The official start of spring football practice is just a week away. The Bulls will hold their first of 15 practices on Wednesday, March 15 as new head coach Brian Hartline and his staff begin molding 54 returning players and 58 newcomers -- including 41 through the Transfer Portal -- into the kind of team he envisions.
Actually, the team-building has been going on since Hartline was hired in December after Alex Golesh left for Auburn. There have been team meetings and training sessions where players and coaches got the chance to size each other up. But now, the work transitions to the practice field, and that's where players can begin to show what they have.
With so many new players, not to mention a mostly new coaching staff, it would be understandable if everyone wore badges that said "Hi, my name is..."
Making a team from essentially from scratch is a challenge, but Hartline was one of the most sought-after coaches in the country after his work at Ohio State. We assume he's up for the task.
Here are three questions for the Bulls that need to be answered by the time the spring game ends on April 19.
1: Who's the quarterback?
We'll begin with the most obvious. After record-setting quarterback Byrum Brown and backup Locklan Hewlett elected to follow Golesh to Auburn, the QB room needed an extreme makeover.
That's exactly what happened.
Redshirt junior Michael Van Buren Jr. transferred from LSU, where he played in seven games last season and started the final four. A 4-star recruit coming out of high school, he completed 94-of-151 passes for 1,010 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions while running for 129 yards and a touchdown
Redshirt sophomore Luke Kromenhoek, also a 4-star recruit, didn't play much last year at Mississippi State after transferring from Florida State. For the Seminoles, he became the only true freshman in Florida State history to pass for three touchdowns in his first career start. He also had a 71-yard touchdown pass, the second-longest completion by a true freshman in program history.
Redshirt sophomore Jayden Bradford was highly sought after led the elite IMG Academy team in Bradenton to an 18-1 record as a starting quarterback during his junior and senior seasons. He signed with Liberty, where he red-shirted as a freshman and saw action in just one game last year.
Redshirt senior KJ Cooper comes in after he completed 158 of 261 passes for 1,626 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions last year at Texas Southern.
There also remains a possibility the Bulls will add high school quarterback during the ongoing Late Signing Period.
We can safely assume the four current QBs on the roster will have equal chances to shine. But we can also assume Hartline would like to know what the depth chart at that position will look heading into the summer.
2. What will the wide receiver room look like?
USF was hit hard there in the Transfer Portal as four receivers from 2025 -- Jeremiah Koger, Christian Neptune, Keshaun Singleton, and Kory Pettigrew -- also followed Golesh to Auburn. You can add tight end Jonathan Echols to that list too.
That's a combined 123 catches for 1,946 yards and 20 touchdowns. That's a lot of firepower to replace.
Mudia Reuben returns after injuries limited him to just three games last season for the Bulls. He did flash some skills in his brief appeareances.
Bryson Rodgers comes to the Bulls from Ohio State. He was highly touted coming out of Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, but was stuck behind some of the best recievers in the country with the Buckeyes. He'll get his chance with USF for sure.
Cameron Seldon, a 4-star recruit in high school, comes to USF after two years at Tennessee (as a running back) and one at Virginia Tech. where he had 23 receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He can also return kicks.
Armani Winfield could also be in the mix as a redshirt senior after two years at Baylor and two more at Colorado State. He was a 4-star recruit and Under Armour All-American out of Lewisville HS in Lewisville, Texas.
The common thread for this group seems to be that many of them were highly rated in high school but never quite reached that potential at their initial college programs. Hartline is regarded as perhaps the finest developer of wide receivers in college football. He will need to be that at USF.
3. What will the secondary look like?
The Bulls have nine new defensive backs – three who were four-star prospects out of high school and eight who came to USF from Power Four programs.
Junior safety Israel Boyce transferred after two years at West Virginia. During that time, he played in 20 games and had 40 tackles. He also had seven tackles in the final game of 2025 vs. No. 7-ranked Texas Tech.
Freshman safety CJ Cresser Jr. played for the Florida powerhouse Lakeland High School program. He had offers from Missouri, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Louisville, Kansas, Maryland, and Indiana, among others.
Freshman safety Amari Jones from IMG Academy is another guy with 30 offers from many Power 4 programs.
Junior safety Malcolm Ziglar appeared in 22 games over the last two seasons at North Carolina.
There are also ten cornerbacks on the roster.
Amarion Fortenberry played 25 games over two seasons at Kansas State. Redshirt junior Za'Quan Bryan had a pair of productive seasons at Minnesota
New defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge, safeties coach Danny Verpaele, and cornerbacks coach James Rowe will be busy sorting all this out.