TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Cade Fortin has been called the “MVP” of spring football practice at the University of South Florida.
“I cannot say enough about Cade Fortin,” said Jeff Scott, the head football coach at USF. “He has been outstanding for seven days.”
He has been getting the majority of the first team reps and he has been the first quarterback to greet his teammates at the start of the drills and to praise them for their performances at the end of the drills.
“He is a lot more comfortable,” Scott said. “Your first year here you are worried about yourself knowing what to do.”
Fortin is entering his second season with the program and his confidence reflects it.
“He has done an awesome job of really leading out there in the huddle,” said Scott. “That is just what spring ball really allows you to do on the field.”
While Scott claims he cannot name a starting quarterback at this point in the year, the signs point to Fortin, a player who nearly committed to another team before he chose to become a Bull. However, Fortin settled on that plan before speaking to Scott.
“I talked him out of committing,” recalled Scott.
Scott vividly remembers the days that followed his introductory press conference at the University of South Florida in December of 2019.
“Looking at our roster,” he said, “I think we only had one scholarship quarterback that was coming back. At the time, I knew that we had to go find somebody. We really needed to find somebody before January and I came across Cade’s name.”
He recognized his name from the recruiting process at Clemson University.
“I called his dad on a Friday morning and talked to his dad a little bit,” said Scott, “and his dad said, ‘Well, when he went to sleep last night, he was planning to wake up this morning and commit to a different Power 5 team but now that you called this morning, I will at least let him talk to you.’”
Scott spoke to Fortin over the phone around 11 o’clock in the morning on that Friday and, then, he flew to Atlanta to visit him at his home on Saturday.
“I laid everything out there,” said Scott, “and did the best that I could to explain the need that we had here at South Florida, what we were going to do with him big picture wise, and, two days later, he had to make a decision and ended up committing to us on a Monday and signed with us on that next Wednesday.”
Fortin saw action in two games in his first year with the Bulls before a shoulder injury ended his season. He actually commented that that injury was a blessing in disguise.
“It really pushed me to take the training room seriously,” said Fortin. “It has allowed me to even have a stronger arm.”
He feels stronger, which may or may not be adding to his appreciation for the current quarterback competition. The candidates for the starting position include Fortin, Jarren Williams, Katravis Marsh and Timmy McClain.
“I think competition is always great,” said Fortin. “I think competition allows each person to be the best version of themselves. These guys are really pushing me. They are all great quarterbacks.”
