TAMPA, Fla. – A year ago, the USF Bulls were coming off a three-year stretch in which they went 4-29 while winning one of 23 conference games. This year, many starters return to a team that went 7-6, broke even in conference play and capped the year with an impressive bowl win.
Now, there is some noise surrounding a program that has been picked as high as second in the American and its quarterback is on the Maxwell Award (college football’s best player) watch list. While all that is nice, it also does not matter to those who will determine how the 2024 season plays out. After all, there is much work to do.
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“There are expectations this year from (what we did) a year ago, which is really, really positive that people care, people are talking about it,” said coach Alex Golesh, at Tuesday’s media day. “I think we have certainly put South Florida back in the conversation. The hardest thing to do in coaching is, when there are actually expectations to in some way live up to them. So, we go back to nothing else matters except what is in that (locker) room. Nothing else matters outside of how we go about our daily business.”
That is pretty much the theme as the Bulls get ready to open preseason practice Wednesday.
“I hear about it, but I try not to pay much attention to it,” said defensive tackle Rashad Cheney. “We know what the media says about us, but we know as a team what we need to do. At the end of the day, it is about those four walls in the team meeting room and building up this program.”
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A major reason why expectations are high is because of the young man who is on the Maxwell watch list, quarterback Byrum Brown. He is coming off a season in which he totaled 4,101 yards (3,292 passing) to rank second nationally. Brown is ready for bigger and better, but understands there is a process to adhere to.
“It is truly a blessing to be named to the (Maxwell watchlist),” said the junior, who bulked up to 229 pounds, 20 more than last preseason. “Those awards you dream of, but the work has to put in. It’s preseason and I have to go out there and do what I know I can do. Wherever the chips fall is where they fall. I am just focused on what we have to do today.”
Make no mistake, the confidence level is high. It helps that there are many players lending a sense of continuity, something that did not exist a year ago.
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“This year we are going in with a full head of steam and are excited to get started,” said receiver Sean Atkins, who established program records last season with 92 receptions and 1,054 yards. “I think everywhere around the team the confidence is so much higher than last year.”
One month from Wednesday is the season opener against Bethune-Cookman at Raymond James Stadium. Indeed, the days and the weeks will fly by and Golesh wants to see a team that is ready and on the same page.
“The biggest thing is consistency,” he said about the start of camp. “You want to see consistent growth within each position group. A year ago, we didn’t know what we had. Now, you are looking for guys to be consistent. As long as they are consistent you can better evaluate how you can package things. You feel like there is a foundation laid for how we approach our daily business. Day to day consistency will create growth.”
Which is what the Bulls need far more than preseason expectations and accolades.
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