Tavin Ward is back for another run in the USF secondary (and that's a good thing)

On the first play from scrimmage in USF's game with UTSA last November, Bulls safety Tavin Ward was on the prowl on the secondary.

He was ready when a pass from Roadrunners' quarterback Owen McCown came in his direction. Ward jumped in front of the receiver, intercepted the pass, and sprinted untouched 40 yards for a touchdown. The Bulls were off and running for a 55-23 win.

We mention this because Ward is the only starter on USF's 2025 defense that returns for this season. Despite the mass exodus of defenders through the Transfer Portal, Ward was already where he wanted to be.

“I do love it here. South Florida is my home," he said. "When I came in here, they welcomed me with open arms. I'm very loyal to the program."

And as far as multiple key defenders from last year's team being elsewhere now, Ward has some advice: Chill.

"There's depth everywhere. It's not like you're going to see the same guys on the field the whole game. There’s crazy depth up front. 
There's crazy depth in at my level, too. Everybody can move in any time and there's no trouble," he said.

Ward missed all of spring practice while nursing an injury, but it's what he did during that time that impressed new defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge.

"We come in (as a new coaching staff), he's out for the whole spring with a knee injury, so coming off surgery. So I didn't get to see him (on the field) in spring. All I've got to film going off of but what I did see is the amount of work he put in to make sure he knew the defense even though he wasn't getting reps," Aldridge said.

"And then he comes in fall camp and he's not really missing a beat even though he didn't get a single rep all spring. So really impressed with him, especially in the new defense. Really impressive young man."

Ward said he had some curiosity about how things would go as he battled back from the injury. That's where the rapidly developing camaraderie with his new coaches and teammates was a big factor.

“I was also interested to see how that was going to go myself. These guys coming in, they made it their priority to make sure I knew what was going on and I was still up to speed, even though I couldn't necessarily get the physical reps," Ward said.

“I would get extra meeting time, and I would stay behind a play and watch the play, so the transformation wasn't necessarily a hard for me. And just the coaches were all there for me and showing me loyalty.”

Aldridge returned the compliment.

"He's a pro, he's early, spends a lot of time," Aldridge said. "He'll want to come meet with me, talk about big picture stuff, not just safety."

Here's the big picture for the defense. As Aldridge likes to say, swing first and ask questions later.

"Keeping it simple is big for him. So, we just go out there and play that. There's not too much thinking on us. I don’t have to sit there and make a thousand calls -- see ball, get ball," Ward said.

There's another aspect to the new defensive approach. Under Alex Golesh's go-go-go offense, USF scored a lot of points but also had one of the worst offensive time of possession totals in the country.

That led to the defense being on the field an average of about 10 minutes more per game than their opponents.

New head coach Brian Hartline has made it clear that the Bulls will run a more conventional attack this season.

“This year, you know, being a slower offense, we get a lot less snaps on defense and we’ll be able to conserve ourselves a little more for the end of the game and stuff like that," he said.

"But even if you do get tired, which you should get tired, like I keep mentioning, there’s no drop off.”

Oh, and one more thing about this defense.

“We’re going to run, we're going to hit, we're going to fly," he said. "You're in my territory now.”

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