Brian Hartline was emphatic when he was asked if any of the four quarterbacks on USF's roster coiuld have the edge on the starting job by the end of spring practice.
"There'll be no shot," he said. "These guys will compete and we'll try to figure it out before Game One."
However, Hartline did give some insight into how "these guys" -- junior Michael Van Buren, redshirt senior KJ Cooper, redshirt sophomore Jayden Bradford, and redshirt sophomore Luke Kromenhoek -- will be judged.
"Obviously, the quarterback is touching the ball every single play., so you want a guy that you trust. It could be a good problem solver, a guy that can be a good fixer and really provide value to everyone,' he said.
"Some people will see it as a playmaker, but if you miss an obvious read and you don't throw the ball, but you run the ball for six yards, I mean, yeah, it can be good, but it can be better. So it's not about the production per se, as it is, the true execution of playing.."
Execution, of course, means minimizing mistakes or trying to do too much.
Consider what redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin did last season at Ohio State when Hartline was calling the plays as the offensive coordinator.
He completed 77 percent of his passes for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns. He threw only eight interceptions. His 9.2 yards average yards per attempt was sixth in the country, interestingly one spot behind former USF quarterback Byrum Brown.
But Sayin ranked 53rd overall with 12.0 yards per completion.
Efficient? Yes.
Effective? Definitely.
However, probably not as explosive as you might think for someone who was a five-star recruit and finished fourth in the 2025 Heisman Trophy voting. It's all about playing under control.
"The NFL will show you that all day. You know, there are probably guys that everyone wants to call game managers," Hartline said.
"Well, they win championships, The number one aspect for our quarterback is to manage the game, manage the team, manage the offense. We want a guy we trust. We want a guy who provides a lot of value to his other teammates, and is consistent emotionally.and production-wise day to day."
Given that philosophy, this team will look a lot different offensively from the Alex Golesh go-go-go atack mode. That worked for Golesh because in Brown he had the perfect quarterback to execute that scheme.
Hartline, offensive coordinator Tim Beck, and quarterbacks coach Mike Hartline will take their time to find the perfect person to execute this offense.