With the countdown to the kickoff of USF’s football season well underway, let’s examine some of the specific things that need to happen for the Bulls to achieve their goals.
Of course, all teams establish their goals and here at Green, Gold and Bold we want to contribute to that process.
Call it a public service.
We’ll start with the obvious.
KEEP NO. 17 UPRIGHT AND HEALTHY.
You can’t win consistently in major college football without an outstanding quarterback, and the Bulls obviously have one in Byrum Brown.
He’s on the watch list for the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award, both given to their respective organizations’ player of the year. If you’re even a casual reader of this or any other USF-type space, you’re already familiar with what Brown can do.
As a team, the Bulls attempted 448 passes last season, and Brown threw 427 of them. The next closest was Bryce Archie, who threw 15.
Brown was sacked 38 times last season, which obviously is way too many. The Bulls believe their veteran offensive line will be much improved this season, and the coaching staff wants Brown to stay in the pocket more. If he needs to make a play with his legs, which he has consistently shown he can do, that’s fine.
Otherwise, though, the plan is for Brown to leave the contact to his playmakers.
Brown has gained 20 pounds since last season, and most of it looks like muscle. That bodes well for the Bulls' goal of keeping him healthy, which is their biggest individual priority.
REDUCE PASSING YARDS ALLOWED BY 64 YARDS PER GAME.
Granted, that’s an arbitrary figure, but accomplishing that in 2023 would have put the Bulls in the middle of the NCAA passing defense stats instead of one spot from the bottom.
USF heavily focused on defense in recruiting and the transfer portal leading into this season. That was clearly a position of great need, particularly in the secondary, where the Bulls surrendered an average of 288.8 yards per game through the air.
Virginia last season allowed 224.8 yards per game, which ranked 66th – at the halfway mark of all major college teams.
We’ll find out soon enough if that goal is reasonable. In three of their first six games, the Bulls will face quarterbacks Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Cam Ward (Miami), and Seth Henigan (Memphis).
SPREAD THE WEALTH ON OFFENSE.
Wide receiver Sean Atkins is back for his senior season, and that’s a good thing. He was a great story in 2023, a former walk-on who became the Bulls became USF’s first 1,000-yard receiver in school history.
His 92 catches not only led the team, but that total was just one catch shy of equaling what the next two receivers had combined.
As good as the Bulls’ offense was with Atkins, think how good it could be if Brown could spread the ball around a little more.
Highly touted freshman tight end Jonathan Echols, who is 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, should keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night trying to stop him. He came to USF after flipping from Tennessee and receiving offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and a whole bunch of other well-known schools.
The Bulls have 18 wide receivers on the roster, including transfers Michael Brown-Stephens from Minnesota and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen from Purdue.
They’re still working out the rotations and such, but one thing seems certain—Brown will have a veritable buffet board of receiving options.