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"Bullet Head, Snake, and Father Ben form Talented Trio"

Which feels better -- blasting a seven-point buck or belting a five-star back?

"That's a tough one," says University of South Florida middle linebacker Ben Moffitt, who has experienced both. "I love the feeling of making a good goal-line stand. But, I don't know, shooting a buck kind of lasts a little bit longer."


Credit Mike Carlson/Icon SMI
South Florida's "Snake" is primed for a big season.
Big Mr. Moffitt plans to give lots of ball carriers that deer-in-the-headlights look this season. He anchors coach Jim Leavitt's 4-3 defense and represents a third of what promises to be a dynamic linebacking crew, one that returns intact for a second straight season.

It might be the best in the Big East.

On Moffitt's left is an NFL-caliber pass rusher in Stephen Nicholas. On his right is hard-hitting Patrick St. Louis. The three native Floridians recently gathered for a group phone interview -- and they weren't shy about answering questions such as, "Who's the best team in the Big East?"

"I mean, we are," Nicholas said. "We are. I always feel we're the best team."

OK, who has the best linebackers?

"The South Florida Bulls," St. Louis said. "The University of South Florida Bulls."

That remains to be seen, as the Big East is stocked with quality linebackers. But this much is certain: Nobody has 'backers with better nicknames.

St. Louis goes by "Bullet Head."

"Stephen Nicholas says my head is shaped like a bullet," St. Louis said.

Nicholas has been called "Snake" since his freshman year when linebackers coach Wally Burnham noticed how easily he eluded blockers in drills.

"He said, 'You just wiggle back through there, don't you?'" Nicholas said. "Then [ex-teammate] Maurice Jones started saying it, and then it got real big and here I am: Snake."

Moffitt goes by "Father Ben," because he is married with two children: son Trevor, 3, and daughter Rylan, 1.

"I was married in high school at 17 and had my first kid at 18," Moffitt says when asked what it's like to be a father. "I've gotten used to it. It's part of your life. Other people work and have kids."