Sources: South Florida Coach Jim Leavitt Struck Player -- NCAAFB FanHouse TAMPA, Fla. -- University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt grabbed a player by the throat then struck him twice in the face during halftime of the Bulls' Nov. 21 game with Louisville, the player's father, his high school coach and five members of USF's football program told FanHouse. The incident involved sophomore walk-on Joel Miller that stemmed from Leavitt being upset over Miller's first-half mistake on special teams, according to witnesses. Leavitt, who was out of town Monday recruiting, would not comment specifically about the incident when reached on his cell phone. "I'll visit with you about recruiting," Leavitt said. "All the stuff we do in there [the locker room] ... I'll visit with you about recruiting. "Things that happen or don't happen usually are kept within the team -- whether they happen or don't happen. If you want to talk about recruiting, I'll talk about recruiting." According to the five witnesses -- USF players and staff members -- Leavitt was pacing in the Raymond James Stadium locker room at halftime when he walked about 10 feet to the locker where Miller was sitting without his helmet. Leavitt then grabbed Miller by the throat and hit him twice in the face with his hand. "You do something like that [on the street], you put them in jail," Paul Miller, Joel's father and a former Tampa police officer, told FanHouse. "Somewhere [Leavitt] crossed the line."
Now the dad is saying it never happened. Hey, pops, thanks for bringing it up. I guess all is good now. Team hug???
