TAMPA, Fla. – USF has failed to produce an NFL draft pick since 2018, when nose tackle Deadrin Senat was selected by the Falcons in the third round and receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling by the Packers in the fifth round.
Currently a free agent, Senat has 52 tackles in 37 games over five seasons, the last two with the Buccaneers. Valdes-Scantling, who has two Super Bowl rings in as many seasons with the Chiefs after four years in Green Bay, has 186 career receptions for 3,155 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Since 2018, a handful of Bulls signed as undrafted free agents, with left tackle Donovan Jennings and Bayron Matos the latest.
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Following the past weekend’s draft, Jennings signed with Green Bay for a reported $100,000 guaranteed plus a $10,000 signing bonus. The Tampa native and Gaither product played in a program record 55 games, making 45 starts.
Matos signed with the Dolphins. He played in only two games on special teams and the offensive line in 2022 after switching from basketball. Listed at 6-foot-9 and 290 pounds while with the Bulls, the native of the Dominican Republic joined the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program in January, a development program designed to provide opportunities to players from outside the United States.
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Bulls that signed as undrafted free agents the past six years and have made an NFL team are running back D’Ernest Johnson, defensive back Mazzi Wilkins and tight end Mitchell Wilcox.
Wilkins, a Plant High alum who started 22 games at USF and recorded 110 tackles, was signed by the Buccaneers in 2019 and played six games in two seasons before playing one game with the Ravens in 2021. He has since bounced around from the Cardinals’ practice squad to the CFL to the USFL without playing.
Johnson, who holds USF’s all-time career mark for all-purpose yards with 4,186, was signed by the Browns in 2019 and played four seasons in Cleveland before moving on to Jacksonville last year. In 81 career games, he has 1,215 yards from scrimmage (846 rushing) and 772 on kick returns.
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Wilcox is USF’s career record holder for receptions by a tight end with 100, including the single-season mark of 43 in 2018. The Tarpon Springs native signed with the Bengals in 2020, saw his first action in 2021 and has 29 receptions in 48 games. His lone touchdown reception was, ironically, in Cincinnati’s game at Raymond James Stadium against the Bucs in 2022.
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