his first season as a defensive lineman.
After Selvie played his redshirt season on the offensive line, the coaches approached him about moving across the line of scrimmage. Selvie understood that if he made the switch, he wouldn't have to add 25 pounds or more to get on the field. But if anyone had understood how effective Selvie would be, he never would have spent the 2005 season on the Bulls' scout offense.
Selvie has come into his own under McCarney, in his first year at South Florida after being forced out last November as head coach at Iowa State. McCarney praised the sophomore's ability to work and his willingness to learn. McCarney said he has stressed to Selvie that, like a pitcher on the baseball diamond, he's got to have more than one out pitch.
"I want him to reload with his hands," McCarney said. "When that first move doesn't work, don't stop your feet. Reload with your hands. I want to see that if he uses a swim move, or a rip, or a speed rush, that he goes to another one, that he has a second move ready without thinking about it. It's a motion, rather than one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two."
Selvie and the rest of the Bulls won't have time to think against the Mountaineers' speed. The South Florida defense will have to be disciplined. So will its coaches.
"Don't ask somebody to do something that physically they can't do," McCarney said. "We've seen some good examples of that and some bad examples of that breaking down tape of their [West Virginia's] first four games."
South Florida proved last year that it can physically stop West Virginia. The question Friday night is whether the Bulls can do it again.
By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com
No. 5 West Virginia runs an offense that defenses don't see any other week of the season. It's part option, part spread and all scoring, all the time.
It's not the Mountaineers' scheme, however, that has South Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney and his best player, defensive end George Selvie, concerned about Friday night's matchup between the 18th-ranked Bulls and West Virginia in Tampa (ESPN2, 8 ET).
"West Virginia has speed, lots of speed," said Selvie, the nation's leader in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (15). "I'm hoping to play fast ball and be relentless and swarm to the ball."
That is speed with quarterback Pat White, speed with tailback Steve Slaton, more speed with Slaton's freshman backup, Noel Devine, and speed on the perimeter with wide receiver Darius Reynaud.
Selvie, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound sophomore, understands what he must do against the Mountaineers. He played center on an option offense at Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest High. Selvie understands that White will look at him to decide what to do. He has seen White, who grew up 40 miles west of Selvie in Daphne, Ala., before.
"The scheme is really good," Selvie said. "Most teams don't really run with the quarterback. West Virginia will run. I know why. We played Daphne my sophomore and junior years in high school. Pat White had speed then. He was a good player. I knew exactly where he had come from. He committed to LSU, then switched. When he played, I knew how he was going to do."
There's another reason the eyes of all 'Eers will be on Selvie. Last November, Selvie arrived as a defensive force against West Virginia. He had 3.5 sacks, forced a fumble and returned another one nine yards for a touchdown in South Florida's 24-19 road upset. That loss ended the Mountaineers' bid for the Big East championship and a BCS bowl.
Not bad for a guy in his first season as a defensive lineman.
After Selvie played his redshirt season on the offensive line, the coaches approached him about moving across the line of scrimmage. Selvie understood that if he made the switch, he wouldn't have to add 25 pounds or more to get on the field. But if anyone had understood how effective Selvie would be, he never would have spent the 2005 season on the Bulls' scout offense.
Selvie has come into his own under McCarney, in his first year at South Florida after being forced out last November as head coach at Iowa State. McCarney praised the sophomore's ability to work and his willingness to learn. McCarney said he has stressed to Selvie that, like a pitcher on the baseball diamond, he's got to have more than one out pitch.
"I want him to reload with his hands," McCarney said. "When that first move doesn't work, don't stop your feet. Reload with your hands. I want to see that if he uses a swim move, or a rip, or a speed rush, that he goes to another one, that he has a second move ready without thinking about it. It's a motion, rather than one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two."
Selvie and the rest of the Bulls won't have time to think against the Mountaineers' speed. The South Florida defense will have to be disciplined. So will its coaches.
"Don't ask somebody to do something that physically they can't do," McCarney said. "We've seen some good examples of that and some bad examples of that breaking down tape of their [West Virginia's] first four games."
South Florida proved last year that it can physically stop West Virginia. The question Friday night is whether the Bulls can do it again.
