USF football’s spring game is back. Here are four things to watch.
Let another season of USF football commence.
On Saturday, the Bulls will play their annual spring game at Corbett Stadium, giving fans a glimpse of how USF plans to build off its impressive 7-6 season last year.
“It’ll be a fun afternoon Saturday here at Corbett,” Bulls coach Alex Golesh said during a Tuesday press conference. “Our guys are excited about it, we’ll do some fun things with the spring game.”
Unlike regular-season football games, the green and gold game features the Bulls offense facing off against the Bulls defense.
Here are some areas to watch when the Bulls kick off Saturday afternoon.
Quarterbacks
Redshirt freshman quarterback Byrum Brown became a household name after a record-setting freshman season.
Now, the darling of USF football returns for his third collegiate season.
Brown said he gained about 15 pounds to his frame over the offseason – boosting his weight from 205 to 220 pouds.
It’ll be interesting to see how the added weight affects his play, specifically his mobility. Brown runs a lot – he put up 809 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground last season.
Another area to watch is who takes reps at the backup quarterback position. Sophomore Bryce Archie is splitting time between football and baseball, while freshman Israel Carter withdrew his name from the transfer portal this offseason.
Related: ‘I try to dominate in everything I do,’ says USF two-sport athlete Bryce Archie
Receivers
Who will be Byrum Browns’ number two receiver?
Senior wide receiver Sean Atkins quickly became Brown’s favorite target last season. Beyond that, it was a revolving door.
Junior receiver Na’iem Simmons had a game for the record books against Rice but didn’t do much beyond that. Khafre Brown and Jaden Alexis had their moments, but couldn’t consistently produce.
A name to watch is graduate wide receiver Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, who transferred to USF this offseason after four seasons at Purdue.
Standing at 6-foot-2-inches and weighing 200 pounds, Yaseen is one of the biggest wide receiver targets on the Bulls’ roster.
Defensive backs
It’s not a stretch to say the defensive backs struggled at times last season. The Bulls gave up the second-most passing yards in the nation.
This time around – bolstered by a new positional coach and a couple of new transfers – the Bulls will look to fortify the defensive backfield.
Senior D’Marco Augustin and junior De’Shawn Rucker – transfers from Youngstown State and Tennessee, respectively – are new additions to a secondary that was particularly vulnerable last season.
After his departure for the NFL draft, it will also be interesting to note who fills the shoes of defensive back Daquan Evans, who was the longest-tenured member of the Bulls defense.
Tight ends
Freshman tight end Johnathan Echols could be one of the most interesting new additions to the team in 2024.
Echols flipped his commitment from Tennessee to USF in December, becoming the Bulls’ highest-rated commit in over a decade. He was announced as an early enrollee in December, joining the team for practices in preparation for the Boca Raton Bowl.
He will presumably be the third tight end on the depth chart behind two returning starters – senior Gunnar Greenwald and junior Weston Wolff – but look for the Bulls to utilize their freshman star in interesting ways.
USF football’s spring game will be played Saturday at Corbett Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
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