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Shortly after he was hired, Alex Golesh won't forget the first familiar sight he spotted in the USF team meeting room on Dec. 4, 2022.

It was the face of offensive lineman Mike Lofton.

"Mike and that big smile,'' Golesh said. "It always makes you feel good.''

Golesh remembered that cheerful look when his previous school recruited Lofton. Plenty of things have changed for the player, who has grown into a rugged center, a gritty ironman and an irreplaceable team leader.

Lofton's incandescent personality? It's the same.

And that's a good thing for the Bulls, who are preparing for training camp and looking to make waves after coming off a 7-6 season, which included a victory at the Boca Raton Bowl.

"Mike is just a pleasure to be around,'' Golesh said. "He doesn't have bad days. He has tough days. And he goes through that like everybody else. But you get him out on the football field, man, he is demanding of himself and his teammates. He is truly the heartbeat of what our offensive line is all about.''

Like all offensive linemen, Lofton usually labors in obscurity while his skill-position teammates are known for flashy statistics.

But Lofton has an impressive stat of his own:

According to Pro Football Focus, Lofton led the nation in snaps played last season with 1,050. He rarely left the field.

"I pride myself on giving my best every play that I can,'' Lofton said. "Knowing that the guys around me, I feel I can set an example by the number of games and numbers of snaps that I play. I don't want anything to break my focus. I feel like my teammates feed off that.''

Lofton, a former Tarpon Springs Sponger, arrived in 2022 as a transfer from UCF. He quickly gained a reputation as a versatile performer who could play practically any position along the line.

Last season, with the Bulls looking to replace three-year starter Brad Cecil at center, Lofton happily assumed that duty and put himself into a pressure-packed position.

"If you're a center and you mess up (with a bad snap), everybody in the stadium is going to know it,'' Lofton said. "So, I'm determined to never mess up. I'm going to come at you with focus and discipline. I take the job very seriously.''

It showed.

Last season, USF's go-go offense led the nation with 82.1 plays per game (ahead of North Texas at 79.3, Clemson at 78.2 and Jacksonville State at 78.0). The Bulls also set 12 team and 16 individual program records, while rolling to 5,871 yards (third in program history) and 415 points (fifth).

Lofton leads a veteran group up front, including returning primary starters Andrew Kilfoyl (left guard), Zane Herring (right guard), Derek Bowman (right tackle), Weston Wolff (tight end), plus tackle/guard RJ Perry, guard Cole Skinner and tight end Gunnar Greenwald, each of whom started games in 2023.

"I'll take all of our guys any day,'' Lofton said. "We play a very demanding position. If we're off just a little bit, somebody gets hurt or the quarterback doesn't have enough time. We really can't have bad days. We can't have bad plays. It's not always going to be perfect, but we work together well and pick each other up. We all got another year of experience, so we're going to be that much better.''

Even more than his play on the field, Lofton is a respected member of the team's Leadership Council, which works directly with the coaching staff on communication and feedback.

"Coach Golesh really wants to know what's going on in the locker room and how we can all be better,'' Lofton said. "He's always there if we need something and we can tell him what's on our mind. It's all about getting everybody better.''

Lofton said he makes it his mission to become a shining light, someone the young players can depend upon for leadership or an encouraging word.

"I feel like that's just who I am,'' Lofton said. "I try to pick people up when they're down. Since I was a little kid, my mom always taught me to keep smiling and keep pushing. It's OK to ask for help. I want to be that guy who can help.

"The other thing is I want to get the most out of myself, every single day. A wise man once told me that you've got to be where your feet are. I try to take every second of every day and be where my feet are. And I just bring people along with me.''

That's a message strongly endorsed by Golesh.

"I'm super proud of Mike Lofton,'' Golesh said. "I admire the way he plays and I definitely admire the way he goes about his business.''

"When you see that smile, when you see the way Mike works, it just sets the tone for all of us,'' wide receiver Sean Atkins said. "We respect the heck out of him.''

–#GoBulls–