Returning to a familiar place with an unfamiliar feeling, the USF Bulls football team is moving forward from a highly emotional season. After a trip halfway around the world, the Bulls have returned home to Tampa Bay. Settling down, all focus has shifted to the start of spring ball and looking ahead to what the 2025 schedule has in store.
History has been made in Tampa for USF’s football program, with back-to-back winning seasons and two bowl-game victories. As a result, the expectations are high, and all eyes are on the Bulls. With an exciting conclusion to last season, many developments have been made this offseason. While fans may still have questions about what to expect, let’s take a closer look into the months ahead.
USF Football 2025 Recruiting Recap
Head coach Alex Golesh recruited 40 additions to the 2025 roster, which consisted of 27 new commits and 13 transfers. This brings the team’s recruitment ranking to No. 2 in the AAC for the second consecutive year.
Junior tight end Wyatt Sullivan, a three-star recruit, made the switch from FAU; as did senior another three-star recruit, offensive lineman Connor McLaughlin, a Tampa native, who transferred from Stanford. Coming out of high school, Sullivan had offers from 11 different schools and was ranked the No. 53 athlete in Florida.
Likewise, Thomas Shrader was rated the No. 13 center in the nation and the 75th overall prospect in Florida. He transfers in from Appalachian State. In addition to new recruits, several players whose times were believed to be up following the end of last season will be returning to the Bulls.
On the defensive side of the ball, safety Jaelen Stokes is one of them. Stokes was seen on the field for every game this past season, including forcing a fumble against Navy. Granted another year of eligibility, linebacker Jhalyn Shuler will return to the team as well. Shuler set his precedent last season with two interceptions in the home opener against Bethune-Cookman.
With the departure of some, the return of a few, and the welcoming of many new USF Bulls, this football program is stacked with potential, excitement, and talent going into the spring season.
Let’s break down what we know and what we’ll be watching for position-wise with the start of spring ball!
USF Bulls: Position Battles To Watch
Offense
Quarterback
A consistent question following this past season is regarding the starting quarterback.
Byrum Brown started the first five games of the 2024 season before suffering a lower leg injury at Tulane. Throughout his games played, Brown passed for 836 yards with two touchdowns, with a 59.1 percent completion rate. He also ran for 269 yards, scoring three touchdowns himself. Despite continuing to practice with the team following his injury, Byrum was out of collegiate play for the remainder of the year, and Bryce Archie stepped up as the starting QB.
As the starter, Archie led USF to a 5-3 record, including a huge Hawaii Bowl win. Overall on the season, Archie passed for 1,914 yards totaling a 59.4 percent completion rate. With Byrum returning to receive two snaps during the Hawaii Bowl, fans have still questioned if they’ll will see him back on the field this season – and what his future may look like with USF football.
In a recent interview with Jay Reecher, coach Golesh remarked on Brown and the 2025 season, indicating that there is a very good chance that we will see Byrum back in action soon.
Running Back
The Bulls running backs played a significant role in USF’s success last season. With the departure of Nay’Quan Wright, Kelley Joiner, and Ta’Ron Kieth, there are big shoes to fill at the position.
Cartevious Norton, a Charlotte transfer coming in as a three-star recruit and over 1,100 rushing yards, is on the watchlist for spring ball and will be heavily counted on in the backfield. Norton concluded the 2024 season with seven rushing touchdowns and a total of 129 carries for 525 rushing yards. Cartevious is joining the Bulls with 1,180 total yardage in his 31-played college football games.
Senior K’Wan Powell, who saw action in nine games of the 2023 season, may also return to play this spring. Powell finished his most recent season with career highs of 223 rushing yards and 61 carries.
Wide Receivers
USF’s wide receivers are no strangers to the spotlight. With the departure of Sean Atkins, there is curiosity about how the passing game will shift this year. The good news is the future is bright for the WRs.
Naiem Simmons and Jaden Alexis will return to the field for USF after both suffering injuries and being out of play for the 2024 football season. In 2023, Simmons ranked second behind Atkins with 39 receptions, 637 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. Alexis had also finished the 2023 season strong, with two touchdowns and 23 receptions for 280 yards.
Meanwhile, Chas Nimord, a three-star Tennessee transfer who played in 12 games this past season, will likely make his debut as a Bull. Nimrod made 10 receptions for 121 yards and had a 27-yard long for the season.
USF will also welcome the return of Christian Helms who saw action in every game last season, primarily contributing to special teams. Keshaun Singleton, who ranked third on the team last season for receptions and yardage as a freshman, is another player to watch. He had three touchdowns with 26 receptions for 408 yards.
Tight Ends
USF has a few experienced tight ends, and some new talent has been brought in to join the football team.
Evan Dangler has been a notable member of this position. Playing mostly on special teams, he was seen in every game last season.
Meanwhile, sophomore Jonathan Echols recorded his first career catch against Tulsa for a 59-yard touchdown. He is one to watch for the spring, as there is potential for him to take the field more and leave an impact as we approach spring ball.
Wyatt Sullivan, who we previously mentioned, is prepared to be a big contributor for the Bulls. Sullivan joins the team with a total of two touchdowns, and 18 receptions for 184 yards.
Finally, there’s Weston Wolf. Wolf did not see action this past season, but put up good stats in 2023, will likely be in play again soon. Wolf finished out 2023 with 16 catches for 159 receiving yards.
Offensive Line
USF’s offensive line is returning an experienced group.
Sixth-year offensive linemen Mike Lofton, Derek Bowman, and Zane Herring are the position leaders. While emotions are high, their focus remains centered as these players enter their final season with the Bulls, determined and prepared to go out with a bang. Lofton started the first six games as center, and Bowman started every game as right tackle, the only offensive lineman to do so. Herring started eight games at right guard before missing five due to injury.
There is a lot of talent on this offensive line. We’ll likely see Cole Best, Jack Wilty, Cole Skinner, and Deonte Bowie all in play again this season. Best played seven games at center and three at left guard. Wilty had nine starts for the year, five at right guard, three as left guard, and one as left tackle.
Meanwhile, Skinner ranked No. 2 on the depth chart as a right guard. He played a season-high 25 snaps versus UAB in 2024. Bowie was also ranked as No. 2 on the depth chart for most of the season as left guard, additionally making his first career start in the Hawaii Bowl.
Newcomers Connor McLaughlin and Thomas Shrader are projected to be major contributors, so we will be watching to see how they will be rotated within this group. McLaughlin has competed in a total of 32 games, starting 14 at tackle. Shrader also started all 11 games for Appalachian State last season.
We have yet to see sophomore walk-on D’Wayne Bain take the field for USF; there is a lot of potential for him to collaborate well with this group of starters, making him another player to watch this spring. The USF sophomore has been ranked twice as a First Team All-Conference guard/tackle and defensive tackle for Tampa high school football.
Defense
Defensive Line
The Bulls’ defensive line also has a lot of experienced players and newcomers.
Dre Butler will likely make his USF debut with an extensive list of stats playing Division I football. In his most recent season with Charlotte, Butler totaled 30 tackles overall. He had a tackle in 10 of the 11 games he played as well as tackles for loss in four contests.
Transfer Jacob Merrifield, who was in the spotlight at FAU, is also one to watch for the spring. Merrifield posted 16 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a season-high five tackles at Michigan State.
Also expected to make an impact is sophomore Ryan Jenkins. Jenkins recorded eight total tackles last season, playing in about half of the contests for the USF football team.
Meanwhile, defensive tackles Chad Elder and Jahari Grant showed what they can do this past season, and their impact on the field will also likely continue.
Linebackers
There has been some concern that USF is a little thin on linebacker recruitment. However, the Bulls are in a pretty good spot in terms of the current lineup.
Everyone’s favorite linebacker duo, Mac Harris and Jhalyn Shuler, will take the field together once again. Amer Amer, Greg Otten, and Rodney Hill should also be involved, too.
Harris currently leads the team in tackles and sacks, recording a career-best 82 tackles and four sacks last year. Meanwhile, Shuler started 9-of-12 regular season games, missing three due to a leg injury. Jhalyn recorded a total of 49 tackles, two interceptions, and his first PBU against UAB.
The Bulls’ linebackers and defensive backs left lasting impacts, coming up big last season. How the defense continues to execute as we approach spring football is something to watch out for.
Defensive Backs
USF has a powerful group of DBs who consistently put on quite the show last season. The secondary line will see a return of four starters, including Kajuan Banks, cornerbacks De’Shawn Rucker, and Brent Austin, and safety Tavin Ward.
Looking back at last season, Banks saw action in all 12 games, recording 27 solo tackles. Austin also started every regular season game, recording 39 total tackles. Six of his registered tackles were against Alabama.
Aside from Rucker missing two games due to injury, he performed well when asked. He also put up two pass breakups, one versus Memphis and the second at Rice.
De’Shawn set a career-high with 10 solo tackles at Alabama, a total of 39 tackles for the season. Ward currently leads the team for interceptions. Playing in every game, Tavin recorded a total of 52 tackles, 37 solo, 15 assists, and a fumble recovery against Alabama. His first interception for the year was against Memphis, the second against Tulsa, and the third was in the Hawaii Bowl against San Jose State.
Transfer DB Boogsie Silvera (McNeese State) and cornerback Jonas Duclona (Wisconsin) are three-star recruits on the watch list to see action as we approach the start of this spring season.
In the 2024 season, Silvera ranked second on the Cowboys with 85 total tackles. He also had two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles. Meanwhile, Duclona has played in 16 games in two seasons with the Badgers, 12 of which as a true freshman contributing mostly to special teams.
Final Thoughts Ahead Of USF Bulls Spring Football Practices
What can fans expect to look out for this spring season? Well, there are a lot of new players that have come in, which could mean some changes for the starting lineup. With the departure of several starters, this year’s lineup will likely look a little different. Of course, everyone is eager to hear who the starting QB will be. Byrum and Archie are definitely among the players to watch during spring ball and going into this next season.
Will there be changes to the playbook or how the offense runs? Maybe. In addition to the player roster, new coaching and support staff personnel have also joined the Bulls.
With spring practice officially underway in late March, there’s a lot to look out for. South Florida football will be back in action for their spring game on April 26 at 6 P.M. at USF’s Corbett stadium.
It’s a pretty cool time to be a Bull. Once again, USF is setting the stage and raising the standard. If I were you, I’d keep watching; you won’t want to miss this!
