Sometimes, a wide receiver room is portrayed as a place for finesse. USF receivers coach L'Damian Washington quickly corrects that perception.

"We've got to be a mentally tough group — tough and physical,'' said Washington, a former NFL player who coached receivers at Oklahoma last season. "Talent is one thing, but mentally tough wins a lot of ballgames, especially in the fourth quarter.

"We're going to make plays, but we also need to dominate blocking on the perimeter. If you have a good day, maybe you'll catch five balls. Maybe you'll be targeted six or seven times. What are you doing with the rest of those 74 snaps? You better be blocking and you better be engaged in the game. You better be tough, not some finesse guy, or else you're not going to fit into our room.''

Washington said he has a group with a high ceiling and potentially big-time results, even as many in the group, whose leading returning receiver is a former walk-on, refer to themselves "misfits" and "underdogs." He talks about the "the pursuit of 879'' — USF's single-season receiving yardage record — and says it's achievable by any of the Bulls receivers.

"We don't have a depth chart right now — it's a rep chart,'' Washington said. "We're trying to figure out who our guys are. There are a number of possibilities.''

One of those possibilities is Sean Atkins, the former walk-on who has constantly impressed with his work ethic, production and superior attitude. Atkins led the Bulls with nine catches for 115 yards and a touchdown at Tulsa last year. He had 19 receptions for 238 yards and three touchdowns on the season, ranking third on the team behind familiar names Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn Jr., who both departed for Colorado.

"I look around the (receivers) room now and it's like I transferred,'' said Atkins, who has maintained the No. 38 jersey assigned to him as a walk-on. "Half the guys have left and you're bringing in a whole bunch of new people. But all the guys have gelled really well. We're all kind of underdogs and I really appreciate that about our room.''

Washington said Atkins (5-foot-10, 172 pounds) is setting the appropriate example.

"Sean has never lost that (walk-on) mentality,'' Washington said. "Once he got a scholarship, he still came to work every day. I think he sets the foundation for our group. He's never satisfied with anything. He doesn't get complacent. He has embraced being the leader of the group. He will take it and run with it and show our group exactly what it looks like.''

Naiem Simmons (5-10, 182), a transfer from Football Championship Subdivision program Wagner, knows exactly what success looks like.

At Wagner, Simmons was an All-Northeast Conference player who had 72 catches, 1,067 yards and seven touchdowns in two seasons. Last season alone, he had 50 catches for 796 yards and six scores.

Asked to describe his receiving style, Simmons had a one-word answer.

"Dynamic.''

"Naiem brings speed, competitive juice and he attacks the ball,'' Washington said.

"I think I'm a short, intermediate and deep threat,'' Simmons said. "Coming here to USF, it's like I have something to prove, not only to people on the outside, but to myself. I want to make sure that no matter whatever conference I'm in, whatever stage I'm on, I'm going to be making the same catches, running the same routes and making the same plays I've done all my life.''

Jaden Alexis (6-0, 186) also feels he has something to prove after transferring from Texas. Alexis, the No. 57-ranked national receiver by 247 Sports and the No. 49 recruit in Florida, played in only one game with the Longhorns because he suffered knee injuries in both of his two seasons in Austin.

"Very frustrating,'' Alexis said. "After a while, the coaches start looking for the next guy. It was unfortunate, but that's football. It's next man up. I wasn't naive. I knew I had to find a new place.''

Alexis remembered his relationship with Golesh, who recruited him while at UCF. One text message was all it took and Alexis already knew USF was his best destination.

Alexis, whose father Rich was a running back at the University of Washington and in the NFL, hopes to recapture the form that made him a big-time receiving threat at Pompano Beach Monarch High School. Alexis also participated in track and field — posting personal bests of 10.75 in the 100-meter dash and 22.27 in the 200-meter dash — but said his football game is about more than speed.

"There are more ways to be a football player and be a receiver other than just (to rely on your) speed,'' Alexis said. "I was looking for a place that would use my speed, size, everything all together. It has been awesome so far and I think it's a great fit.

"LD (Washington) always says we're a group of misfits. We're all just looking for an opportunity. Everyone's from a different place or they're a freshman. It's a topic of discussion every day that our receiver room is one of the biggest question marks (at USF). It's a challenge for us to prove it to ourselves, the fans and the entire team that none of that (talk) matters. We have so much potential and I think the group is going to be really good.''

"Jaden was highly recruited and feels like he was placed on a shelf (after the injuries at Texas),'' Washington said. "He didn't give up on himself. All he wants to do now is go to work.

The Bulls have numerous intriguing transfer players at receiver, including Michael Brown-Stephens (6-0, 186 from Minnesota), Seth Jones (5-11, 197 from Baylor), Damon Smith (6-1, 198 from Oklahoma), along with holdovers such as Khafre Brown (6-0, 195, North Carolina), Yusuf Terry (6-3, 180, Baylor) and Christian Helms (6-2, 195).

There's also flashes of freshman potential with Tyree Kelly (6-3, 195 from Cairo, Georgia) and JeyQuan Smith (5-10, 175 from San Bernardino, California), while fellow freshman Keshaun Singleton (6-3, 190 from Norcross, Georgia) is recovering from surgery to repair a preexisting injury.

"If you haven't played much or you're inexperienced, that's fine," Washington said. "But give me a whole bunch of hungry guys who want to work. That's how you change the foundation of somewhere and how you can change the complete culture. Give me that blue-collar, hard-hat mentality. That's what we want here.''

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