Former Bulls defensive back returns to coach safeties;
Terry Bradden comes from Nebraska to coach the defensive line;
Previous staff members Creamer and Rowe will join Hartline's first staff

TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 19, 2025 – South Florida Football Head Coach Brian Hartline has announced four defensive staff members, including former Bulls defensive back Danny Verpaele, that will complete the Bulls' primary defensive staff under defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge.

Verpaele, who played safety for the Bulls from 2004-08, will coach the South Florida safeties and comes to USF after three seasons in the same role at Army.

Terry Bradden will coach the Bulls' defensive lineman and comes to USF after a season in the same role at Nebraska and eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Current South Florida assistant coaches Chad Creamer and James Rowe (also a USF graduate and a former Bulls pitcher) stay at USF and join Hartline's first coaching staff. Creamer will retain his role as special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach, while Rowe will shift from coaching safeties to leading the Bulls' cornerbacks.

Verpaele, from Merritt Island, Fla., played in 31 games for the Bulls (2004-08), registering 110 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception on USF teams that transitioned from Conference USA to the Big East and reached the No. 2 ranking in the nation in 2007. He was part of teams that reached bowl games in his final four seasons (winning two) and twice posted nine-win seasons (2006 & 2007).

He returns to USF after three seasons coaching safeties at Army. The 2025 Army defense ranked second in the American in points allowed (22.1) and passing yards allowed (199.3 ypg). Army's 2024 defense ranked No. 6 in the nation with 18 interceptions–the program's most since 1988–and saw safety Max DiDomenico earn first team all-conference honors. The Black Knights ranked 25^th nationally allowing 185.9 passing yards per game and led the AAC in total defense (297.9 ypg).

Verpaele spent 2019-22 at Kennesaw State, serving from 2020-22 as defensive coordinator. In 2021, he led the Owls to the top-ranked scoring defense in the Big South Conference and 18th-ranked in the FCS, allowing 19.5 points per game. In 2020, the Kennesaw defense finished the season No. 3 in total defense in the nation, while also ranking in the Top 25 in the country in a slew of other categories, including rushing defense (5th), fumble recoveries (15th), third down defense (18th) and passing yards allowed (22nd).
 
Verpaele also spent three seasons as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Valdosta State (2016-18). Under his defensive leadership, the Blazers captured the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship with a perfect 14-0 mark for the first time in program history. In 2018, Verpaele's defense led the Gulf South Conference in turnovers (27) and red zone defense (65.2 percent), which ranked eighth and ninth nationally.
 
He has also made stops as an assistant coach at Virginia Military Institute (2009), Jacksonville University (2010-12), Mississippi State (2013), and Army (2014-15).

Bradden, a Florida native, will enter his 13^th season in coaching in 2026, including eight in the NFL. He spent eight seasons as a defensive assistant with the Chiefs–winning three Super Bowls and seven AFC Championship games. He helped the Chiefs twice rank second in the NFL in sacks and in the top five in scoring defense in each of his final two seasons.

Chris Jones was a Pro Bowl selection in each of Bradden's four seasons as the assistant defensive line coach. Jones also earned first-team NFL All-Pro honors in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and was a second-team All-Pro pick in 2021. Defensive end Frank Clark also made the Pro Bowl in 2021.

In Bradden's final season in 2024, Kansas City ranked fourth in the NFL in scoring defense and ninth in total defense. The defensive line helped stop the opponent running game, as the Chiefs allowed the fifth-fewest yards per carry in the league.

In 2023, Bradden assisted a defensive line that recorded 57.0 sacks to rank second in the NFL. The 57.0 sacks were the second-highest total in team history and helped the Chiefs rank second in the NFL in scoring defense.

Bradden also coached at Florida Atlantic (2014) and Bethune-Cookman (2016), with a stop as the head coach at Florida's Inlet Grove High School in between. He played quarterback for two seasons at Howard University.

Creamer and Rowe both joined the USF staff in 2023 and have been part of three straight bowl game appearances, two bowl wins and a 9-4 season in 2025 that marked the Bulls most wins since 2017. The Bulls also returned to the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2018 and earned the program's first College Football Playoff ranking in 2025.

They helped coach defenses that have collected 75 turnovers in the last three seasons–the third most in FBS over that time frame–and ranked among the top 15 in turnovers gained in each of the last three years and in tackles for loss in two of those seasons.

Creamer helped guide Bulls kicker Nico Gramatica to second team all-conference honors and 113 points in 2025, the second-best total in program history. Gramatica set a USF record with 59 PAT on the season and his 18 field goals rank fourth for a season.

In 2024, punter Andrew Stokes earned first team all-conference and honorable-mention All-America honors, as the Ray Guy Award semifinalist's 45.5-yard average and 27 punts inside the 20 were the second-best marks in program history. The Bulls ranked No. 7 nationally in net punting (43.3 ypp) and No. 18 in punt return defense (4.46). Former walk-on kicker John Cannon was named MVP of the Hawaii Bowl -making two clutch fourth quarter field goals (including a 41-yarder with 2 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime) and a 36-yarder in the second overtime.

In 2023, defensive end Tramel Logan set a program record with three defensive touchdowns and Cannon led the Bulls with 85 points scored.

Rowe helped guide safety Fred Gaskin to second team all-conference honors in 2025. In 2025, the Bulls ranked No. 16 nationally with 14 interceptions on the year and No. 2 in The American pass efficiency defense (121.42).

A Cocoa, Fla. native, Rowe returned to USF after serving a season as a defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears (2022) and having previously logged 17 seasons as a football coach, including five in the NFL. Rowe is a 2009 graduate of USF and was a three-time letterman on the Bulls' baseball team as a pitcher and outfielder.

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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 29th season in 2025. In 2025, Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly AP Top 25 poll. USF completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023 and a $349-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke ground in the fall of 2024 and is slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), as well as 35 first-team all-conference honorees. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), which is tied for the third-most in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. USF posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings during the 2007 season.