South Florida Bulls Football

In an entertaining seesaw matchup between USF and UCF, Bulls quarterback Quinton Flowers made an X-rated gesture to the crowd after scoring a 24-yard touchdown.

Flowers' score, and the ensuing extra point, put USF in the lead 34-28 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.

Thus far, he's put together a stellar performance, accumulating nearly 600 yards of total offense with five total touchdowns.

The Knights led 49-42 late in the fourth quarter at the time of publication. 

South Florida wide receiver Tyre McCants wouldn't allow a jersey tackle deny him a touchdown on Friday.

The 5'11" pass-catcher streaked down the sideline with 230-pound UCF linebacker Chequan Burkett hanging onto his threads en route to the end zone.

McCants' 47-yard touchdown put the Bulls on the scoreboard first in a competitive American Athletic East division matchup. 

The Knights led the Bulls 21-20 at halftime at the time of publication. 

South Florida Bulls wide receiver Kevaughn Dingle was arrested and charged with felony sexual battery Friday, according to WTSP.

Citing a police report, the Tampa Bay Times' Joey Knight reported Dingle was arrested after "campus police received a call of a possible sexual battery occurring at the Holly C Residence Hall" Thursday.

ABC Action News' Michael Paluska relayed Dingle's mugshot: 

Dingle, 18, is redshirting his freshman season.

According to 247Sports, Dingle was a 3-star recruit out of Miami Carol City High School and arrived at USF as the 79th-ranked wide receiver and 68th-ranked player in the state of Florida among Class of 2017 recruits.

The University of South Florida announced Thursday its Saturday football game against the University of Connecticut "will not be played this week due to the severe threat posed to the state of Florida by Hurricane Irma."

While the game was scheduled to be played in Connecticut, the announcement pointed to the hurricane's "impediments to the safe travel" of the Bulls, as well as the "consideration for the players and family members."

The school noted the campus is closed through at least Sunday.

This comes after South Florida previously announced kickoff was moved from noon to 10:30 a.m. ET.

"The safety and well-being of our students, staff and coaches is our paramount concern," USF director of athletics Mark Harlan said in the announcement. "Several large areas of the state are under evacuation orders, including portions of the Tampa Bay area. After consultation with university leadership and outside agencies, I believe it is not appropriate for our team to travel at this time."

This is not the only college football game impacted as Hurricane Irma approaches. The University of Miami announced its Saturday contest against Arkansas State was canceled. The University of Florida also announced its game against Northern Colorado scheduled for Saturday was canceled.

The storm is impacting the NFL as well, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced their Sunday game against the Miami Dolphins was postponed to Week 11 when they each had a previously scheduled bye.

As for South Florida, the 2-0 Bulls are ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and will next take the field Friday, Sept. 15 against Illinois. Connecticut won its first game against Holy Cross and is set to play at Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 16.

About a week after judge Margaret Taylor criticized the USF football program and head coach Charlie Strong, the two had a positive meeting at the courthouse.

"It was a very positive conversation," said chief judge Ron Ficarrotta, who arranged the meeting, per Sue Carlton of the Tampa Bay Times.

"I think Coach Strong was able to educate Judge Taylor on some of the issues," he added. "It went very well."

Taylor oversaw a court appearance of USF defensive lineman LaDarrius Jackson, who faces charges of sexual battery.

After admitting she was "ashamed" to call herself an alum of South Florida, she sent a message to the new head coach of the football team, via WTSP-TV (h/t USA Today):

"And, I have a message for your coach, as well. coach Strong, if you are listening, in the last couple of months there have been two arrests of your players for very violent felonies. This court, and I'm sure I'm not alone, questions whether you have control over your players. It's fairly clear you do not have control of them off the field, and I guess only time will tell whether you have control over them on the field."

Hassan Childs was dismissed from the team after receiving charges of aggravated assault.

Strong was hired to take over the Bulls football team in December after spending the previous three years with Texas.

USF dismissed defensive end LaDarrius Jackson from its program after he was arrested Wednesday on his second sexual assault charge in less than a month. 

Jackson, 22, turned himself in to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment, per Anastasia Dawson of the Tampa Bay Times. The rising junior was first arrested on the same charges May 1 by USF police.

The team had suspended him indefinitely following the first arrest. 

According to the police report, the most recent charge stems from a March 27 incident in the bathroom of a woman's home. The woman said she attempted to leave a bathroom where Jackson was showering but was held off by the defensive end before he grabbed her and committed sexual battery. She said Jackson then forced the woman to take an emergency contraceptive.

In May, a woman told police Jackson raped her at a USF dorm after multiple attempts throughout the day. The woman says Jackson had attempted to force her into oral sex earlier in the day before later grabbing and raping her. 

South Florida Bulls defensive end LaDarrius Jackson turned himself in to authorities Wednesday on charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment, the Tampa Bay Times' Anastasia Dawson reported. He has been dismissed from the team, per Dawson.

It's the second time Jackson has been arrested for the same charges this month. The Tampa Bay Times' Joey Knight reported May 2 that South Florida police arrested the junior after an alleged assault at a campus housing facility May 1. 

The more recent charges result from an alleged assault off campus March 27.

According to Dawson, Jackson was visiting the woman at her home. The woman told officers from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office that Jackson first insisted on showering with her before removing her clothing and assaulting her despite numerous refusals.

She said Jackson then drove her to a pharmacy to buy emergency contraceptive before Jackson returned to his dorm.

Following Jackson's first arrest, South Florida head coach Charlie Strong announced he was removed from team activities without giving a timeline.

"We are aware of the charges filed against [Jackson]," Strong said, per Knight. "While we find the allegations troubling, we will continue to gather information and support the judicial process before providing further comment."

Jackson spent a season with the Bulls after transferring from Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. He appeared in seven games for USF in 2016, recording three total tackles.

Judge Margaret Taylor has recused herself from the felony sexual battery and false imprisonment case involving South Florida defensive end LaDarrius Jackson. 

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Taylor recused herself from the case one day after telling Jackson in court she "was never ashamed of being an alum (of South Florida) until now" and criticized USF head coach Charlie Strong for an apparent lack of control at the program:

"Coach Strong, if you are listening, in the last couple of months there have been two arrests of your players for very violent felonies. This court, and I'm sure I'm not alone, questions whether you have control over your players. It's fairly clear you do not have control of them off the field, and I guess only time will tell whether you have control over them on the field."

Per Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times, Jackson was arrested on Monday night by USF police as he was about to take a flight home. 

Per Knight, the USF police report stated Jackson "forced a woman to perform sex Monday afternoon despite her verbal and physical efforts to resist him" and he "forced her into her room after she placed her hands on a wall in an attempt to stop him...then pushed her onto the bed and straddled her."

Strong issued a statement regarding Jackson's arrest, per A.J. Perez of USA Today: "We are aware of the charges filed against LaDarrius Jackson. While we find the allegations troubling, we will continue to gather information and support the judicial process before providing further comment."

Jackson appeared in seven games for South Florida as a freshman in 2016. Strong was hired as South Florida's new head football coach in December after spending the previous three years at the University of Texas. 

University of South Florida defensive end LaDarrius Jackson was arrested Monday night on charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment.

According to Tamara Lush of the Associated Press, a woman alleged that Jackson sexually assaulted her Monday afternoon in USF student housing.

Per the Tampa Bay Times, the woman alleged that Jackson forced her into her room and to have sex with him despite her verbal and physical objections. 

South Florida head coach Charlie Strong released the following statement regarding Jackson, according to A.J. Perez of USA Today: "We are aware of the charges filed against LaDarrius Jackson. While we find the allegations troubling, we will continue to gather information and support the judicial process before providing further comment."

Strong released an additional statement on Wednesday, per Matt Fortuna of Yahoo! Sports:

A judge questioned Strong's ability to control his players following the arrest, per Sports Illustrated:

Jackson appeared in two games and recorded three tackles for the Bulls as a sophomore last season.

Per ESPN.com, Jackson was still being held in a Tampa jail as of Tuesday morning without bond.

Safety Hassan Childs was officially dismissed from the South Florida football team Tuesday following a road-rage incident Monday.

According to Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa police said Childs was shot after pointing a gun at a car near the South Florida campus Monday. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Per Knight, Bulls head coach Charlie Strong said the following regarding the dismissal: "I had a chance to speak with him. They all want to continue and go play, and he was a senior, but he totally understood."

Strong added:

When you look at this university and how great an institution it is, and the football program, it is a privilege to represent this program. And there are standards and there are values that we uphold, and our players understand it is an obligation and it is a responsibility to represent it the right way.

Per Knight, Childs was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and misdemeanor marijuana possession.

The Kissimmee, Florida, native spent four years at South Florida, including a medical redshirt campaign in 2015 due to a torn ACL.

He appeared in seven games for the Bulls last season, registering 16 tackles. Childs pulled in three interceptions as a freshman in 2013.