By FRANCIS FEDOR
It has been a wild week for the USF program, from coming off a season ending win vs. Rice, during Thanksgiving week, to having Alex Golesh, the Bulls’ head coach, accepting the same role at Auburn University the next day. USF, with the assistance of Golesh, led a three-year rebuild of a USF program that was essentially dormant. USF athletics added a CEO, Rob Higgins, early in the football season. The program complemented that role by hiring Derrick Brooks as the COO to work with Higgins. Construction is well underway on the new on-campus stadium. USF football was invited to its third consecutive bowl game, after winning the prior two under Golesh, and will play in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. v the Old Dominion Monarchs. ESPN will cover the game. The program is making huge strides.
The fan base response on the departure of the head coach was mixed. It is tough to fault the decision to accept a position at one of the top SEC programs after coming to USF from Tennessee and rebuilding their offense. While there may be some dissatisfaction, the move was a good move for his career.
USF Football photo
USF Bulls Cure Bowl Game announcement
Rob Higgins and Derrick Brooks wasted no time in announcing Ohio State’s current offensive coordinator, Brian Hartline, as the seventh head coach of USF Bulls Football. It is an outstanding hire by Higgins and Brooks and the others involved in the process, especially given that there were three other vacancies in The American Conference as it saw coaches rewarded for their successes in the offer of prominent head coaching positions. Hartline was announced on Wednesday, Dec. 3, by Higgins, but not immediately available for a press conference to welcome him to USF as Hartline was occupied by Ohio State’s Big 10 Championship game against the University of Indiana, a match-up of two undefeated teams ranked 1 (Ohio State) and 2 in the AP Top 25. Indiana won the game in Indianapolis, 13-10, in a game that saw both kickers miss crucial FGs and the Hoosiers holding on with clutch defensive efforts. Indiana is the top seed and Ohio State is the second seed and could meet again. The championship game will be on Monday, Jan. 19, in Miami.
USF Football photo
USF introduced new Bulls Football head coach Brian Hartline at a Dec. 8 press conference on campus. Hartline offered his opening remarks and looks forward to moving the program forward and being a member of the vibrant USF and Tampa Bay Community.
Hartline, the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, is 37-4 in that role and led from that role in Ohio State’s 2024 National Championship. Hartline, himself a WR, played here in FLA in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins from 2009-14. He developed WR talent that led Ohio State to very successful seasons, and many are now in key NFL roles, most notably Marvin Harrison Jr. (Cardinals) and Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers). Hartline takes over a program that has stepped up its offensive game and set many records of its own with players like QB Byrum Brown (2026 status still unknown) and WRs, such as Keshaun Singleton, who in tandem with Brown can stretch the field and create opportunities for the running game when they aren’t connecting on long TDs.
The program, under Hartline, would seem poised to not miss a beat and is an attractive location for prospects to consider as the program is gaining national notoriety with one of the biggest offensive-mined names in the college game at the helm.
Welcome Brian Hartline to Bulls Nation.
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