TAMPA — Donovan Jennings has spent the past six years experiencing the ups and downs of USF football.
The Gaither High graduate's deal was announced on the same day in 2017 that the Bulls finished their second season with at least 10 wins. Jennings won the first seven games of his Bulls career, lost eight of his next 45, and turned things around with a 7-6 walk-off. He started at offensive tackle before breaking ground on the indoor practice facility and remained there long enough to have his recent pro day held inside the facility.
“I've certainly seen the ups and downs of this program, but last year was definitely good for laying the foundation for the new USF to come,” Jennings said. “I can’t wait to see what they have in store over the next few years.”
That's what's being built at practice fields and indoor facilities as USF continues into Alex Goresh's second spring. But exit interviews with Jennings and other departing Bulls explain how that foundation grew.
And more specifically, when.
“When Coach Goresh got here…” said Daquan Evans, defensive MVP of the Boca Raton Bowl blowout. “It's just changing the process, preparing properly and being a responsible person in life, as a human being on and off the field. Looking at that, and I'm sure you've all seen it, the overall progression of the season. When I saw that, I knew this program was headed in the right direction.”
Jennings felt a similar change last spring. While it wasn't just the coaching change from Jeff Scott, the change did refresh the locker room.
“You can feel a different energy in the air,” Jennings said. “The players expected to win on the day and expect to win in practice every day. That's kind of where I saw the culture flip, and just a change.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/2RU57G2ASVB5NN353TCECV2O7E.jpg "USF's indoor practice facility wasn't built when Donovan Jennings started his Bulls career, which culminated with his recent pro day there.")
Cornerback Braxton Clark noticed the change a few weeks after transferring from Nebraska. As summer practices progress toward preseason camp, the Orlando native found his responsibilities increased. Players no longer show up late or slack off completely.
“We just stepped up all the little things, and those little things led to big things and that was winning games,” Clark said.
But the biggest turning point was a game that USF didn't win.
“I would say the Alabama game turned our plans around,” Evans said.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/6UKDLULQBNCEFOA2ITELKQBA6Q.jpg "USF hung with mighty Alabama for four quarters in September.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/3KMXMNZYE5ATTCL2AYP224QPHU.png "Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene")
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Clark called the 17-3 loss, which was even closer than the score, “heartbreaking.” And that may be why this game has become so monumental.
It would have been easy to accept the result as a moral victory, a do-or-die game against a playoff-bound team led by the greatest coach in college football history. Goresh didn't see it that way.
“Moral victories go to the losers,” Goresh said publicly afterward. “Winners win.”
Clark said Goresh's message was the same behind closed doors. The point isn't that USF almost won.It's USF should won. And if the Bulls were supposed to win the premier program, why couldn't they play the rest of the schedule?
“At that point, we realized we actually had a decent team and could do something this year,” said Clark, an NFL prospect training at Athlete Innovations in Tampa. “You could see that people's motivation and determination were different at that point.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/2773A4VOFVFIXE4IMVG54ACSLY.jpg "Braxton Clark and the Bulls considered the Alabama loss a turning point for the program.")
This newfound determination carried them through the rest of the season, ending a four-year bowl drought. While this accomplished one of Jennings' goals, he and his outgoing teammates believe this is just a good starting point for the next step.
“They made it to a bowl game, so why can't they win a conference championship?” Clark said.
USF spring football game
Date and time: April 13th, 2:00 p.m.
Location: Corbett Stadium, USF Campus
More information: gousfbulls.com
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