TAMPA, Fla. – The biggest benefit to making a bowl game from a coach’s perspective are the 14 practices that come with it. They represent a huge opportunity to turn the page to the following season while working to complete the current one on a positive note.
USF coach Alex Golesh, whose Bulls will meet San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, will have some players from the early signing class that was announced Wednesday present for practices. Combine that with opportunities for additional growth among younger players, including redshirts, makes these next couple of weeks a valuable time for the program.
READ: USF Bulls Headed To Hawai’i Bowl For Christmas Eve Showdown With San Jose State
“The standard is not to win six games and go to a bowl game,” said Golesh. “The next step for us is to continuously be playing in December, to continuously be practicing in December. I think we will have six of the signees here for bowl practice. Guys that redshirted this year will get about 14 additional practices, which is monumental.”
The early signing class comprises of what Golesh said will be 26 or 27 high school players. The emphasis was on recruiting players from top-shelf programs.
“I think what we’ve done through the last year is kind of narrowed in on the guys that we feel can come in and make an impact certainly right away, but guys that fit totally what we’re trying to build here,” said Golesh, completing his second year at the helm at USF. “Fit what this school is, fit what we’re looking for in football players, which is really tough, really smart, really competitive guys that are coming from elite high school programs that play for elite high school coaches that know how to work and know how to help build.”
One of the eight Floridians who fits the profile is quarterback Locklan Hewlett from St. Augustine High. The young man’s father, Will Hewlett, is one of the nation’s leading quarterback trainers who served as his son’s position coach in high school.
READ: Never-Give-Up Effort Highlighted USF’s Bowl-Clinching Rout Of Tulsa
“Tough, gritty, smart,” is what Golesh said about the signee while noting the elder Hewlett worked with Brock Purdy during the latter’s pre-draft process after his career at Iowa State concluded. “’Lock’ exudes everything you want in terms of toughness, intelligence.”
The class also has size, including 6-foot-7, 260-pound offensive lineman Colin Bellamy from Powder Springs, Ga. who is sure add weight to his considerable frame. Khalil Walker is a 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive lineman from Canton, Ohio and Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
There is 6-foot-3 receiver Jeremiah Koger from Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy, which former Charlotte coach Biff Poggi building into a prep power.
In addition to Hewlett, there were seven others from the Sunshine State on board as of late morning. Included were players from Lakeland, Riverview, Orlando and Venice.
“When all is said and done, this will be the next step in our foundation for where we are going,” said Golesh. “We are continuing to build the way we said we would two years ago, which is building through high school talent because we are in the greatest high school football state in the entire country.”
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