Big East Notebook: USF coach Skip Holtz mulls the loss of B.J. Daniels

USF QB B.J. Daniels could miss the season after suffering a broken bone in his leg in Saturday's win over UConn.(US Presswire)

The thoughts raced through B.J. Daniels' mind as he sat in the trainer's room following South Florida's 13-6 win over Connecticut last Saturday night.

Much like South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore a week earlier, Daniels had to consider whether his college career ended prematurely or if his aspirations of playing in the NFL had been shattered. Less than an hour earlier, Daniels suffered a horrific injury on a 15-yard run inside the Huskies' 10 late in the fourth quarter. The Bulls' senior quarterback left Raymond James Stadium after the win with one leg in a cast and another in a boot.

“Every member of this team left the locker room to go into the training room just to show him a sign of respect for what he's meant to this team,” USF coach Skip Holtz said. “He's a special young man, we're certainly going to miss him.”

It is expected that Daniels will miss the rest of the season. Daniels suffered a broken bone in his left leg, according to the Tampa Bay Times and a sprained right ankle. Holtz said Monday that Daniels will undergo further testing this week. Holtz is unsure if Daniels suffered ligament damage to his ankle. It could take six to eight weeks for the bone in Daniels' left leg to heal.

Daniels entered his senior season on pace to break the Big East record for total offense. If Daniels' career is over, he will finish with 10,501 total yards. Former Bulls QB Matt Grothe holds the all-time conference mark with 10,875. Holtz has marveled at Daniels' transformation from an athlete three years ago to a game manager at quarterback.

“I look at where he is today as a quarterback and the poise and the confidence he's stood in the pocket with,” Holtz said. “He's really understanding when to play quarterback and when to use his athleticism to get away from potential rushers or lost yardage plays.”

“I really don't think you can measure what he's brought to this program.”

Redshirt freshman Matt Floyd and junior Bobby Eveld will compete to replace Daniels, Holtz said. Holtz initially planned on redshirting Eveld this season. The Bulls have a week off before facing Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 17.

Bearcats' starting spot a game-time decision: Cincinnati coach Butch Jones said Monday he doesn't plan on naming a starting quarterback for Saturday's matchup vs. Temple until near game-time.

Jones lifted junior Munchie Legaux in the third quarter of last Saturday's win over Syracuse. Legaux and senior Brendon Kay will compete for the position this week in practice. Jones also plans on using junior receiver Jordan Luallen in Wildcat situations.

“Each game is a different story in and of itself,” Jones said. “As many as three could play on Saturday.”

Legaux was pulled in the third quarter after he was nearly intercepted by Syracuse DB Brandon Reddish. A possession earlier, the Bearcats' almost lost the ball on a Legaux fumble near the goaline.

“He's carrying the ball, it's in the inside arm, he reaches out and it was a fumble,” Jones said. “If the ball goes through the end zone that's catastrophic -- that's seven points off the board.”

Kay went 3 of 3 for 32 yards and added 18 yards on three carries. Legaux has six interceptions in his last three games.

Scarlet Knights reach out to Hurricane victims: Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti announced the undertaking of several relief initiatives by the program for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The Red Cross will be collecting donations at a number of locations throughout High Point Solutions Stadium during Saturday's game vs. Army.

Rutgers Athletics also designed a t-shirt with the state outline of New Jersey and the word “stRong” featured on the shirt. All proceeds from the t-shirt sales will be going to the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund, Rutgers spokesman Jason Baum said in a statement.

A large contingent of Rutgers players volunteered in the community last week after the storm to assist in cleanup efforts.

“We had a number of families, including my own, that were out of power for awhile,” Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. “We still had three players when we came back yesterday that were dealing with power outages. We were very fortunate compared to all the other things that were going on around the state and in the area.”

Pitt K Harper looks to bounce back: Panthers coach Paul Chryst said his players have been supportive of Kevin Harper after the senior kicker missed a game-winning 33-yard field goal in Saturday's triple overtime loss to Notre Dame.

“There's probably 200-something plays that all had an effect on the outcome,” Chryst said. “The beauty of sports is putting yourself out there -- sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. Everyone has to take ownership of everything that happened good or bad. That's how you grow as a team.”

Harper leads the Big East in points with 72 and made field goals with 14.

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