Michael Van Buren, Jr. won the starting quarterback job at South Florida for his work in the weeks leading up to the start of the season.
But if I'm reading things correctly, Luke Kromenhoek won the hearts of USF fans for the way he played after coming off the bench against UAB when Van Buren was injured. Kromenhoek led the Bulls to a decisive come-from-behind victory, showing his chops as a runner by gaining a team-high 92 yards.
USF hasn't disclosed Van Buren's injury, but on TV it looked like he was hit in helmet. Officials checked for targeting, but decided not to call that. Still, Van Buren didn't return to the game, which leads us to Friday night.
The Bulls are at East Carolina on Friday night, seeking their seventh win in nine games and hoping to improve to 3-2 in the American Conference.
Who's going to be USF's starting quarterback in this game?
All head coach Brian Hartline would say is, "We'll have one."
He's playing poker, of course, because he wants to keep East Carolina guessing. If Van Buren is anything less than 100 percent, Kromenhoek should be in the game. But what if Van Buren is physically ready?
Coming off of last week -- just my opinion -- Kromenhoek should start anyway.
OL Michael Wooten on Luke Kromenhoek: "Luke's a dog. When he's in the huddle, I know we are going to have a good play whether he's running the ball or passing the ball. He's always had that dog mentality, that killer mindset." #usf pic.twitter.com/rDkRIyQOUz
— Tom Layberger (@TomLay810) November 3, 2026
But let's be fair.
The Bulls won five of seven games that Van Buren, Jr. started and finished. He threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for two more at Army. His fourth-down bomb for the winning TD in the final half-minute could go down as the Bulls' top play of the season.
However, USF's offense in games leading up to last Saturday had stagnated. Hartline has, at varying times, pointed the finger at the receivers' routes, play-calling, and other factors. Bulls fans have pointed the finger at offensive coordinator Tim Beck, but that's a column for another day.
What's undeniable is that Kromenhoek gave the Bulls a needed spark. From the moment he entered the game, the Bulls overcame a 10-point deficit and outscored UAB 30-0 the rest of the way.
One thing Hartline said after the UAB game really stuck with me.
”I’m just really happy for Luke,” he said. “We’re going to try to find more ways to throw the ball. We’ve got to protect him on the edge, which is why we weren’t necessarily throwing the ball (vs. UAB).
”His ability to throw the ball is real and his ability to run the ball is real. Obviously his legs were huge today and we’ll build on that, but we’ll also build on everything else he can do.”
I've read from some learned observers that USF has a quarterback controversy now.
I disagree.
I believe the Bulls have a quarterback evolution.
We're not at practice every day and we don't sit in meeting rooms, but from all accounts Kromenhoek was the kind of teammate every locker room needs. He and Van Buren developed a close bond, all the while refusing to let his disappointment at not initially winning the starting job affect the bigger mission of winning football games.
We may have to wait to see until 90 minutes before Friday's game to see if Van Buren is on the injury list. But even if he is deemed OK to play, Kromenhoek deserves to start.
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