While the competition to become South Florida's starting quarterback is entering the stretch drive of summer training camp, there's an area of the team that probably doesn't get talked about enough.
The running back room is a mix of power, speed, and experience and the players at that position will see a lot more action than their predecessors did under former Bulls' coach Alex Golesh. It's not that Golesh didn't like the run, but more often than not the ball carrier was quarterback Byrum Brown.
Last season alone Brown had 77 more carries than the next closest back on the team. His 14 rushing touchdowns were nearly half of the Bulls' total of 29 ground strikes.
This year's offense will be a lot more diversified, which is good news for new Bulls like running back Jason Collins, Jr. He comes to USF after two seasons at Morgan State, and he quickly showed what he can do when he broke off a long touchdown run in the spring game.
How long was it? Well, we don't know because the team didn't release statistics on the spring game. But the distance is less important than the fact it could be a preview of coming attactions.
"I feel like my style is more like an artistic style of running. I like to draw in my own head, let the blocks fill, let the lines put their blocks, cut up, cut out. And I also like to get dirty sometimes," he said.
"I've got a couple of moves, but I'm more of a one cut, cut and go, cut and go. You don't want to make too many moves or you dancing too much, and you're wasting time, wasting space. I would say I'm pretty fast. I feel like once I get past the second level, it's not going to be nobody (catch me)."
Collins, who also can contribute on kickoff returns, is one piece of a deep running back room.
Big things are expected from Dartmouth transfer D.J. Crowther, who had 929 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
Alvon Isaacs and Chase Garnett are holdovers from last year's Bulls' squad. Isaacs came on strong late in the season and Garnett was highly touted as an true freshman in 2025.
There's something else offensive coordinator Tim Beck likes about that group and it has nothing to do with running.
"One of the things you can always tell on the physicality of a running back is how he is going to pass protect. Will he step in there and put his face on something when a guy is running full speed right at him," Beck said.
"And I've been really impressed with our guys. They're physical, they're strong, they do a good job in that. So I believe that we have those pieces in place to be able to accomplish what we're trying to do."
And with a little more than two weeks left before the opening game against FIU, Collins is getting antsy to do something besides practice.
"Oh, yeah, you know how it is when you get close to the end of camp. It's like, I'm just ready to play that first game now -- punch somebody else in the mouth," he said.
"Now it's time to come together as a team and show the world what we can do. So yeah, I'm waiting for that."
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