USF Spring Game History
(April 4, 2009)

College football programs typically conclude their Spring practices with a glorified scrimmage. The University of South Florida is no exception and the program's Spring Game has been held every year since 1998. The first games were held at the on-campus soccer stadium, before moving to Raymond James Stadium in 2002.

The game has free admission and in recent years has been broadcast on local cable television. The 2009 version is scheduled for April 11th. Here is a look back at the previous games.

2008 - White 6, Green 3 (Attendance - 4,607)

Matt Grothe tossed a 47 yard pass to tight end Andrew Ketchel on the first offensive play and it was all defense after that. With the whistle blown when the quarterback was touched, it was a game with plenty of sacks. Defensive end Jarriett Buie piled up four sacks, George Selvie had three and Patrick Hampton had three sacks.

Only twice the offenses got inside the 20 yard line and Justin Teachey kicked field goals of 25 and 21 yards for the White team. Delbert Alvardo booted a 48 yarder for the Green, but was short on a late 48 yard kick that could have tied the game.

Some other stats saw Grothe go 5 of 5 for 70 yards before being relived by Alton Voss, who finished 2 of 3 for 29 yards. Grant Gregory (14 of 22 for 190 yards) went the distance for the White team hooking up with Taurus Johnson six times for 68 yards. Mike Ford led all running backs with 56 yards on 14 carries.

Jim Leavitt commented afterwards, "Everybody seemed to be on the right page. I wanted the guys to have fun, I wanted to get good effort, and I wanted to see some good, solid football."

2007 - White 7, Green 6 (4,310)

After three scoreless quarters, Mike Ford put the Green team on the board with a 4-yard TD run. Ford ran for 51 of his 55 yards on that drive, then Ilia Petrov missed the extra point. Matt Grothe ran one in from 3 yards out to lead the White team to a score with 1:02 left. A Mike Benzer extra point was the difference and safety Carlton Williams sealed the win with an interception on the Green team's final drive.

Grothe finished 18 of 34 for 179 yards with no picks, while Grant Gregory was 14 of 26 for 154 yards with two interceptions for the Green. Aston Samuels had 58 yards rushing, Shawn Cannon ran for 47 yards and Carlton Mitchell caught five passes for 51 yards. Defensive end George Selvie had seven tackles, including three for a loss and an interception off a deflected pass.

Jim Leavitt remarked, "I thought the guys played with energy and played hard. They played South Florida football tonight. We have some work to do and this summer is going to be huge. But we have a chance to be good next year. We're getting closer."

2006 - White 36, Green 10 (3,862)

Lead by two touchdown runs by senior Walt Smith, a Pat Julmiste TD run and a 30-yard scoring pass to Ean Randolph, the White team lead the entire game. Junior defensive back Mike Jenkins opened the scoring, intercepting Matt Grothe's first pass attempt of the game and returning it 29 yards for the touchdown.

Smith finished with 66 yards on the ground, while Julmiste rushed for 59 yards. Seeing action at quarterback were Julmiste (6 of 13 for 187 yard with a TD), Matt Grothe (11 of 19 for 167 yards with a TD and 3 INTs), Anthony Severino (5 of 11 for 70 yards with 2 INTs) and Carlton Hill (5 of 15 for 40 yards). Amp Hill lead all receivers (8 catches for 87 yards), while both Jerome Murphy and Mike Jenkins had two picks.

Jim Leavitt said of the game, "I am really encouraged by what I saw out there tonight and I told the players that."

2005 - Green 14, White 7 (3,800)

Anthony Severino (11 of 34 for 133 yards) was intercepted three times in the final five minutes and the Green team came from behind to post the victory. Danny Verpaele ran a pick back 36 yards for a score and a 1-yard TD run by walk-on Ed Louis with 1:13 left provided the margin of victory. A second Verpaele interception would ice the game.

Pat Julmiste (5 of 18 with 1 INT) threw for just 40 yards and Andre Hall carried the ball six times for 22 yards with a 2-yard touchdown run for the White team. Ricky Ponton ran for 65 yards, but he lost two fumbles.

Jim Leavitt stated, "What I loved about this was I saw some emotion, some enthusiasm there, and all the guys played hard."

2004 - Green 10, White 6 (1,000)

Pat Julmiste (4 of 16 for 40 yards) struggled at quarterback, however, the versatile Brian Fisher excelled at running back with 14 carries for 95 yards. Fisher ran 40 yards on a fake reverse on the Green team's first play from scrimmage, then a 31 yard field goal by Justin Geisler made the score 10-0.

A fourth quarter 14 yard TD pass from Ronnie Banks (9 of 18 for 93 yards with 1 INT) to Allynson Sheffield was the lone score the White squad. The defensive struggle saw 23 punts and 11 sacks.

Jim Leavitt commented, "I see good things. I don't see all the mistakes."

2003 - White 31, Green 6 (2,000)

Ronnie Banks (9 of 18 for 89 yards) threw a 4 yard TD pass to Darren Haliburton, then the defense took over for White team. J.R. Reed returned an interception 83 yards to the Green 4-yard line, then a run by Quinton Callum made it 14-0. A 1-yard run by Clenton Crossley and 25 yard David Beers field goal made it 24-0 at the half. The other White score came on fumble return by Julian Johnson.

Kevin Verpaele accounted for the Green's only score on a 52-yard fumble return. DeJuan Green was the game's leading rusher with 9 carries for 34 yards.

Jim Leavitt commented, "This will be the most important summer we've ever had by far. We've got to work hard this summer to have a chance in the fall, but I'm encouraged."

2002 - White 14, Green 7 (4,000)

The first Spring Game played at Raymond James Stadium, saw a scoreless first half with 15 punts. Marquel Blackwell (16 of 32 for 285 yards with an INT) tossed a 46 yard touchdown pass to Willie Williams to put the White team on the board. David Mullins (5 of 12 for 58 yards) would later hit Williams on 49 yard pass play for a second score.

Ronnie Banks (14 for 27 for 135 yards with an INT) threw an 11-yard pass to Chris Iskra for the Green's only score. Bruce Gipson had a game high five catches for 69 yards, while Terrence Royal had two sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Shurron Pierson had four sacks, which lead Jim Leavitt to say, "He's a guy that has a chance to be a real impact player."

2001 - Green 14, White 12

In the last Spring Game held at USF's soccer stadium, two touchdown passes by Ronnie Banks (15 of 20 for 149 yards with 1 INT) paced the Green team. Banks hooked up with DeAndrew Rubin (7 receptions for 69 yards) on a 7 yard TD to open the scoring, then the White team got on the board with a 52-yard field goal by Justin Geisler. Banks hit Chris Iskra on a 48 yard pass to make it 14- 3 in the second quarter.

Joe Morgan returned an interception 51 yards for a White team TD and a safety by defensive end Emerson Morris made the final score 14-12.

Marquel Blackwell went 15 of 31 for 122 yards for the White squad, before Kevin Patullo was (2 of 8 for 23 yards with 3 INTs) relieved him. Huey Whittaker caught six passes for 59 yards and Sidney Simpson intercepted two passes.

"What a game, huh?," Jim Leavitt stated. "We had a lot of positive things. When you take both groups and put them on one team then add 38 guys, you have a chance to have a very good team."

2000 - Green 16, White 7

Marquel Blackwell (6 of 16 for 121 yards with 2 INTs) threw two touchdown passes, including a 65-yarder to DeAndrew Rubin, to lead the Green team to victory. Kevin Patullo, (12 of 18 for 143 yards) threw a TD pass for the White team. Mike Usry went 5 of 10 for 54 yards. Vince Brewer led all running backs with 43 yards on eight carries.

The defense had three interceptions and 15 sacks. Emerson Morris had three sacks, John Brown and Chris Daley each had 2.5.

1999 - Score Not Kept (1,500)

No official score was kept in this year's game, but the scrimmage saw seven touchdowns and three field goals by Bill Gramatica.

Glen Gauntt (8 for 17 for 130 yards with an INT) and Marquel Blackwell (8 of 14 for 122 yards) each tossed a TD pass. Dyral McMillan ran for 70 yards and a pair of scores. DeAndrew Rubin finished with two catches for 66 yards.

1998 - Green 14, White 3

The first USF Spring Game was held at the USF Soccer Stadium and some players played on both sides.

Some of the stats from the game: Chad Barnhardt (8 of 14 for 118 yards) threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Jackson and Rafael Williams (18 carries for 53 yards) scored the other TD for the Green. Glen Gauntt (12 of 25 with an INT) threw for 100 yards and Rj Anderson caught 5 passes for 50 yards.

Jim Leavitt said of the game, "All we really wanted to do was get through the game and see people run and catch and tackle."