On Tuesday's first day of spring football workouts, USF quarterback Byrum Brown said he felt like a little kid.
"It was great to be back out there on the field, playing ball with the guys,'' Brown said.
Brown, who missed eight games last season due to a leg injury after a record-setting season in 2023, said he's 100 percent physically. He's up to a chiseled 230 pounds. GPS data indicates that he's running 22 miles per hour.
"He's 10 times better (than before the injury),'' said quarterback Bryce Archie, who started eight games last season when Brown was injured. "It's like a freight train. It's kind of scary.''
In keeping with the time-honored tradition of a player not losing his starting spot due to injury, Bulls coach Alex Golesh said Brown took Tuesday's first-team reps. But Golesh said it remains a competition — just like every position — and Archie's new-found experience will provide enviable depth at the high-profile spot.
If Brown returns to form, the Bulls will be boosted considerably. In 2023, Brown set USF records for passing yards (3,292), touchdowns (26) and completion percentage (64.6). With a team-high 809 rushing yards, Brown joined Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU as the only Football Bowl Subdivision players to pass for 3,000 and rush for 800 in that season.
Meanwhile, Archie was 5-3 as the starter, including a five-overtime win against San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl, while leading the Bulls in passing (1,914 yards).
Both players are ultra-competitive, obviously wanting to start, but nothing comes before their tight friendship.
"We really don't care who's out there as long as we go out, execute and win the game,'' Archie said. "Just do what we can, whatever is best for the team.''
Brown, who was injured during the third quarter last Sept. 28 at Tulane, said he maintained a sharp mental focus, despite his inability to contribute in games.
"It didn't weigh on me mentally,'' Brown said. "I just shifted my focus and tried to be the best teammate that I could be for Bryce and then for everybody else. Just do what I can to keep Bryce's head in it and tell him what I see (on the field), help the team however I can.''
Golesh said he expected no less from Brown.
"He is fully cleared, fully healthy and, maybe tied with me, had the most fun out there today,'' Golesh said. "I think when you get something taken away like football for a young guy like that, I think he's just grateful to be back out there leading the offense.
"The cool thing about Byrum is his process never changed when he got banged up. His mindset the entire time was, 'This is the week I'm getting back. This is the week I'm getting back.' The competitor in him is one thing, obviously, but how he prepared never changed. His energy was awesome on the first day. When you feel like, 'Man, I'm at the pinnacle in my career right now' and it gets taken away, he was grateful to be out there running and taking the field. It was a really cool energy.''
Brown hopes his energy can help the Bulls take another step forward in Golesh's third season, which begins Thursday, Aug. 28 at home against Boise State, followed by marquee road games at Florida (Sept. 6) and Miami (Sept. 13).
After Tuesday's first spring practice, Brown is intent on stacking 14 more competitive efforts, culminating in the April 26 Spring Game at Corbett Stadium. He said every workout has a purpose.
"Building our identity … that's what we've been harping on,'' Brown said. "We don't want to be average. We want to be elite. Take every day, learn from it, grow from it and do what we can to become elite.
"I'm focused on today, cleaning up what we have to clean up, then going into (the second spring practice) on Thursday and getting better from there. My mom said, 'Focus on the step right in front of you, not the whole staircase.' That's what I'm looking at.''
For Byrum Brown and the Bulls, the climb has officially begun.
–#GoBulls–
