With South Florida football’s recent wins over West Virginia and Auburn, sophomore defensive end George Selvie has been thrust onto the national media platform after being virtually unknown three years prior.

But to those who know Selvie’s background, his rise to the top isn’t as surprising as some might think.

‘He comes from a military family and is very disciplined,’ said Jerry Pollard, Selvie’s high school coach at Pine Forest (Fla.). ‘He’s a very hard working young man. Never missed a workout, never missed a practice, and that is pretty true to what he is right now.’

And right now, Selvie leads the No. 6 Bulls and the entire nation in sacks with 9.5. Four games into the season, he sits only a half a sack away from the USF single-season record.

After a three sack and five tackle-for-loss performance in USF’s third win of the season over North Carolina, Selvie won Big East Defensive Player of the Week and Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Currently his 2.38 sack per game average and 4.25 tackle for loss average both lead the nation.

In South Florida’s massive upset of West Virginia last week, Selvie had eight tackles, two for a loss and one sack.

And he’s only a sophomore.

When Selvie first arrived at USF two years ago, he learned he would no longer be playing center, the position he played in high school, but defensive end. In fact, he wouldn’t be taking the field at all in 2005 after redshirting. But that wouldn’t stop Selvie from making his presence felt. Before ever playing a game in his college career, he received an award at USF’s end-of-the-year football banquet.

Selvie took home the Bulls’ ‘Overachiever Award,’ which is presented to the freshman football player who achieved outstanding performance levels in the areas of strength and conditioning while demonstrating an intense, tireless work ethic.

‘The only reward he gets is from absolute hard work and relentless play,’ South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt said. ‘He shows up every day in practice, goes to class and does all the right things. All those things are there, and he’s a great leader for us.’

Before Selvie found a roster spot at USF he was playing center at Pine Forest in Pensacola, Fla., but spent time playing defense end when needed. Despite his love for playing center and dreams of playing college football, he was far from desired by big-name college football programs.

During Selvie’s senior year, his high school season was put on hold. Hurricane Ivan ripped through Florida and caused extreme damage to the entire Pensacola area. The storm caused $13 billion in damages, the fifth most costly storm in United States history. The most severe damage happened to the Interstate-10 bridge, near Pine Forest High School. The 120 mph winds resulted in 3,400 feet of the bridge tumbling into Escambia Bay.

Within Pensacola and the surrounding areas, football became a secondary issue. The Eagles missed three games because of the chaos caused by Hurricane Ivan, and when play finally resumed, a game scheduled to be played at home against Tate (Fla.) High School was moved to a neutral location.

Selvie has never been the type of guy to start a conversation or give an emotional halftime speech. However, he was crucial in bringing the team together as he contacted many teammates before football started up again.

‘I was always taught to work hard,’ Selvie said. ‘My coaches always motivated me and my parents always told me you got to work hard for you do. I try to be a genuine good guy, too.’

Last season, Selvie, as a redshirt freshman, came up with one of the most timely plays of the year. With USF trailing, 6-0, to West Virginia at Mountaineer Stadium, it was Selvie who picked up a Pat White fumble and darted into the endzone.

The score pushed the Bulls ahead of the Mountaineers and gave the team its first lead of the game. The points would prove crucial as the Bulls eventually persevered in a 24-19 victory.

The West Virginia fumble recovery was a small part of the contribution Selvie made. In his first season of play, he recorded 84 total tackles, 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Although the statistics earned him Big East All-Freshman Team Honors, Selvie still saw areas that he could improve upon. One in particular stuck out.

‘I tried to work on my speed and strength, and try to put on some more weight. I was a little skinny guy last year,’ Selvie said. ‘What I lacked in size I tired to improve in strength. I also tried to work on my pass rushing a little bit more because I had 5.5 sacks last year.’

In the first game of his sophomore season, it quickly became apparent sacks would not be a problem for Selvie. He got to the quarterback four times, which tied a USF record for most in a game.

Although Selvie is not eligible for USF’s Overachiever Award this season, he may be in the lead for another award at the USF banquet, Outstanding Defensive Front Seven Player.

‘I think his outlook is tremendous,’ Pollard said. ‘If he keeps improving, getting stronger and bigger like I think he will, he’s going to be a tremendous player for South Florida.’

Around the conference

Only 11 teams in the nation are currently 5-0 and two of them call the Big East home. Connecticut and Cincinnati have started off 5-0, while Connecticut is 1-0 in the Big East. The last time Connecticut started off 5-0 was in 1995, while Cincinnati hasn’t witnessed it since 1954. … West Virginia and Pittsburgh are both receiving contributions from new players. Pitt freshman running back LeSean McCoy is averaging more than 100 yards per game on the ground. Despite having Steve Slaton as a teammate, WVU running back Noel Devine is averaging 10.8 yards per carry and posted 136 yards against Maryland in week three. … Six of the eight Big East teams have either received votes or been ranked. Throughout the season, at least two Big East teams have been ranked in the top 15 every week.

Game of the week

No. 20 Cincinnati at No. 21 Rutgers Saturday, 8 p.m., ESPN2

After suffering its first defeat, a 34-24 road loss to Maryland on Saturday, Rutgers looks to get back on track. Cincinnati and Rutgers are the only two remaining teams that have not yet taken on a fellow Big East opponent.

Cincinnati is currently riding an eight-game winning streak that began last season. Only two other schools in the entire nation, Wisconsin and LSU, can lay claim to a longer one. However, trouble may lie ahead for a Bearcats team that has yet to be tested against a ranked squad. The Cincinnati defense averages giving up 10.6 points per game, while Rutgers has scored 162 points in just four games.

Rutgers’ loss marked the first time running Ray Rice did not score three touchdowns. Rice has found the endzone 10 times in the first four games and has scored 60 points. The game figures to be a classic matchup of offense vs. defense.

Published on October 2, 2007 at 12:00 pm