In his inaugural season as head coach at South Florida, Alex Golesh made an impressive impact, nearly defeating a playoff-bound Alabama team in Week 3. This momentum helped the Bulls achieve a total of seven wins, which is just one victory shy of their combined total over the previous four years.
As Golesh enters his second year, USF aims to build on this progress, primarily through a potent rushing offense spearheaded by quarterback Byrum Brown. To contend for the program’s first conference championship, the team must enhance its performance on the offensive line and improve its coverage.
Strengths: Attacking quickly.
Every player in USF’s backfield has the ability to break through defenses on the ground. Byrum Brown was among just five FBS quarterbacks last season to rush for over 1,000 yards, and the Bulls have retained Nay’Quan Wright, their leading tailback. Transfer running back Ta’Ron Keith has primarily excelled as a receiver, but he has also demonstrated his skills as a capable rusher when given the chance.
Principal Vulnerability: Offensive line.
What makes South Florida’s rushing performance last year even more remarkable is that the offensive line did not provide much support. The Bulls ranked 123rd in offensive line grade in 2023. However, the positive news is that USF has retained six of the seven linemen who played at least 300 snaps, suggesting that some improvement is likely.
Three Important Additions to the Transfer Portal.
Bowling Green’s Ta’ron Keith had an 83.5 PFF rating.
WR Yaseen Abdur-Rahmaan (Purdue): PFF grade of 66.5
Florida Atlantic’s DI Decarius Hawthorne has a 67.2 PFF grade.
Three Notable Losses on Transfer Portals.
EDGE Tramel Logan from Louisville: PFF grade of 76.6
James Madison’s EDGE Lloyd Summerall had a 66.5 PFF grade.
Khafre Brown (WR, Arkansas) has a PFF grade of 63.0.
Team Overview for 2023.
EPA for offense each playyards for each playPlay rate success rateRun play rate explosionremarkable pass-play ratio
5.8 0.006 34.7% 16.0% 13.5%
66, 64, 70, 58, and 79th
Protection
Per play, the EPA allowsYards allotted for each playPermitting a successful play rateAllowable explosive run ratePermitted explosive pass rate
5.9 0.010 34.0% 16.8% 17.4%
52nd, 99th, 97th, and 127th
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