USF picked up a major verbal commitment Monday night from Marquis White, a 6-foot-5, 297-pound defensive tackle.

White, originally from Olympia High School in Orlando, played last season at North Carolina Tech, a college prep program in Charlotte.

White made his official visit to USF on Jan. 21 and committed after visiting Florida A&M in Tallahassee. White chose USF over North Carolina and Minnesota.

Having already graduated, White may enroll at USF in the summer, giving him a head start on his USF career.

Sousa gets away

USF was nearly able to convince quarterback Kevin Sousa to stay in his home state, but he slipped away.

Sousa was committed to Wake Forest in December, but nearly reversed his decision to run with the Bulls.

The quarterback from Lake Nona High School in Orlando was also strongly recruited by Miami, but eliminated the Hurricanes Saturday, leaving only the Demon Deacons and Bulls in contention to gain his services.

As a senior, Sousa ran for 1,001 yards and six touchdowns and passed for 2,239 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Both Rivals.com and Scout.com rate Sousa as a three-star prospect. Sousa committed to Michigan in June, before de-committing and moving to Wake Forest.

After an unofficial visit to Tampa over the weekend, USF emerged as the only school with a chance to pry Sousa away from Wake Forest.

Sousa chose Sunday night to honor his commitment to Wake Forest.

Atkins headed to WMU

Rontavious Atkins, an outside linebacker from Pahokee High School, has de-committed from USF in order to sign with Western Michigan.

Atkins would have been a grayshirt at USF if he chose to stay, meaning he wouldn’t have been put on scholarship until January 2012 and would have been unable to participate in team activities until that time.

Atkins is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com and may be converted into a defensive back by the Broncos.

Smith Awarded

USF point guard Andrea Smith was named to the Big East Honor Roll for the week ending Jan. 30.

Smith, the Big East’s third leading scorer, averaged 22.5 points in two games over the week. Her season average is 17 points per game.

Smith also contributed five rebounds and three assists per game during the week.

Against Seton Hall on Tuesday, Smith played all but one minute, scoring 22 points as the Bulls picked up their first conference win of the season.

In a loss to Syracuse Saturday, Smith scored a game-high 23 points, including shooting 5 of 8 from 3-point range – the second highest of her college career. Smith scored 33 points in a win over Auburn on Nov. 22.

Anatol Recognized

Ryan Anatol, an assistant coach with USF men’s soccer team for the last six seasons, was named among the nation’s top assistant coaches by collegesoccernews.com.

Anatol played for the Bulls between 1997 and 2000 before being hired by coach George Keifer as an assistant in 2005.

USF has made the NCAA tournament in 5 of 6 seasons since Anatol was hired, including a trip to the Elite 8 in 2008.

USF won the Big East regular season in 2005 and the Big East Tournament Championship in 2008.