USF (3-2; 2-0 American) at UAB (1-4; 0-1 American)
Saturday, Oct. 7 • 4:00 P.M. • Protective Stadium (47,100) • Birmingham, Ala.
SURFACE: FieldTurf
TV: ESPN2: Beth Mowins (PxP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst) & Stormy Buonantony (Sideline)
AUDIO: 102.5 FM & HD 2/TuneIn - Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: TIed, 1-1
IN TAMPA: UAB leads, 1-0
IN BIRMINGHAM: USF leads, 1-0
LAST TIME: USF won, 45-20, in 2004 at UAB
VS. AAC: 32-50, 11th season
AAC ROAD GAMES: 16-25
LAST 3-GAME WIN STREAK: 2018 (started 7-0)
USF GAME NOTES
Back on April 14 of last spring, after the optimism of the annual USF Spring Game drawing a first-ever, turn-away crowd at the on-campus Corbett Stadium, head coach Alex Golesh remained in hyper-drive. He was asked how active USF would be in the post-spring transfer portal.
Golesh gave a one-word answer.
"Very."
"We've got to validate the investment that's being made in this program,'' Golesh said that night. "We've got to put a team together that's going to win as fast as we can.''
As the Bulls (3-2, 2-0 AAC) look to continue their momentum in Saturday afternoon's road game against the UAB Blazers (1-4, 0-1 AAC), it appears USF's improvement was greatly helped by Golesh and his staff accomplishing that late-in-the-game mission.
USF's post-spring additions included three players — guard Zane Herring (Florida State), nose tackle Doug Blue-Eli (TCU) and cornerback Braxton Clark (Nebraska) — who have been season-long starters.
There's wide receiver Michael Brown-Stephens (Minnesota), who registered his first USF touchdown with an acrobatic end-zone catch at Navy, and linebacker Andrew Mata'afa (Utah), who had 10 tackles in his initial USF start.
There's speedy receiver Jaden Alexis (Texas), who has emerged from injuries to begin displaying his game-breaking ability. Then there's nose tackle Immanuel Hickman (East Carolina) and linebacker Jamie Pettway (Florida Atlantic), who have added depth to a productive defensive front line.
"Some of those guys have been critical for us,'' Golesh said. "Most of the time when I've taken guys late, they haven't panned out. There's a little bit of a panic that ensues because you're like, 'Man, I need that spot filled.'=
"I've spent my whole career recruiting junior college (players). That's where you generally make all your mistakes, when you say, 'Man, we've got to have a D-tackle' and then you tend to 'invent' them. You say, 'That guy's pretty good right?' So, the challenge to our staff and myself was to be really critical and make sure we're not 'inventing' guys … because we needed somebody at that position in the worst imaginable way.''=
Golesh praised James Thomson (director of internal scouting), Alex Fagan (director of scouting), Ephi Levy (director of player personnel) and Will Bahler (director of high school relations/recruiting) for their work in evaluating and discerning voluminous prospects while finding the ideal fits for USF's roster.
"Whatever you do, don't sacrifice character,'' Golesh said. "Man, we brought in a lot more guys than we signed. There were guys where it was way less than, 'Let's show these guys what Tampa is all about and get them out on the town' and more like, 'If they're really coming here to play, this is a two-day interview.'
"Are they about football, the team and helping us get better? Are they good human beings? The football part was checked off, but it was the rest of it (that determined the fit). Several guys, I was like, 'Man, that guy is on a plane out (of town). I'm good. Keep it moving.' We went back and forth on some guys. In the end, the guys we took, we added (quality) not just from the football side, but also from the character and development side.''
Golesh said he also adhered to a North Star guiding principle, which applies not only to the transfer portal, but to life.
People are generally running TO something or AWAY from something. Always choose the person who is running TO something.
If a player was running AWAY from something, Golesh said that could manifest itself in statements like, "My former program did me wrong … I didn't like that city … I was mad at my coach.''
In Golesh's experience, if a player ran away from something before, it likely will happen again.
"I tried to be very attentive to guys who were running to something,'' Golesh said. "I'm also self-aware enough that we were recruiting off a 1-11 record, one of the worst teams in the country, the worst defense in the country and all this negative crap that's going on. So, I was really up-front about what the heck they were running to.
"And if they were still attracted to it, that was our kind of guy. I was very up-front and open, telling them if you're coming here, it's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done. We're going to challenge you in every imaginable way. And every one of them (that USF signed) said that's what they wanted. We're not perfect, but I think we found a bunch of guys who were running to something rather than running away from something.''
Golesh said attracting the right kind of people is critical because each transfer represents a statement from the coaching staff. Teammates in the locker room will watch closely for work ethic and values, so credibility is on the line.
Without exception, Golesh speaks to the previous head coach of a potential transfer. Golesh said his policy is never bad-mouthing a departing player or jeopardizing his chances of going anywhere. But while drilling deep in a head coach-to-head coach conversation, the final answer is usually determined.
"If you're a head coach at this level, generally you can get the truth out of somebody,'' Golesh said. "Whether it's reading body language, just hearing a tone or reading between the lines, you usually can know what the heck actually happened.''
Golesh said he's equally attracted to both kind of transfers — the experienced, older players who might just have one season remaining and the younger players who still need development.
"We're not just building a team, we're building a program so we need to have a foundation,'' Golesh said. "Jaden Alexis is a prime example. I saw him in high school and was mesmerized by the talent, who he is as a young man and the family. He goes to Texas, gets hurt and doesn't play for two years. I've seen him at his best. He's an incredible human being who works harder than anybody in our program.
"Then there are older guys who have played and started elsewhere — Manny Hickman, Michael Brown-Stephens — who are super excited to get into a situation that's different. You can't just take all older guys because you never build a foundation. So, you're looking for a good mix of older and younger guys. And always the right kind of guys.''
Throughout USF's roster, it's an interesting mix. There are holdover known quantities, such as quarterback Byrum Brown and nickel back Daquan Evans, who are having all-conference level seasons. There are holdovers who barely played in 2022, such as linebacker Jhalyn Shuler and safety Jaelen Stokes, who are breaking out into impact performers.
There are high-school recruits pushing for playing time and several impact transfers — running back Nay'Quan Wright (Florida), receiver Naiem Simmons (Wagner), offensive tackle RJ Perry (Tennessee) and defensive end Lloyd Summerall (Florida) — who arrived shortly after Golesh was hired.
But the final pieces were the late-spring transfers, the players who became the final connectors at an urgent time, and they have made a huge difference.
Player Updates
Golesh said linebacker DJ Gordon and defensive end Lloyd Summerall, who both did not play in the game at Navy due to personal family matters, will likely be ready to play at UAB. Golesh also said he believes left tackle Donovan Jennings, who has missed the past two games with injury, will return to the lineup.
In Jennings' absence, RJ Perry has played left tackle, the third position where he has started in the early season (along with right tackle and right guard).
"He has been really unselfish with kind of bumping around and being where we need him to be,'' Golesh said.
–#GoBulls–
