Scared? No Way. USF’s Daring Fake Punt Was The Money Shot That Sank Boise State

University of Florida football coach Billy Napier loves to say that “scared money don’t make money.” Well, in USF’s opening game, Napier and Gator Nation saw their next opponent demonstrate just what that means.

The Bulls led 25th-ranked Boise State by three points midway through the third quarter when they lined up to punt on fourth-and-6 at the Broncos’ 46-yard line.

That’s the safe call, right?

But the Bulls were about to go all-in. They already punted five times, but the coaches gambled that Boise wouldn’t notice that, instead of regular punter Chase Leon, USF sneaked in true freshman quarterback Locklan Hewlett as the apparent punter.

The snap to Hewlett was off-target a bit – he later said he was 16 yards back when it should have been 15 – but as he gained control of the ball, he threw it deep down the right side of the field.

“We’ve got this white, kind of skinny, young quarterback who, you know, is going to be third string and looks like our punters. I saw that in spring ball out there, and when the kickers were running faster than he was,” special teams coordinator Chad Creamer said.

“But no, seriously, you saw the growth in the maturation of him, and you kind of figured you could sneak that on.”

Hewlett’s throw was on target. Receiver Keyshaun Singleton made the catch, and dodged a couple of defenders on his way to the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown.

It was a backbreaker for Boise State, and the Bulls went on to post a signature 34-7 win.

It may have seemed like the USF coaches made the call up on the fly, but actually, they had been practicing regularly for just the right moment to spring the trap.

“Coach (Alex Golesh) likes to go for it and push the envelope and everything else. So again, right moment, right time, those guys put in a lot of work,” Creamer said.

“We practiced it over and over again. There were a lot of days you were like, we're not doing that. And then it looked the best yesterday, and I think I got confidence, and we sent it out there.”

Last year at this time, Hewlett was playing for St. Augustine High School. But since arriving at USF, his coaches have praised his grit and high football IQ. They believed the moment would not be too big for him.

“I had the idea the whole game that they would call. They're like, let me know, like, be ready,” Hewlett said.

“Like, it was right there in that moment, right after third down. They're like, if we're around this area of the field, this hash (mark), going this way, that's when we're gonna call it.”

The play was Sports Center’s top highlight from Thursday and it’s destined to be remembered as one of the iconic plays in Bulls’ history.

Also, it very well could be Hewlett’s only play for this season. After all, it would set off alarm bells by USF opponents if Hewlett tried to slip onto the field in another similar circumstance.

And with starter Byrum Brown and veteran backup Gaston Moore ahead of him, Hewlett may be headed toward a redshirt year.

However, if that proves to be true, the talented freshman, combined with a coaching staff willing to push its chips to the middle of the table, confidently pulled off a play for the ages.

Scared?

No, it was the money shot.