Alex Golesh kicks off his third summer training camp as USF’s head football coach on Monday. That also is one month away from the Bulls’ opening game against Boise State.
While there is high optimism about the upcoming season, Golesh and his staff enter camp with multiple unknowns. That’s mostly because 53 players – basically half of the 108-player roster – are newcomers this season.
With that in mind, here are five things the Bulls need to accomplish before Boise comes to town.
HI, MY NAME IS…:
Like nearly every other team, the Bulls have to live with the impact of the Transfer Portal. As he continues to rebuild the program’s foundation by staying successful in high school recruiting, Golesh has said he wants to rely less on the portal.
That day may well come, but it’s not this day.
The offensive line hasn’t always been a strength, but that could change this year. Incoming transfers include Connor McLaughlin from Stanford and Appalachian State transfer guard Thomas Shrader. They join four returning starters. With the Bulls facing you-know-who in the first three weeks – Boise, Florida, and Miami -- this unit will have to be ready to roll from the opening whistle.
WHO IS NO. 2 UNDER CENTER?
Heading into the summer, the Bulls had to feel secure about quarterback depth with their top two signal-callers on the roster and with lots of experience.
That changed when backup QB Bryce Archie signed with the Cincinnati Reds last week. Archie was 5-3 last year as a starter after Byrum Brown was injured, but now there is virtually no experience behind Brown.
Only graduate student Gaston Moore has any playing time, and that came as a backup at Tennessee. Golesh was there with him as an assistant coach before coming to USF.
Moore threw only 44 passes in four seasons with the Vols, and he didn’t join the Bulls until July 22.
Behind him are true freshmen Locklan Hewlett and Sam Fenton. Red-shirt freshman Marcelis Tate is also in the mix.
Brown is said to be fully healthy entering camp, but as we saw last year, things can change in an instant.
GET THE WIDE RECEIVERS ON THE SAME PAGE.
This is another intriguing group, with big-play potential but also without the presence of record-setting Sean Atkins.
It has transfers Chas Nimrod (Tennessee) and Mudia Reuben (Stanford) joining legit home-run threat Keshaun Singleton. True freshman Kory Pettigrew chose USF over offers from multiple schools, including Georgia Tech, Memphis, Tulane, and Navy.
Another true freshman, Jeremiah Koger, had his pick of P4 programs that included Pitt, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, NC State, UCF, Maryland, and Memphis.
GET DEFENSIVE.
It doesn’t take deep analysis to say USF needs to get a lot better on defense. The Bulls ranked 118th in overall defense among the NCAA’s FBS programs last year.
Games against Alabama (42 points), Miami (50), and Tulane (45) may have skewed that ranking a big, but in the first two cases, that was because the Bulls wore down from a lack of depth and collapsed in the second half. At Alabama, the collapse was in the last six minutes.
They gave serious attention to upgrades on defense in the off-season. Those joining USF this season for spring practice included transfers Josh Celiscar (Texas A&M), Dre Butler (Charlotte) and Jacob Merrifield (Florida Atlantic).
However, Golesh didn’t stop there. He and his staff brought in Arkansas State/Murray State transfer Dennard Flowers, Vanderbilt transfer Devin Lee, and West Florida transfer Traevon Mitchell after spring practice.
On paper, it’s the deepest defensive line the Bulls have had since Golesh arrived. Making it come together during summer camp is a top priority.
WHAT’S THE HURRY?
Golesh believes in a go-go offense, so that’s not likely to change. But according to Team Rankings, the Bulls were 133rd last season out of 134 teams in average time of possession per game.
They kept the ball for 25:21 per game, down more than three minutes from the year before. That left the defense having to stay on the field for nearly 10 more minutes than their opponents.
Not good.
Much of that can be attributed to Brown’s injury, but whatever the reason, that figure needs to greatly improve.
Running backs Cartaveous Norton and Sam Franklin transferred from Charlotte and Oklahoma, respectively. Franklin was a beast at UT Martin, where he learned FCS All-American honors.
True freshmen Tray Kinkle and Chase Garnett are interesting names to watch.