USF Football Radio Show 10.5.22

welcome to another edition of the USF football radio show The Traveling Bulls are on the road again going to Cincinnati this time fourth straight game away from Raymond James Stadium as they take on the Bearcats 2 30 kickoff on Saturday head coach Jeff Scott joins us coach during the week you talked about when things maybe aren't quite going the way you would prefer what do you do you go back to work and you work even harder and that's what the Bulls have done this week yeah absolutely you know obviously uh very disappointed with our uh you know game last week with ECU and you know the guy showed back up over here Sunday afternoon and we took time you know you don't just move on and throw it away you know you got to learn from the lessons from the mistakes that we made and and so we addressed it you know as a team went through all of the film and watched it and the guys you know did a good job of being coachable and taking notes and then uh you know they had their off day they get one off day a week they have their off day for football on Monday and that's a day for coaches to start game planning for our upcoming opponent and then uh got back to work over here Tuesday with meetings and practice and then again today on Wednesday and and uh you know I like how the guys have responded I mean that's the first the first part of uh you know responding the right way is to show up and go back to work and you know that's what I could say obviously we're not happy with the results through our first five games but one thing I am proud of is the guys continue to show up they go to work it's important to them they're disappointed but they're continuing to to work and do what they need to do to be able to improve so we can you know have some much better results here in the second half of the season one thing that we saw against CCU that that also happened Louisville and BYU very slow start in the first half and you had to dig out of a hole as you analyze those games what do you see about the first half that you can correct to get a better start yeah you know I've studied that a lot I'm trying to look at what we do uh you know at the hotels oh that morning and try to look at you know what time we eat our pre-game meal and how we do our meetings and all those things and you know I wish there was something easy that we could just say oh we think this is it and at the end of the day the other teams we've played have executed better in the first half than we have and that's not a a fun thing to say that's not a relevating deal but it's really you know as a coach you could tell when your guys are mentally into it and all that I haven't felt that the guys haven't been into it the mistakes that we've made I don't feel like is because the guys haven't been into it it's just the other team made the plays and we didn't so I think the the message is we've got to be ready to execute at a higher level in the first half and quite honestly I think part of it is the other team gets up in the first half and they probably relax a little bit the second half and and we go out there and play and we do better in the second half because we execute better in the second half than they do I mean I think that's really what it is but you know obviously the the hole that we're digging ourselves in the first half is really hurting us because you know we can see how again you know the second half of of this past game Saturday you know we played at a level that would have allowed us to to compete and win the game and so you know we got to find a way to be able to execute better in the first half but unfortunately I don't see anything that we're doing leading up to the game that's kind of this aha moment at the end of the day we've just got to execute better and it's difficult playing from behind as much as the Bulls have this season it's not like you throw out your game plan but there are certainly adjustments you have to make when you get into a situation like that yeah definitely and you know again we got to kind of figure out how we can get our guys to to play at that level a little bit earlier you know in the game so that we're not in that situation but yeah there's no doubt and I think you also learn from right I mean you go out there and in the first half we gave up a lot of touchdowns versus Man coverage well we figured that out in the second half uh with the guys that we had out in the secondary uh probably don't need to be playing man coverage as much as we were there in the first half and so you do learn a little bit from the first half and make some adjustments and you know I do feel that uh you know we made some good adjustments and then the guys obviously executed better in the second half but yeah ultimately uh we're gonna have to get that figured out earlier in these ball games you certainly showed an ability to move the ball more effectively and I'm I know having Jimmy Horton and Xavier Weaver helps that so offensively do you did you feel like you turned a little bit of a corner there and you're moving forward in a better Direction yeah I think especially with the passing game right that was something that you know in our first four games really didn't feel like we've gotten in Rhythm throwing the ball I know a big part of that was you know Jimmy and Weaver and offering those guys kind of being out and uh just a lot of different lineups you know with the Louisville game the week before but yeah I thought that part was positive and then again I think the drives that we had there in the second half with you know four we had all only four times there in the second half and uh you know three touchdowns on the first three drives and then you know had an opportunity and should have punched it in for the fourth and final drive that we had so I think um you know overall uh there's been times where we've shown that we can run the ball and there's been times that we've shown that we can throw the ball But ultimately we've got to kind of put all that together and then the other piece is the turnovers right it was a positive that you know we didn't throw any interceptions we threw the ball a good bit and had success but had no interceptions but the negative was you know we fumbled the ball there on the two yard line that was a a critical uh you know turnover that really you know kind of allowed the score that was a 14 point turnover right we turned the ball over there and then they drove the ball down and scored and those are hard to overcome in these uh close games and we talked with uh Daquan Bowers and talked about some of the positives that show up on the stats defensively sacks are up tackles for loss are up just kind of a level of consistency that hasn't quite been there yeah I think overall defensively probably the positive from that game was uh you know how we played up front that was something you know we really did not play very well the week before against Louisville up front and you know just talked about the defensive line getting off blocks and being able to shed blockers and get in the backfield and be able to stop the running game and you know I think uh you know East Carolina had maybe 40 yards rushing in the first half and then you know we held them to 110 and and I know they they threw the ball that's what we got to be able to stop the pass right they have success there but they did they did try to run the ball 30 times and I think we held them to 110 yards on 30 carries and so that right there was Improvement something that we can you know build from uh but you know obviously the other side of that is we have to do a better job in the passing game through the air Jeff when you were at Clemson obviously you guys won a ton of games you didn't lose too many and now you're in a situation where you're fighting adversity almost weekly how how has that affected you personally what have you learned about yourself and how do you translate that to your kids who are also fighting adversity yeah well you know the first thing that you know I told our guys our coaches and our players on Sunday is you know we got to stay the course right we've invested a lot of work and our players have invested a lot of work throughout the off season to get ready for the season and like we said hey we knew this was going to be a challenging start to the season we knew our non-conference schedule was was going to be a big challenge um and then obviously we've had some some injuries and and I think that's kind of hurt some things but at the end of the day we have seen progress in what we've done in our practices and our preparation and just the overall culture of our team and we cannot allow the poor start that we've had to uh get us to want to throw our hands up or or just try to go you know change everything that we're doing you know I think you know I've said it before you got to trust the process and not rush the process a lot of times we want to rush it we want to see it right now but you know unfortunately when you are in a rebuilding mode the last part of that process is the success on the field right and that's what we all want right now and that's what creates the frustration but just like I you know said earlier in the week in the press conference you know we could have played a different non-conference schedule and we'd have the same exact uh flaws that we have right now the same things we have to work on but we may be three and two and we may be feeling Sky High and so the only thing that would be different really would be you know the things that we can control with our mindset and so I think that's the biggest thing is to continue to show up continue to do the things that we're doing the things that you believe in obviously we're going to come back each week and critique each and every decision and critique you know what we're doing and how we can do things better but I think the worst thing that you can do in these situations is just all of a sudden start changing everything and you know kind of lose the foundation that you're building you play the schedule that's handed to you and everybody who knows college football knows that schedules get made years and years and years in advance might be different administrators different coaches different position for the program and then sometimes when the day of these games come up it's it's a different situation and you just have to fight through it yeah and I think you know again we've talked about it a lot what I'll tell our players and coaches all the time as they control what you can control right and you know there wasn't anything we could do about obviously if there was you know somebody would had a crystal ball and knew that we would have been in the situation we're in going into the season then maybe you would have uh you know looked at trying to do some different things but you know these schedules were made five and seven years ago and uh and at the end of the day you play your schedule that you have right and and I've never been one before I got here and now that I'm here I've never been one to to make excuses or look for excuses but at the end of the day you know you have to have perspective as well I think that's important and that's really what I want our players to understand is yeah we're not happy I'm not happy with our record we're not happy with with how we've played some of these games but let's don't walk around here like we've lost four games that we were favored to win I mean we were 15.00 dogs in just about every or more in every one of those games and we didn't play well enough to upset these teams that were heavily favored against us and so let's don't walk around like we've just you know screwed this whole thing up now can we play better did we have opportunities to pull off some of one of these upsets against absolutely and we're frustrated by that but at the end of the day we need to control we can control you know we've got seven more games ahead of us and you know I firmly believe in this team I believe in this coaching staff and I believe if our guys will uh if we as coaches and players we'll find ways to to correct the mistakes that we've made then there's going to be you know a lot of exciting games and exciting moments and successes uh here before the season is over and one thing I know you've talk to your players about about the adversity you know whether you're a football player whether you're in business whether you have a family life's hard yeah and and it's it's sometimes it's easy to succumb sometimes it's easy to throw up the white towel and quit and I know you you say you haven't seen that from your team and it's a hard thing to do for all of us on a daily basis to keep showing up but you see that in your team yeah absolutely that's what I told our team you know obviously like I said we're all disappointed but the one thing that that we can hang our hat on right now is is our guys haven't quit I mean they show up each and every day and it's not just been a tough start to the season I mean we got seniors that have been through some really tough seasons for the last four and five years and they're still here and they still show up and they still come in with an attitude that we're going to change it this week and I think you know what I've told our guys is you know that's that's the great thing about the game of football is there's a lot of lessons that you learn in football that you're going to be able to carry off into life and what I hope and you know part of the reason that I love being a coach is you know taking situations just like this and then seeing a group that instead of splitting up and splintering and and people quitting and going different directions come closer together right work together for a common goal be able to find success and that's the most rewarding success that you can have is when you're coming off some very difficult adversity that you've overcome and then I want our guys 5 10 15 years from now when they're in their own you know personal life and their own jobs and their families and they're going through adversity you know I I hope that they can look back to you know that those years there at USF when we're going through it and when I wanted to quit but man we stuck together we continue to believe we continued and we got to the other side and I think you know that's what this game of football can teach you but you know there's no doubt I mean there's uh it's easier to quit probably now in college sports than ever before with the portal and so many other things and uh and I've just told our guys as long as we don't do that as long as we continue show up each and every day then you know there's good things ahead of us and and again I think a good sign is uh seeing how our guys play in the second half right I mean you go from from what the Louisville game was and then all of a sudden what the first half was against ECU you know uh there's probably a lot of people out there that you know turn the TV off uh probably rightfully so in some some reasons but you know the guys came back and we outscored them 21-7 right and uh if we wouldn't have dug ourselves such a big hole there in the first half you know we'd had an opportunity there in the second half but I've seen some windows and signs throughout the week and even in the second half of some of these games to know that this group's not going to quit they're going to continue to strive and and we've just got to you know add some execution to go with the the uh persistence and resilience that they've shown all right Big Challenge big opportunity for the Bulls this weekend they go to Cincinnati to play the Bearcats we'll talk about that match up when we return on the USF football radio network welcome back to USF football radio show our coverage Saturday begins at 12 30. kickoff 2 30 historic nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati for the Bulls and the Bearcats continuing along with head coach Jeff Scott coach we look at the Cincinnati team historic success for them last year they look every bit as good this year what do they do that makes them so successful yeah that's a a great question they do an excellent job number one of recruiting and developing their players you know they had nine draft picks NFL draft picks off that team last year and when you turn on the video now you wouldn't you wouldn't think that they've done a really good job of kind of putting the next guys in and defensively they've got 23 sacks on the season in five games that's good enough for number one in the country and offensively the quarterback that's come in has done an excellent job he's thrown for close close to 1400 yards already in the first five games and you know they're very confident they've they've done an excellent job so far in the season and I think this will be you know one of the biggest challenges that we'll have all season when you go to a team that's picked to win the conference that's coming off a college football playoffs some people would say oh my gosh what a what a tough task this is but for your team could this actually be something that could lead you up a few levels to play in that environment against this type of competition maybe you'll you'll rise to their level yeah I think if you probably look at the beginning of our season or our best game or maybe best performance so far was on the road at the University of Florida a great environment it gets an excellent team and I think this is going to be a similar quality team as far as the talent and then you know great environment there my only other time at Cincinnati was during 2020 during the coveted year and they couldn't have fans and now when I watch it on you know the video and all that you see their Stadium's full so there's no no doubt it'll be another it seems like we've been in a lot of these atmospheres and on the road a good bit so this will be a another big challenge but you know for us I mean we're looking forward to the opportunity to go and play and you know I look back at at last year uh whenever we played them here at our place you know we were down 10 points in the fourth quarter with the ball opportunity to go score and make it a three-point game late in the fourth quarter you know and that was you know that was with the team that went 13-1 and met the college football playoff and so I think our guys know that we're capable uh now we're going to have to play extremely well and definitely correct some of the mistakes that have you know held us back here these first few games but our guys will definitely uh be excited about the opportunity this Saturday so blitzing and the sacks by Cincinnati pretty eye-opening and here are the Bulls with some offensive line guys out we were so encouraged to see Demetrius Harris come back in the game against East Carolina after being injured but with Donovan out there's there's going to be some guys that really need to step up on the offensive line in this matchup yeah we're hoping to get meech back he's been able to do some things in practice we'll know a little bit more as it gets closer but yeah there's no question looking at this uh defensive front they're very skilled at really both the inside and outside guys their linebackers are great blitzers one unique stat that I don't know if I've ever seen before eight of their 11 starters on defense that's counting all 11 positions but eight of the 11 starters all have at least one sack and so they're bringing a lot of pressure from a lot of different places number one thing is you can't get in third long if you get in third and long you're in a lot of trouble and you know you got to find ways to get the ball out quickly and uh you know there hasn't been anybody that's had success really dropping back and just you know using five offensive lineman and a running back you know that their their defensive front has done a really good job even rushing three versus some of those sets so we're going to have to be uh really smart with what we ask our guys to do and and find ways to move the chains on first and second down so that we're not in a lot of these third long situations so when you go to a different Stadium it's kind of a unique historic Place they've had great success they haven't lost a home game there since 2017 29 in a row some people would look at that oh what a challenge but I imagine that's a pretty good opportunity if you could have success that would be a Monumental victory yeah absolutely and uh anytime that there's a challenge and we've faced plenty of those already with every challenge as you flip it over and it becomes a great opportunity and uh and obviously I think that speaks to the success that they've had as a program I believe they've only lost three games maybe in the last three years so you know coach fickle and his staff have done an excellent job with their team but yeah I didn't know that stat until now so I'll have to add that to my PowerPoint for Friday night you have a great a great opportunity ahead of you I appreciate it that's right well the other challenge too now four in a row away from Raymond James Stadium that sure didn't feel like a home game last week yeah and I do appreciate Florida Atlantic University allowing us to come down and be able to play the game but yeah there's no question I'll be I know our guys will be looking forward to getting back home to Ray J uh next week after this one uh but yeah that's kind of part of the process you got to go on the road and uh you know I think four in a row is definitely probably unusual in some circumstances but you know I'll be very happy to get back to Ray J when that opportunity comes we're early in the conference season some things have yet to develop but I know Cincinnati was uh everybody knew how good they were and they are good but any kind of sense for how the conference is starting to shake out I mean I think a lot of people think maybe this you know maybe there's not that dominant team or there's a lot of opportunities for teams to move up this year yeah I think that um there's a lot a lot more parity probably within the league I don't think you have um you know just that one team Beam at the top I mean you can look at obviously Tulane is who we have as our next opponent after Cincinnati's having a great start to their season and you're seeing you know a lot of success and I think that's just shows the strength of our league and really where it is and and that also shows you're gonna have to show up each and every week because you know every team that we play from here on out is going to be uh you know really talented and very capable and uh you know I think again it's great to be in a league where there's the parody that I believe that we're going to have this season coach thanks we're looking forward to it Saturday in Cincinnati thank you head coach Jeff Scott stay with us much more to come as the Bulls and Bearcats get ready for a Saturday afternoon date in Cincinnati on the USF football radio network welcome back to USF football radio show Bulls on the road again this week Cincinnati 2 30 kickoff at nippert Stadium Bulls defensive line coach to Quan Bowers joins us now coach you uh had kind of a rebuild on this defensive line heading into the season you've got some results seven sacks there's 35 tackles for loss from this team so far that's all of the defensive unit obviously but it also shows some progress on the defensive line does it not absolutely no that's the kudos to the guys that we brought in for believing in the system and also kudos to coach Bob Shu for what he does defensively as a scheme you know I personally believe that this defense is no defensive line friendly gives us opportunities to create Havoc is what we call it in negative plays so you know like the guys have been doing a great job we just got to be consistent with that that a couple of guys you brought in particularly touring Hansford Rashad Cheney from Hansford from Missouri Cheney from Minnesota and played at Big Time programs have come down and have played a lot of ball for you what kind of impact have those guys made on your d-line you know obviously what they bring physicality wise to the defensive line and then you know who they are as people you know they're great leaders in their own different ways you know jetoria is not a very vocal guy he leads by example you know every day that kid shows up he's got a smile on his face he's ready to attack the day and he's working on his craft the same with uh Rashad you know they do such a great job a great job of believing into the scheme and buying into the process and trying to be detail-oriented you know that's what makes defense alignment you know when you're tired reverting back to your details and staying focused on the tasks at hand and these guys have been doing a great job you know we appreciate those guys that transferred in and what they bring leadership wise in you know as far as their attributions on the field college football world has changed so much with the transfer portal the good news is you had chance to really reload this defensive line roster the challenge perhaps though you have guys coming in from literally all over the country how difficult how challenging is it to build a cohesive unit when you have new guys coming in like this you know I think it's uh it's a little bit of both I think it can be a challenge and I also think at the same time you know we're we're trying to accomplish one goal and that's be better football players at the end of the day wherever they are in the country at the other universities they're playing football there's no difference here there may be a little difference in the standard and how we do things in terminology wise but at the end of the day it's all about playing ball playing football and being productive and you know these guys have brought into the process and it's my job to continue to bring them along as their coach and have find ways and be creative to get them in the best situation to be productive Nikon your background you were the the top recruit in the country coming out of high school you're an All-American at Clemson and you played in the NFL you've done all these things that all your guys want to do so I imagine they're going to listen to what you say so how do you translate your experiences to them obviously they're going to respect what you've done how are they affected by it and how do you kind of use your background to teach them you know that's a great question I think um because I've played the position and played it at the highest level I get where they're coming from a lot of the time you know things happen fast and I tell my guys all the time you know our job is our job but I never want to slow you down from playing fast so a lot of the times you're supposed to be in one Gap and you may see something faster and drift another Gap you know that's that's not what we're teaching but I understand it and I think they respect it that I get their point of views a lot of time having played it and haven't played it at the the highest level and being in those situations a lot of times you know so we've got great guys we've got smart guys and we're building a lot of reps a lot of Bank reps and getting veterans in that know what they're doing and and can play fast so I really really like you know that aspect of it of having my vision and seeing them do the former Coach's Eye and also understanding that perspective from a former player's eye as well when you're recruiting obviously there's a level of physical Talent you're looking for what are the mental attributes that you're looking for that make you stop and think all right this is a guy that can help us you know I I actually I looking into it as more of a you know a challenge for myself because at the end of the day you know d-line is a physical position you know I think we all understand and we know that it's one of the only positions on the field that you're going to hit and bang every play but in order to do that you got to have the right mindset you've got to come from a place that you understand what's required of you as a defensive lineman and you've got to approach it that way every day it's a hard position one of the hardest to play in football because of that reason you're banging every day and some days you can't be high some days you can't be low you got to be consistent daily bringing an edge and ready to compete you know because the day that you don't you know you lose a step you know we can't afford to take take step us backwards we got to bring the same intensity and focus every day and that starts with how you think and wake up in the morning time how you approach the day you know Tuesday practice is hard it's hard for defense alignment on Wednesday you know there's no difference for defense alignment between you know what we call shells of just having uppers on in the full pass you know we're banging each and every day so we've got to accept that and understand that that's our job and it's one of the requirements and our guys do a great in a phenomenal job with that that's approaching East task one day at a time one rep at a time and you know that's what it's all about staying focused on what you're trying to accomplish right then and there you know it's keeping your head down overall the big picture will come to you know come to come to light sooner or later when did it occur to you that you wanted to be a coach and by that I mean you know a lot of guys who play at the highest level great players it's not maybe what they're looking for and it's not for everybody and uh so wearing your process did you decide that hey you could you could make an impact and something you want to do you know early on in my college career I kind of had a you know a liken to the plays and understanding where everybody fits and I think that ultimately led to me having a pretty decent college career but I would say you know more on the later end of my pro career where I really started to dial in to understand you know what offense we're doing you know the concepts they were trying to get done and the Run schemes the things that they were trying to get accomplished you know and then being a defensive guy seeing what would work against that and things like that and I kind of just fell into it and I I distinctly remember my last year playing football I was in the CFL and I happened to be injured at the time so I couldn't dress and I was just sitting back you know in meetings with the coordinators and things like that and on game day I was able to kind of see from their perspective of why they were doing things and what certain looks meant for certain situations and things like that and I just honestly fell in love with it and then at the end of the day you know I've been fortunate enough to play at the highest level and I want to give everything that I've been able to accomplish and learn whether it's the good the bad the ugly I want to pour that into my players I want to pour that into my eyes to help them you know reach that potential whether it's on the field or off the field you know I have The Good the Bad and I want them to experience that through me you know you don't have to touch the stove to know as hot if coach is telling you it's hot that type of thing it must take some level of patience though for a guy like you as you work with young men not everybody can do what you did on the football field absolutely and I think that's what makes great coaches finding out what your guys are good at finding out what they struggle with and then putting them in the best situation for the teams to succeed and then for them to have some individual success as well you know and I don't expect my guys to be me you know I expect them to give their best and at the end of the day whatever their best is and aligned with the technique and fundamentals you know I'm fine with that the one thing I I will I will harp on constantly is effort because I don't think that you have to be a five-star or the biggest sort of fastest to give phenomenal effort so if you ask my guys that's the one thing in our room that's a non-negotiable your effort yeah sometimes guys are bigger than you sometimes guys are stronger than you and we strain to compete in that aspect of the game but at the same time every day it's a competition and more than likely you're keeping competing with yourself more than anybody else so staying locked in on the task understanding what you're trying to do and not trying to be somebody else just being yourself and playing the game one step at a time I think fans when they think of defensive lineman they're going to think of the most aggressive guys on the on the field as you mentioned just the physical position these guys that uh that that just impose their will but as you go into your room or these lots of different personalities you're dealing with absolutely absolutely everybody brings their own personality to the defensive line you know I was speaking about Tori earlier his personality is he's not going to talk he's going to be about his business and that's how he leads you know he shows up daily he grinds he doesn't say much but every rep you see him in he's full speed he's being violent he's he's given effort to the ball and other guys see that then you have another guy you know that may be more vocal and at the same time he's given the same kind of effort in practice but he's encouraging guys hey man come on come on let's get it you know do what you got to do right here just that type of thing and holding each other accountable you know but the guys have such a great camaraderie and that's and that's a you know know a testament to how they adapted in the spring of coming together as a unit and understanding that it's going to take each and every person in that room for them all to be successful coach we appreciate your time today have a great trip to Cincinnati going to be a big challenge but a great opportunity as well looking forward to it thank you guys for having me as always defensive line coach Daquan Bowers more on the defensive line coming up Rashad Chaney with us later in the show we're back after this on the USF football radio network welcome back to USF football radio show bulls and Cincinnati 2 30 kick on Saturday at nippard stadium and then USF back home for Tulane the following week we were talking on the defensive line this show we talked with Daquan Bowers earlier now we welcome in Rashad Cheney transfer first year bull making a big difference on the Bulls defensive line Rashad thanks for joining us you guys feel like you're making some progress now we're seeing the sacks we're seeing the tackles for lost as it kind of feel like it's coming together a little bit uh yeah especially after the last game um the d-line we finally realized like how dominant we can be um I feel like that kind of boosted it boosted the confidence in the room and it's like we got to practice Sunday it's like we want to take the next step because at the end of the day we come back and watch film there was nowhere near our best we still had missed assignments or we stay ever had a place where we could have made and it just like that made us more hungry to want to make more players and to play that type of dumb in the game and to go back and watch the family and we realized like it's still not put together so I feel like that gang gave us the confidence and moving forward we're gonna make the best of it Rashad you're from Atlanta at one time you had committed to Alabama you went to Minnesota and now you've transferred here to USF could you just speak about your journey through college football and all the places you've been and how it led to you being here at USF yeah so out of high school 2019 I went to Minnesota um PJ flip long that was the head coach who's still there now a great guy um he's the main reason I went there um especially after the year with a year that I was going out of graduating um the season that they had and they was turning things around up there and that was like the first year like 20 some years they beat Wisconsin and he had like that was the youngest team in college football and to see like the the production that they was having and all the guys coming back and it was just like I can go up there and play early and um me and my dad went on a visit and we was like yeah this this the spot that's where I want to go um things probably didn't go the way that I figured that they would go in Minnesota one thing I can say I learned a lot from PJ flip he runs a great program he taught me a lot not just about football but off the field as well he taught me things that I still use to this day and so um I turned I want to return for come um somewhere close to home but not too close and um I entered the portal and um um I want to say uh coach shoot he had just got hired he hit me up and we got on a zoom call and then I already knew Antonio Greer and so it was just like it wasn't easy I mean it wasn't hard to say that I want to come here and I knew like the record and stuff it was like I'm not worried about that it's a new year I know I want to go somewhere where the coaches they still believe and I felt like I felt as if this is the program for me and I um I don't regret making this decision so defensive line was a position of emphasis for this program between Seasons to to get some players in and to make some changes and as a result a lot of the transfer portal transfers were defensive linemen what's the mix of players like what's the camaraderie like with a lot of guys in their first year here coming from all sorts of different parts of the country oh it's funny you asked me that I feel as if the d-line no matter what school you got all type of different guys I feel like everybody can um every position could say like the d-line always how I got they might call weird or whatever it's all type of personalities into that room but at the end of the day we all have one goal when we step on the field and let's go out there and compete so no matter no matter what type of person you are off the field at the end of the day you're gonna come on that field we got one go before we leave out that meeting room we break it down we work work hard on three or whatever because that's the goal so no matter the type of person you are you're gonna do everybody in that room what you're doing you gonna work Rashad you'd mentioned your father I know he he's had a great influence on you uh he was very proud when you graduated high school and certainly he he knows uh you know once you get an education here could you speak about the influence he has had on you and what he thinks of of what you're doing here at USF um I've been with my dad my whole life and person I always looked up to he may have not accomplished Norm nowhere near the things that I've done but to the day I look up to him because at the end of the day I look at him I can say that's a man he did he did whatever he had to do for me growing up like he worked hard for me he gave me the last his last just to make sure that I'm doing good or whatever so I respect that that's one thing I took from is how to raise my my child when I had one one day and um just he don't really care about the football to be honest he want me to get my degree that's all he stressed graduation graduation the football will come if that's what God wanted me to do by the next step in life but um he's just really happy I'm getting a free degree and make the best out of it what kind of an adjustment has it been to come to Tampa obviously your Southeastern guy growing up in Atlanta but at the same time this is a lot different than Minnesota it's got to be a little bit of a weather Challenge and a little bit of a cultural change as well um it felt as if I um lived in the top of my whole life really it kind of reminded me to remind me of Atlanta back home and I've been in Atlanta my whole life I went to Minnesota for about three years only thing I can say that's really different than Minnesota is the weather but that's really it's a big difference a little bit of a yeah isn't it I'm kind of happy to be back somewhere to where it's hotter instead of walking the class in the snowstorm so Rashad as as you come to USF you you kind of have a reunion here with Antonio Greer the linebacker you're both from Atlanta uh you guys met when you were four or five years old at the at the child care facility uh just as almost babies what what was that like and what's it like to be back with him uh as your teammate oh so not only we went to the same daycare or whatever but we also play um little league football together so that's been a guy I grew up with my whole life I would spend days at his house he would spend days at Mom's my dad he also my dad used to work at the daycare as well so we um my dad had a good relationship with his parents and so my whole life is Judgment like that's my older brother somebody who kind of like took me under his wing we didn't go to the same high school or whatever but we always stayed in contact like I said we grew up together and so like like I said my decision to come here like he had a bit like he was a bit reasonable part of it and I would always see like the accomplishment that he was doing here and they were just like Antonio really like he living a dream he making he doing what he got to do and he was like I can go down there and do the same thing that he's doing and so I look at him as like a role model well Rashad keep working hard we appreciate your time today have a great game up at Cincinnati all right thank you Rashad Cheney number 90 from the defensive line joining us stay with us more to come on the USF football radio network welcome back home stretch of another USF football radio show as we prepare to go to Cincinnati for the Bulls and the Bearcats and Joey this will be another challenge Cincinnati uh on paper I don't know how they did it but they looked better than last year at this point and that's really saying something at the same time the south Florida team while having a rough game against East Carolina last week showed some flashes of what they can be if they can expand on that they can make this very interesting yeah you know it it would have been interesting it had that last touchdown counted the Bulls would have cut it to 13 with eight minutes to play maybe they could have pulled out a miraculous Victory but you know whether it's Cincinnati or anybody I don't think this USF team is going to be intimidated by any setting or any opponent because they played a very tough schedule so Cincinnati here's another team 29 straight home wins the AAC front runner but USF has played that that level of competition so far so here's another one and a great opportunity it's amazing how they've reloaded Eastern Michigan transfer quarterback has stepped right in Ben Bryant they have racked up sacks at an alarming rate and the Bulls are going to have to be really at the top of their game they will and we've seen a lot of improvement from this USF offense the last few weeks but this is a very formidable defense usf's going to have to be on point and not get in bad field position situations because that's when the Cincinnati defense can just tee off so the Bulls have got to stay ahead of the sticks they've got a dictate to the Bearcats defensive they can do that I think we might have a very entertaining game on our hands 2 30 Saturday afternoon we'll visit with you from nippard stadium and then finally back at Raymond James next week against Elaine thanks for joining us on the USF football radio network