Relentless Effort And Building Trust Targeted As USF Football Opens Spring Practice

Wednesday morning was another day at spring football practice — and USF's Brian Hartline has seen many of those — but it was his first one as a head coach. So, what was he feeling?

"It was pretty awesome, a little surreal at times,'' said Hartline, the former offensive coordinator at Ohio State. "I just made sure I had my whistle so I could blow plays dead because I'm not usually the guy doing that.

"This place, these players, this coaching staff will all get my best every day. I'm going to make sure we push ourselves as much as we can. We have high expectations. Honestly, I don't know another way.''

The Bulls, coming off a 9-4 season in which they spent five weeks in the Associated Press top 25 rankings, have four returning starters (including place-kicker Nico Gramatica) and 41 new players acquired through the transfer portal. There are new faces to learn at all positions and throughout the coaching staff.

But in Hartline's world, there's also no time to waste. The 15 spring practices will culminate with the April 19 spring game at Corbett Stadium. Then comes a wave of summer conditioning drills that leads to training camp and the Sept. 5 opener against Florida International University at Raymond James Stadium.

In the 30th season for USF football, it's also the final go-round for Bulls' games at Raymond Jame Stadium before USF expects to open its on-campus stadium for 2027. Just outside the practice field, there's round-the-clock clinging and clanging from the construction crews as they build the most tangible evidence of USF's football ambitions.

The steel and concrete skeleton of that stadium — now standing several stories high on the east end of campus — cast a symbolic shadow over Wednesday's proceedings. Hartline said he's excited — not only by the facilities, but the trajectory of USF's football program.

"I wanted to move to a place where there's literally no ceiling and that's how I feel about USF,'' Hartline said. "I think this university, with the media market, the players in this state, the high-school football in this state … it's better positioned than anybody in the country for long-term success. That's ultimately why I believed in it wholeheartedly. Now it's our job to go get it.''

Wednesday morning represented one of the initial steps.

"I was excited about the energy we had today,'' Hartline said. "I think the buy-in, the desire to (play) some ball and get out of training was well-received. The ability to sustain that energy over time is ultimately a big indicator of what kind of team we have. From a first-day perspective, you love it. I'll definitely re-evaluate it when it comes to practice 14 or 15. Does it match Day One? That's the goal.''

For USF's returning veterans, Wednesday's opening practice was a positive experience.

"You've got to earn trust in the spring and that will lead to being prepared to play in the fall,'' said offensive lineman Thomas Shrader, who played last season at USF (after beginning at Florida State and Appalachian State) before being granted a seventh season of college football (due to missing most of two seasons with injury) by the NCAA. "That's what they're teaching and really harping on now. You've got to earn everything. You've got to be reliable now, so when fall camp comes, you already showed that you can do it.''

"The energy was high, so I thought it was a great (first) practice,'' said tight end Wyatt Sullivan, who played last season at USF after transferring from Florida Atlantic and led Bulls tight ends with 18 catches. "I think that tight ends have a chance to make a lot of plays and that's always good for me. That's the kind of offense they showed at Ohio State. I look forward to showing that I'm a playmaker and a vertical threat.''

All USF pass-catching threats will be working with a new quarterback after the departure of Byrum Brown, who had the program's only two 3,000-yard passing seasons while starting games in each of the past four seasons.

USF's four primary quarterback contenders are junior Jayden Bradford (6-0, 185 pounds; saw limited action the past two seasons at Liberty University); graduate-student KJ Cooper (6-5, 215; passed for 1,626 yards and 13 touchdowns last season at Texas Southern); junior Luke Kromenhoek (6-4, 220; a former four-star recruit who started two games at Florida State in 2024 while playing in three games last season at Mississippi State); and junior Michael Van Buren Jr. (6-0, 190; a former four-star recruit who has played 17 collegiate games and started 12 with LSU and Mississippi State, giving him career totals of 2,896 yards passing with 19 touchdowns).

"How do you assess (the quarterbacks)? I would say we're looking for consistency,'' Hartline said. "These guys are putting it together, day-in, day-out, really being who they are, making sure they understand that the film doesn't lie. We're looking for them to be good teammates and lead these guys.

"We'll do a really good job in every position group of carrying true metrics, hard numbers, not opinions, measurables that you can quantify. These guys are competing, so there has to be something you can show, whether it be for quarterbacks on their completions, whether it be for receivers and the outcome when they're targeted or whoever.''

Overall, Hartline has set four main goals for the spring:

Relentless Effort — "In everything we do, we're learning how to do things. Most teams run the same plays. So, it comes down to execution and the way we run those plays. It's how we do it. So, let's show relentless effort in how we operate.''

Individual Improvement — "We can master our technique, but we've got to master our team as individuals. No one has earned a job. No one has a set role. We're trying to earn jobs, earn roles. So, find ways to stand out –whether it's in meetings, how we communicate, how we are as a teammate – finding ways to stand out. Find ways to be different. That's a big cornerstone of what we believe and how we think.''

Building Trust — "Most of these guys are playing football together for the first time. The way to build trust on a football field is to be accountable. Whatever your job description is, do your job right and consistently over time.''

Finding Leaders — "We know that the best teams are player-led. As we develop our personalities, our roles, our jobs and how we do it, hopefully we'll have some trials and tribulations that allow guys to step up and go to the front of the pack.''

USF's staff will be seeking those characteristics every day.

As for Hartline, now the man in charge, Wednesday morning was special and a bit different — but only for a short time.

"Outside of the first five minutes, it was just ball,'' Hartline said.

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