Quarterback Tops List Of South Florida’s All-Time Rushing Touchdown Leaders

College football will always be focused on the big conferences. The Power Four conferences bring in the most money, so naturally, the TV cameras gravitate towards them and the powerhouses that reside within. However, that unbalanced approach to coverage inevitably leads to programs like the University of South Florida flying under the radar, despite consistently producing ridiculously exciting, entertaining contests.

Part of what has made the Bulls such a fun team through the years is their ability to consistently find massive success in the run game, as the program has racked up a fantastic list of all-time rushers, particularly all-time rushing touchdown leaders. The guys on this list helped shape the identity of USF football while providing the American Athletic Conference with consistent, high-level entertainment.

Hall is easily the most overlooked name on this list. The running back only played two years of college football, joining the Bulls roster as a junior and immediately claiming the starting spot. Hall proceeded to put up over 1,300 yards in each of his seasons on the team, averaging well over five yards per carry while scoring double-digit touchdowns in both years. USF did not have a whole lot of success with Hall on the team, but he provided steady, solid offense despite coming onto the team as a late bloomer.

Something that makes the top of USF's list unique is the fact that there are multiple quarterbacks present. Daniels is one of two signal-callers in the top three, indicating how multifaceted the program's offense has been through the years. Daniels got his first shot at the starting gig in his sophomore year, taking the torch from Matt Grothe, another dual-threat quarterback. Daniels filled his shoes well, dropping nearly 3,000 total yards and 23 total touchdowns in his first season as the full-time starter. 

While Daniels never managed to match the rushing output he produced in his sophomore year, he consistently gave the Bulls a chance to win on the strength of his rushing ability. He scored at least five rushing touchdowns in each of the next three seasons, leading USF to a winning record in three of his four seasons as the Bulls' starter.

Perhaps the most recognizable name on this list, Mack has a strong argument for being the best running back to ever play for the Bulls. The power back led the American Athletic Conference in rushing attempts and yardage as a freshman, posting 1,041 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging just over 5 yards per carry. That is a notably good season for a first-timer on campus, and Mack somehow managed to improve on those numbers in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He averaged nearly seven yards per carry in both of those seasons while also posting 23 touchdowns.

Unsurprisingly, Mack's excellent statistical production attracted the attention of NFL teams, allowing him to forgo his senior season on campus to enter the draft. The Indianapolis Colts selected him with the 143rd overall pick, making him the highest-drafted USF running back of all time, an achievement that Mack holds to this day.

It is insane that a quarterback tops this list, but Quinton Flowers was an insane player. Flowers only started for three seasons, but he managed to put up a total of 112 touchdowns through 38 games. In his last 36 games as a starter, the Bulls went 30-6, almost exclusively thanks to Flowers' ability to instantly create offense in any way the defense made available.

If Flowers had played in a conference that received more national attention, he certainly would have been in the Heisman race several times, including his 2016 campaign that landed him the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Award. 

As a cherry on top, his exciting play style yielded countless classic performances, performances that created memorable moments even in the event of a Bulls loss. One such example was USF's 2017 matchup against the rival University of Central Florida, when Flowers posted 605 total yards and five total touchdowns en route to a nail-biting USF defeat. Flowers is one of the most recognizable Bulls of all time, largely because of the rushing contributions that allowed him to single-handedly carry the offense.

The University of South Florida is still a young college football program, only beginning in 1997. That all but ensures that the records written about above will be broken by the younger generations of Bulls players, especially if the program continues to work with an offensive scheme that emphasizes the ground game as it has in years past. One exception might be Flowers, one of the most electrifying college football players in recent memory, and the best offensive player the Bulls have ever put on the field.