USF plans a more careful spring football game to avoid injuries and prying eyes

What: USF spring football game

When: Sunday, April 19, 3:30 p.m.

Where: Corbett Stadium on the USF campus

Listen: Bulls Unlimited (no TV)

As Brian Hartline prepares for his first spring game as USF's head football coach, it's important to remember that, well, it's not really a game. If it follows the recent custom, the Bulls won't even make individual statistics available to the public.

Think of it as more of a first semester exam for the team, except with much more emphasis on how players do things as opposed to what they do.

"We'll be out there having fun the best we can. Really, our main focus is the opportunity for these guys to compete and showcase what they learned over spring, really put a book mark to the end of their spring," he said.

"We want to stay healthy for sure. They deserve this opportunity to kind of put more on a pedestal, to do a good job, They've got a little more stress on them, and see how they react to that, because it's not a practice. it's the spring game. It's not traded the same, but it will be graded."

The spring game used to be a massive promotional opportunity for programs like USF, but many teams are moving away from that. The Bulls pulled their spring game off of ESPN+ last year, likely over fears other teams would scout their players and try to lure them into the Transfer Portal. In 2025, there was a spring portal where players could quickly transfer, but that has been eliminated.

Even so, Hartline is taking a cautious approach not to provide much for FIU -- the Bulls opening opponent -- to see ahead of time..

"Probably a good chance there's going to be some scouting going on (at the game). So, we'll be particular about what we want to run and what we want to show. 
I think our focus will be more around technique and fundamentals and understanding that, you know, living with our hands, living with leverage, understanding our concepts, like little keys, you know, physicality, things like that versus schematic value," he said.

"So, we'll be purposeful aoubt deciding on what to show on Sunday, but that's a great opportunity for guys to showcase what they've learned and how they've grown."

There will be a focus on how each of the four quarterbacks on the roster play. Hartline said he likes what he sees from that room so far -- especially from Michael Van Buren, Jr, who transferred from LSU, and Luke Kromenhouk, who came in from Mississippi State.

"I would say that's the competition's high. 
I start there. I think they're both doing a good job and they're both chasing being that same guy every single day. 
I think a lot of that's because those guys are competing at the level they are. It's been really, really good. think it's healthy," he said.

"I think if it's not for the one, the other guy wouldn't be as stressed and back and forth. 
Like anytime you have healthy competition, you get the best version of these guys. It's great. Luke's doing a great job. Mike's doing a great job. We're trying to put them in situations where they can eval themselves and forcing install to make it hard so they can separate themselves. 
If you make it too easy, you take care of them too much, then you can throw it hard to separate, and they both can kind of do it. The more you push, the more you challenge, the more those are separated."

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