From Tennessee to Tampa: Chas Nimrod giving USF a game-changing weapon

Chas Nimrod came to USF this season from Tennessee advertised as a receiver with elite speed who could stretch the field and deliver big plays.

If anything, his play so far is proving that description might have somewhat undersold what he could mean to the Bulls. The chemistry that he and quarterback Byrum Brown have has been on full display throughout the non-conference portion of the schedule.

And with the Bulls opening American Conference play Friday against Charlotte, the Brown-to-Nimrod connection will be a vital element to USF’s hope of winning the first conference championship in program history.

Nimrod has consecutive 100-yard receiving games in USF’s last two outings. He’s just the fifth player in program history to do that.

He also has nine “explosive” receptions (of 15 or more yards) in the Bulls’ four games. Six of those catches have been for 37 yards or longer. Two of them were for more than 50 yards.

His first catch as a Bull went for 37 yards against Boise State at a time when USF trailed 7-0.

It helped set up the Bulls’ first score in that game, and we know what happened after that.

When Nimrod entered the Transfer Portal after playing two seasons at Tennessee (he also was a redshirt in 2022, so he has one more year of eligibility after this season), Bulls coach Alex Golesh instantly recognized how much he could add to a wide receiver room that needed to replace record-setter Sean Atkins.

The fact that USF and Tennessee run similar up-tempo offenses made  the bit even better.

“I was part of recruiting Chas (at Tennessee). I coached Chas for a year. I know what makes Chas tick. I know where he comes from,” Golesh said.

“And so for him, there was this instant comfort level, not just schematically, but also the place where there's a handful of people on the team that he already knew, half of the staff he already knew. So there's this instant comfort for him.”

Against South Carolina State in USF’s final game before the bye week, the Bulls led by only 21-7 at halftime.

That changed quickly.

Just 1:07 into the third quarter, Brown and Nimrod hooked up for a 42-yard touchdown pass. They added another scoring pass – this one of 22 yards – as part of a 35-point eruption in the third period.

“It was really important. Just got the offense going. A little bit more everybody going, then we were able to put up a lot of points after that,” Nimrod said after the game.

“You just keep building confidence. Game to game. There's definitely a lot of room to improve in my game, for sure.”

Think about that for a minute.

Nimrod’s speed and penchant for getting deep can open up many options for the Bulls’ offense.

“It was a matter of us being able to put him in situations to be successful,” Golesh said. “He's grown so much as just a wide out, not just a deep threat, just how he has learned fundamentally to come off the ball, his top of the routes, his IQ of the game coverage, is what he's done at the top of the route has been really, really impressive.

“And so we've continued to put more and more on his plate. It's worked out for him that he's been able to get open down the field.”

When he does that, good things happen for the Bulls.