It's legitimate to wonder if we'll ever see Byrum Brown play for USF again

As the football season wound on and USF quarterback Byrum Brown’s injured leg kept him on the sideline, we routinely asked head coach Alex Golesh about Brown’s progress.

Golesh said the same thing virtually every week: Brown was practicing, and his leg was improving. Then the game would come, and Bryce Archie would start, and when he went out, Izzy Carter replaced him.

Archie was inconsistent but has played well enough to help the Bulls get to a bowl game. USF is 4-2 in his six starts.

He threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns against Tulsa and ran for 40 more. He had two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. USF has topped 50 points in each of the last two games – the first time that has happened in 13 years.

Archie has added the running element to his game, which is important. We remember how Brown led the Bulls in rushing last season and was always a threat to go the distance with his legs.

He was electric.

Golesh has said Brown could play, but he was also hesitant to put Brown in because his leg was sore and running is such a big part of his game.

Brown became a national story after his performance last season. There were even preseason predictions that he could be a Heisman candidate.

Now, with the regular-season finale against Rice coming up, it’s reasonable to wonder if we’ll ever see Brown play again for the Bulls. I hope he does, but it's a legitimate question. Life in the Transfer Portal world means staying ready for anything.

I don’t pretend to have any inside information about this. Our imaginations can whip up multiple possibilities about Brown’s future, but that’s not helpful. I only know what I see, and it’s noteworthy that Brown is among the first to congratulate Archie after a big play. He clearly is a team-first guy.

Starting Archie would probably be the safe play at Rice. The offense is rolling and, with a victory, the Bulls can get to seven wins. The gloom of the 2-4 start and three-game losing streak has given way to good vibes, a bowl invite, and the possibility of an eight-win season.

At this point, there is no quarterback controversy.

For what it’s worth – and honestly, I don’t think it’s worth much -- Brown continues to be atop the quarterback depth chart.

The injury he suffered on September 28 at Tulane looked gruesome at first. His left leg was bent awkwardly, and I thought for sure that he had blown out his knee and was done for the year.

It turned out, of course, that didn’t require surgery.  When he started practicing again after a couple of weeks, it seemed likely that Brown would soon be back on the field.

However, that was two months ago and it hasn’t happened,.

Will it ever?

Good question.