Brian Hartline's first USF practice as a head coach felt "surreal" at times

After many years as an assistant coach, Brian Hartline went on the field for the first time Wednesday morning as a head football coach.

It was the first of 15 spring practice sessions for his USF Bulls and an obvious question for him at the media briefing afterward was, well, how did it feel?

"It was pretty awesome. 
Surreal at times," he said. "But no, it was great.

"I just made sure I had my whistles so I could blow plays dead because I'm not used to being the guy doing that. 
But, no, it was very humbling. I know the opportunity at hand."

Anyone hoping for even the slightest insight into things like which of USF's four quarterbacks looks like the likely starter will have to wait for several months. Issues like that won't be settled until summer training camp. As coaches love to say, there is a process to be followed.

Besides seeing how things went on the field with the new regime, there was a bit off the field news. Hartline confirmed reports that surfaced on Tuesday that, yes, the entire running backs room was "banned" from their lockers because one player in their ranks was late to a meeting.

An unnamed USF player reportedly posted a Tik Tok video of the lockers covered with yellow tape, and then former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer mentioned it on his podcast.

Volia! Can you say viral?

Hartline chuckled when asked about it.

"Ideally, I'd love to keep in-house things in house, but the fact that it's out there ... we have an accountability standard. It's an honor to have the equipment staff take care of our laundries. It's an honor to be in that locker room. It's an honor to have A.T. (Strength & Conditioning Coach Antonio Turner) and a staff train you and give you everything they have," he said.

"That is something that's of value, and you can't just get it. That's not how this works. We have a system in place. 
It allows these guys to be motivated to not be tardy. There was just a line that ends up getting crossed, and I assure you, the coach is involved as well in that position group. So it's not just the coaches versus the players. 
It is a whole unit mentality."

Translation: The incident sent a message to the room that on the best teams, the players keep each other in line.

Message received.

Coming from Ohio State, Hartline was in a position to receive advice from the likes of Ryan Day, Urban Meyer, and Jim Tressel about what he was getting into and the best ways to handle it.

"The one that sat the most (with me) was fearlessly be yourself. 
Be fearless, and be yourself. I think guys getting in spots, even some head coaches, that maybe didn't go well, have told me, you know, I tried to be somebody else. I try to be this guy, and then once you do that, you kind of lose all credibility and it's difficult to get it back," Hartline said.

'So, you stumble over some words -- who cares? 
Just be transparent yourself."

There will be plenty of time to dissect the minutiae of football, but this day was more about understanding a little more about Hartline, what motivates him and his staff, and what his approach is going to be.

Being transparent, I'd have to say this: So far, so good.