When USF hired Brian Hartline as its head football coach, one of the first things said about him was that he was a relentless high-level recruiter.
Nothing we have seen since last December when Hartline joined the Bulls would cause anyone to believe that scouting report was wrong.
This is the time of year when high school players in the Class of 2027 take their official on-campus visits and announce commitments where they'll play in college. And USF keeps raking in players that plenty of other programs -- including those in power conferences -- wanted to sign.
The latest example of that is defensive lineman Kelsey Rose of Jackson Christian HS in Jackson, Tenn. Rose had committed "100 percent" (his words) to Minnesota on May 31, but he announced on Sunday that he is flipping that to join the Bulls.
Blessed to say I’m flipping my commitment from the University of Minnesota To the University of South Florida! Go Bulls🤘🏾!! @CoachA_USF @USFFootball @Bulls_247 @AllenTrieu @CSmithScout @CoachP_JC @JCSAthletics @brianhartline @Big_Glitch @ChadCreamer21 @ESPN300News @247recruiting pic.twitter.com/xZTYqnFtKo
— Kelsey Rose Jr (@KelseyRoseJr2) June 21, 2026
USF leads the American Conference recruiting rankings as judged by 247Sports and On3.com.
Apparently there was a litle subterfuge involved in flipping Rose.
Bulls247 writer Sean Havens wrote, "USF secretly hosted a surprise visitor this weekend in Kelsey Rose, who at the time was committed to Minnesota. Rose was not mentioned to me previously as an official visitor, although this is common with players that take official visits while committed to other schools. Before his initial commitment to Minnesota, Kelsey Rose announced a top 2 including both USF and Minnesota back in May. His commitment to Minnesota was a surprise as he would seemingly take his two officials before making a decision.
"Keith Jones Jr, the current defensive line coach led this recruitment alongside defensive coordinator Josh Alridge as well as outside linebackers coach Chad Creamer. This commitment is the second within this 2027 cycle in which USF was able to flip a power conference commit following the news of Kevin Verpaele just a couple weeks earlier, who also took a surprise visit before his commitment as well. Kelsey Rose is listed as an Edge by 247sports although he could be a player that has the size to eventually move inside as well. He is rated as an 86 and has other offers from schools like Northwestern, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Missouri State."
The Verpaele flip after his commitment to Pittsburgh could have been helped by the fact his father was a quarterback at USF and his uncle, Danny Verpaele, is the Bulls safeties coach. The 6-3 quarterback is rated 4-stars by Rivals and 3-stars by 247Sports. But both sites agree that was a major "get" by USF.
Rose could have a similar impact.
He is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, so he can get bigger if need be.
"Rose has solid athleticism, a good motor, and the versatility to line up as a either a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end or a stand-up edge rusher," The Daily Gopher noted when it looked like he was headed to Minnesota.
And the Bulls might not be done adding more young talent.
Havens noted, "it sounds like they're in the best spot with linebacker Terrell Pinkney, who may also be close to announcing a commitment. They're also in a good spot with WR Sheldon Isaac, who also visited USF this weekend, although he does have some other P4 options where he has recently visited as well."
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