Spring football practice is much like spring training in that the atmosphere is welcoming and optimism is plentiful, though there is a desire to get things accomplished in order to set a stage for what comes next.

A year ago, most college football teams had yet to start spring drills before society shuttered. Some had only a practice or two prior to schedules being wiped clean.

The impact of the virus, of course, went beyond and continues to go beyond the gridiron. Within the framework of college football, Jeff Scott was one of 12 first-year FBS coaches who had the curtain close on their initial spring seasons. In Scotts case, a single practice was conducted.

Flip the calendar ahead to this spring and it is like night and day for Scott, whose Bulls completed the spring with a game at Raymond James Stadium last Saturday afternoon.

Before the game, which was played in front of a few thousand fans, Scott showed the team a photo from last years one and only practice.

From that point till now, there have been a lot of changes and a lot of challenges throughout the world, not just with football, he said, following the game. There has been a lot of adversity, no question about it. Our guys have really stuck together. My message to our players before the game was that we are in a much better place right now than we were a year ago when we left that field after our first spring practice. Thats because of the way the guys have responded.

The former co-offensive coordinator at Clemson spent much of the spring, which began February 23, continuing to place his stamp on a program that struggled through a 1-8 season with a pair of virus-related cancellations in 2020.

Among other things that were noticeable this spring was the presence of former Bulls on the practice fields, including Jason Pierre-Paul of the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers. A handful of former players were also at the spring game. Such details may seem minor on the surface, but are significant when building a culture.

Opportunities for Scott, who arrived at USF in December 2019, to invite former players during his first year leading the program were virtually non-existent.

Last year, when they cancelled spring ball, your mind was immediately trying to figure out what was going on with the coronavirus, he said. This spring, getting out there and going through 15 spring practices, there were several times I would get back into the coaches locker room and I was like, How in the world did we not do this last year?

It is not just the 15 practices, he continued. It is the day before and day after that you meet with the players. It feels a lot different this time. I know we are not completely out of the woods yet, but we feel like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of the day everybody went through adversity, not just us, but every team in the country.

The team Scott is responsible for has many new faces. Between the December and February signing periods, 28 players were welcomed to the Tampa campus. Many are transfers, including a quartet of defensive backs who came from Power Five programs. Corners Will Jones (Kansas State), TJ Robinson (Rutgers) and Christian Williams (Miami) and safety Matthew Hill (Auburn) earned much praise from Scott throughout the spring.

The play of the quarterbacks the past month was another area that was particularly pleasing to the 40-year-old coach. While the competition among four candidates will continue to play out in preseason camp Cade Fortin, a North Carolina transfer who struggled to stay healthy last season at USF, certainly stood out this spring.

A 50-yard connection with third-year sophomore receiver Xavier Weaver another bright spot on the spring games first play was the springboard for a half in which Fortin threw for 224 yards and a pair of TDs.

Former Miami signal caller Jarren Williams and a pair of freshmen, true frosh Timmy McClain and Katravis Marsh (one start last season) each had strong springs and have provided Scott and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. plenty of positive developments at the position.

Again, optimism can run in overdrive this time of year, especially when coupled with the unveiling of athletic renovations and new facilities at the university. There are still five months to go before a team in a different color jersey appears on the other side of scrimmage. To that extent, North Carolina State, Florida and BYU, three teams that appear on the Bulls non-conference schedule, can burst a bubble before October arrives.

Scotts team, though, at least has the look and feel of one that is traversing in the right direction and made the most of the spring. Such progress is vital to a coach who now has something resembling a full year of normalcy with which to continue to mold and build.

We accomplished something we could not do last year, make it through spring, he said. Not just make it through spring, but really get better. We have about 160 days before we kick it off in Raleigh. I am really proud of how these guys finished the spring and now I look forward to the summer ahead.

What a difference a year makes.