Despite recent struggles, USF's 2025 football recruiting class is holding firm

USF’s recent three-game losing streak doesn’t appear to have shaken the confidence of recruits committed to joining the Bulls for the 2025 season.

While four-star cornerback Antavious Richardson recently backed out of his commitment to USF after announcing he would go to Notre Dame, the rest of the class seems to be holding firm.

The Bulls even picked up a commitment from tight end Tayte Crable 3 of Akron, Ohio, after he decommitted from Toledo.

“I will be furthering my Academic and Athletic career at the University of South Florida,” he tweeted.

His father is Shawn Crable, a two-time All-Big Ten player for Michigan and third-round draft pick in 2008 by the New England Patriots.

On3.com still ranks USF’s class first in the American Athletic Conference and 64th overall. That’s tops among the Group of 5 schools.

Their 23 commitments so far include 12 on defense and 11 on offense.

Quarterback Locklan Hewlett of St. Augustine High flipped from Wake Forest to USF a few months ago. He’s having an excellent season for the Yellow Jackets, who are 6-1 with only a 35-34 overtime loss to Nease High School keeping them from a perfect record.

He has thrown for nearly 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns so far, with only four interceptions.

One of Hewlett’s teammates, receiver Carl Jenkins, Jr., recently decommitted from UCF after the Knights were routed at home by Colorado. Hewlett told On3 that he routinely talks with Jenkins about joining him with the Bulls.

“CJ is a great football player and one of my closest friends,” Hewlett said. “I selfishly want him to come to USF and play with me, so I’m going to put effort into him doing that. But at the end of the day, I’ll respect any choice he makes and be happy for him.”

Running back Chase Garnett of Liberty Christian High in Argyle, TX. has 710 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in his team’s first seven games. He is averaging  8.0  yards per carry.

After he committed on July 12, he told Texas Private School Media there was a lot to like about USF and Tampa.

 “I really loved the area and the big market that Tampa is, and the direction the program is going…I can see they are building it up and investing [in the program]”. He also stated that head coach Alex Golesh and his coaching staff at USF played a huge part in him choosing their school,” he said.

He added, “I like the experience our head coach has coming from Tennessee and winning at a high level; he knows what it takes to win…[he brought] a 1 win team the prior season all the way to 7-6 and a bowl game win in just year 1.”

We know that a verbal commitment can change in an instant, especially in the NIL era. We won’t break out the champagne on this class until players sign their scholarships. But it seems to be holding firm despite some recent turbulence, and that’s a good sign.