Brian Hartline says USF football recent success was 'nowhere near where it should be'

It was national news for about 24 hours when USF hired Brian Hartline last December to replace Alex Golesh as the head football coach. But there was a lot of other stuff going on in college football -- approaching playoffs, recruiting classes, and other coaching changes.

So, once everyone processed the "how did USF pull this off" to get the highly coveted Hartline, the story settled down while Hartline and his staff went about the business of essentially rebuilding the Bulls from the ground up. Most college football pundits will concede that the Bulls built an impressive roster on paper through the Transfer Portal, they still peg USF to finish in the middle of. the American Conference pack.

Well, in an interview with Pete Nakos of On3.com, Hartline made it clear what his expectations are.

“There was some success here the last couple of years, but nowhere near where it should be,” he said. “The expectation should be to win — the floor here should be a constant chase for the American Conference championship.

"I think we’ve been transparent about what those expectations are day-to-day, through the summer, through recruiting, and into the fall. We have 50 new guys on the roster — a completely different roster than last year. I’m excited about the guys who came in and the guys who chose to stay. I think we have the right guys, and now it’s our job to maximize what they’re capable of.”

If that was Hartline's none-too-subtle swipe at Golesh, it's understandable. Hartline and CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins are probably still stewing over his ill-considered shot at the ability of his former employer to compete for national championship.

In an interview with USA Today, Golesh said, “I felt like you could win a national title here (Auburn), where, at South Florida, I think you and everybody else know you never were going to get there.”

Let that sink in.

Never. Going. To. Get. There.

Higgins had a rapid response without using Golesh's name.

The Bulls won't get there this season, obviously. It will take a few years, but NEVER?

And Hartline is right. While Golesh inherited a dumpster fire and quickly returned USF to the land of the living, the fact is he had conference championship within his grasp last year and couldn't bring it home. The Bulls had Memphis on the ropes in the fourth quarter only to see the Tigers storm back. They had a must-win at Navy and couldn't bring it home.

That's what Hartline means by "nowhere near where it should be."

After all, Golesh must have thought he had a roster that can compete for an SEC title and playoff berth, since he took the bulk of USF's key components with him to Auburn. There is a fair amount of skepticism by a portion of the Auburn faithful about how well that's going to work, but that's their problem.

Hartline, meanwhile, knows that questions about his readiness as a first-time head coach are inevitable until he proves he is ready for this stage.

“We did a good job in the portal, but you never really know until you see it in person,” he said. “During winter, everything’s new — guys are coming from great programs on paper, but they hadn’t operated at the level I’m accustomed to. There was a feeling-out process. By the end of winter, guys bought in, camaraderie started to show up, and it carried into spring ball.

“Operationally — how you practice, the expectations, learning the offense and defense — it was a slow climb all spring. The last 10 days, we really started to find a groove, and the spring game was solid. Now we’re back to training, and there’s no feeling-out process anymore — they know the expectations, they know how I operate. It’s been really beneficial from a metrics standpoint: Body composition, speed, quickness, strength. It’s all showing up.”

It starts with expectations and, trust me, the expectations at USF are the same as those at Auburh.

And it's worth remembering that Hartline has had power conference before but elected to stay at Ohio State. He was one of the hottest names on coaching market last season and he chose -- repeat, chose -- to come to South Florida.

Now he's on a mission to get the Bulls where they should be, and that's on top of the American and into the College Football Playoff.

“We understand it’s a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s going to be all gas, no brakes,” Hartline said. “Tampa is the No. 1 media market in Florida and the 11th in the U.S., and this region loves sports — there’s a huge opportunity to maximize competitiveness here. The stadium coming will help bring people to campus.

“This is a 30-year-old program going up against schools with a century-plus of football tradition, but there’s a real opportunity to take South Florida football into the new age of college football — all gas, no brakes.”

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