Last season, the South Florida Bulls had one of their best seasons in school history returning kicks, including two touchdowns by Lindsey Lamar. But so far this season, USF hasn’t come close to 2010’s results, ranking 115th out of 120 FBS schools in kickoff return average with only 17.2 yards per return. Coach Skip Holtz knows the Bulls need to improve quickly, not just on their own returns but on defending the other team’s:
“Lindsey Lamar is a guy we have to get started,” Holtz said. “We’ve looked at some things, what we need to do on kickoff return, and I feel like we’re getting closer. We’ve made some personnel changes there. We’re making progress. We’re going in the right direction from a special-teams standpoint.”
Another place the Bulls need to find answers is in the punt return game, for a different reason. USF’s regular returner, Terrence Mitchell, is still recovering from a concussion he suffered making a tackle on a fake punt against UTEP, and will not play this Saturday. This leaves some slim pickings as a replacement. Against PIttsburgh, Evan Landi fielded the few punts the USF defense was able to force, but he isn’t much of a threat to return them. Neither is Victor Marc, another option for Holtz. The other choice is freshman receiver Andre Davis, but no matter who ends up back there, it might be a sore spot for the Bulls until Mitchell is able to return to action.