Explosive, Confident, And Healthy Again: Byrum Brown Is Ready to Lead USF

For USF’s football team, it’s really simple.

If quarterback Byrum Brown plays like he did in 2023, the Bulls should be contenders for the American Conference championship. If he plays better than that, USF can do more than just contend.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on the young man, but Brown embraces that. We don’t need to dwell on what happened last season, beyond the fact that it seemed to me that he took a beating nearly every game before a broken leg against Tulane ended his season.

That was then.

This is now.

“I think the best version of Byrum is going to be just him playing relaxed and confident. He's really, really confident right now,” head coach Alex Golesh said. “The way he works throughout a week, he has earned the right to be confident.

“You've seen the best version of him at times. That means he's running around and causing things to happen with his feet. You've seen the best version of him sometimes sitting in there, taking a hit and delivering a ball. This right now for him, you know, coming off of a spring where he got healthy, and coming off of a summer where he's been really healthy. Knock on wood.”

For good measure, to give fans something to ponder, Golesh added this: “He's throwing it better than he's ever thrown. He's running better than he's ever run.”

Brown’s legs add another dimension to the Bulls’ attack. In 2023, he was the team’s leading rusher with 809 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also threw for 3,292 yards and 26 touchdowns.

That’s the version of Byrum Brown the Bulls say they’ve seen in practice this summer.

“The best version of Byrum Brown is going to be unstoppable. I mean, we've all seen he can take off and go run,” center Cole Best said. “As an O-line, that's very promising, knowing that he can dip and go outrun just about anybody in this conference, in the nation.

“You're going to see a lot of explosive deep balls. I think you're gonna see a confident, tough triple-threat quarterback.”

There’s an added element that’s an X-factor. Gaston Moore joined the Bulls in late July after transferring from Tennessee. Besides Brown, Moore is the only QB on USF’s roster with any college experience, and that has made a difference in practice.

“They are attached at the hip, everywhere they go. They are challenging each other,” Golesh said.

It all sounds great and has the potential to create something special.  With three Preseason AP Top 25 opponents in the first three games, the Bulls have the toughest non-conference schedule in the country.

It’s a daunting challenge, of course, but it’s also an opportunity. Are the Bulls up to it?

With a healthy, motivated Byrum Brown under center, they’ll meet that challenge head-on.