USF's road to success started with Selmon<br/><span class='hl2'>But former OU gentle giant deflects credit for program's meteoric rise </span>

People had little success shoving Lee Roy Selmon around on a football field. I had even less success trying to get pushy with Selmon during a telephone conversation Wednesday.

Repeatedly, I tried to shove credit Selmon's way for the amazing rise of South Florida football.

Selmon refused to accept, and never budged.

"It's been a wonderful experience, and I'm just blessed to be a small part of it,” Selmon said.

There's nothing small about Selmon, a defensive end long revered as the greatest football player in Oklahoma's storied history.

He is soft-spoken and self-effacing, and behaves no differently when it comes to discussing the USF Bulls, who are No. 6 with a bullet in this week's Associated Press rankings.

"It's just nice to see all that hard work and effort come together, and to see them finally recognized on a national basis,” Selmon said. "When you watch something built from the ground floor, you have a chance to see those historic moments take place.”

The most historic moment so far came last Friday when the Bulls upset No. 5-ranked West Virginia 21-13 in Tampa.

Selmon credits Jim Leavitt, the only head coach the program has ever had, and former USF athletic director Paul Griffin.

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