From walk-on to record-setter, Sean Atkins is what USF football wants in a leader

Nearly any coach will tell you that a team where the players police themselves stands a better chance of achieving championships. USF football head coach Alex Golesh certainly believes that and routinely stresses that to his players.

That takes time to develop.

“I think we still have challenges there. We're still continuing to build, and we're certainly closer than we've ever been, but as long as it's coach-driven, and we're the ones holding you accountable for everything … we're going to be capped at a certain point – seven-and-six would be a great example,” he said, referring to last year’s record.

“But when it becomes player-driven and controlled within that locker room, there's no ceiling.”

That’s where Sean Atkins stepped up.

You know his story by now. He worked his way from a walk-on to a record-setting receiver. As his final season wearing green and gold approaches, Atkins showed that his USF legacy will forever used as an example of how to defy the odds and achieve your dream.

At a recent team meeting, Atkins ensured the new guys understood there are no shortcuts to that success.

“I have our older guys in our leadership council speak to the team every night during ball camp and different guys every night,” Golesh said. “Sean talked for about 15 minutes. He was really vulnerable, and telling his story was really the first time he truly opened up.

“It was really cool just to hear his challenges coming out of high school, not getting recruited, and the belief his family's had in him. That's what got him to this point, you know.”

Moving from a walk-on to what Golesh said is the best receiver in the American Athletic Conference and one of the nation’s best requires an inner resolve to tune out the noise and do the work. At 5-foot-10 and 186 pounds, he is not a prototype receiver.

His heart, however, didn’t get that memo.

“You know, not everything's going to go your way, but I explained to them that football is my sanctuary, that place I go whenever my head's not right. This thing elevated me and my life aspect. I was just trying to be vulnerable with them and just tell all the young guys that you're gonna have those dark days, but it's always gonna be with us.”

That’s what player-driven leadership looks like. When new arrivals see what Atkins went through to get where he is today, that lesson can motivate them on days when nothing is going right.

Golesh remembered the message he gave Atkins before last season began.

“I told him, ‘You're gonna have a big year, Sean, you're gonna be really special.”

Golesh’s offense is designed to make maximum use of slot receivers, but most people didn’t see Atkins as anything special. In four previous seasons – including a redshirt in 2019 – he caught 29 passes total for 332 yards.

He was going to be special? Why?

“He talked about that moment in front of the team,” Golesh said. “He was, like, man, outside of my parents, this is the first one that believes in me like that. And it's not a knock on the previous staff. He just needed that push and that confidence.

“What you see on Sean now is energy, like he talks back. He's so fun to be around in practice. He has a crazy amount of confidence right now.  And he just talked about that in front of the team, talks about when I'm out there, no matter my size, no matter my speed, no matter what that night, I’m on the route.”

Yeah, that one-time walk-on last year, he caught 92 for 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the first 1,000-plus-yard receiver in USF history.

And he wants his teammates to believe in themselves just like he learned to do.

“I feel like everybody's still playing with a chip on their shoulder. You know, we got a lot of young guys from last year still trying to prove their way and

prove their worth and try to make plays practice to get on the field,” he said.

“It honestly pushes me as well. Whenever I see the young guys make a play, I just have that competitiveness. I want to go out and make plays. I think we kind of just build off of one another.”

That’s what Golesh means by a “player-driven” team. Achieve that, and there is no ceiling on what can be accomplished.