After a whirlwind six-week period as the head coach of South Florida football, Brian Hartline gave his self-described "State of the Union'' news conference Wednesday afternoon. His roster was defined by some interesting numbers.

Fifty-eight new players.

Forty-one players acquired through the transfer portal (USF's portal class ranked No. 1 among all Group of 6 programs).

Thirteen new players who earned a four-star or five-star recruiting ranking out of high school.

Fifty-three returning players from last season's roster, but just four returning starters (including place-kicker Nico Gramatica and offensive lineman Thomas Shrader, who was granted a seventh season of college football through an NCAA waiver).

"It is different,'' Hartline said with a smile.

But through all the changes in modern college football, South Florida's template has become clear.

It's always about the right players for what the Bulls are building.

Building culture, chemistry and hard-working routines are paramount. Before sunrise Wednesday, South Florida held its first round of "mat drills'' under strength and conditioning coach Antonio Turner, an essential step in instilling and refining those necessary winning characteristics.

How will the Bulls follow up their 9-4 finish and third consecutive bowl appearance in 2025?

How good can the Bulls become in 2026?

For Hartline, the answers to those questions are in the future. Some things are clear. Spring football practices begin March 11. The spring game is set for Sunday, April 19 at Corbett Stadium (3:30 afternoon kickoff). The season-opener is Saturday, Sept. 5 against Florida International University — the first of seven home games in USF's final season at Raymond James Stadium before opening its on-campus stadium in 2027.

"I think we're on the right path (to) building the right type of culture you need to be good on the football field,'' said Hartline, the former offensive coordinator at Ohio State. "That's all I know right now. Words like 'mentality' and 'culture' get thrown around a lot, but it's just how you operate, how you handle tough times. 

"Without those (qualities), teams are not maximized. If you think you can do it without those, you're going to be sadly mistaken. We're on a hard path to creating an elite environment for maximizing individuals. I think that's a good start. But we have a lot of work to do.''

And that's after an insane amount of work put in by the Bulls' coaching staff — featuring 10 new position coaches, including offensive coordinator Tim Beck and defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge —and support staff to acquire players through the transfer portal.

Hartline described it as "speed dating.'' On a typical day at the Selmon Center, Hartline said 15 visiting players might be marching out, followed by 15 other visiting players marching in. It was a time of quick handshakes, no wasted time and brutal honesty.

"I think that through our process in the acquisition of players, we really had a mold of the type of young man and families we were looking for,'' Hartline said. "That sparked a lot of hard conversations in those meetings. Why USF? Why here? Why didn't it work potentially at the other place? And those hard conversations were alarming for some, but the ones who really want to be here for the right reasons, they still chose here. 

"If you don't get the right guys, it makes it really hard. It makes a lot of really good coaches (into) bad coaches pretty quick. So, we put a hard emphasis on trying to find the best you can in the speed-dating world, the right type of guys.''

Hartline said South Florida's discriminating approach ranged between "stern'' and "non-accommodating'' because he felt that would best reveal a player's character. There was no groveling or begging. It was set up more like a professional job interview, in which the player needed to portray his best assets to attract South Florida's interest.

"We were transparent about who we're going to be and let them (players) pick us … we weren't picking them, if that makes sense,'' Hartline said.

Hartline said obvious physical attributes were a draw — size, speed, height, weight — but not necessarily the determining factor.

"Your mental makeup and how you're wired is the closest thing to increasing your odds of success across the board, in my opinion,'' Hartline said. "It's the conversations with them. It's how they operate. It's getting a feel for how competitive they are when you ask them why it didn't work out at the last spot. I want to see that response. If you're blaming other people, then it might not be a fit because then it's going to be someone else's fault once you get here. 

"Nothing is a guarantee, but we're just trying to fight for the best odds of success. We tried to do a great job watching film, but we were looking at all areas. How did the players talk to their parents? How did they operate within the building? What were the conversations like? Those are things you are studying within all the position groups.''

There's obvious interest in how Hartline will develop the Bulls' quarterback position in the post-Byrum Brown era.

South Florida signed four QBs in the transfer portal — sophomore (eligibility) Jayden Bradford (Liberty), senior KJ Cooper (Texas Southern), junior Luke Kromenhoek (Mississippi State) and sophomore Michael Van Buren Jr. (LSU) — and Hartline said his top priority was finding "guys who want to compete.''

"If you're a guy coming in like, 'Oh, I'm this, I'm that' or if they think it's being handed to them, that's not healthy,'' Hartline said. "In the quarterback room — but really, all rooms — there's a blank slate and a great opportunity for everybody.

"At quarterback especially, you want to find two or three guys to compete for the (starting) spot. Ideally, you'd love some guys who have some eligibility after the first year. We're judged on how the players do, right? So, we own all their mistakes. If they make a mistake, it's really on the coaching staff. We have to evaluate at a high level. I'm happy where we're at, but we still have to execute at a high level.''

Which brings us back to that all-important word.

Culture.

"It's based on the people,'' Hartline said. "More than half your roster just changed. We wanted guys who wanted (more than) new facilities and sunny weather. Culture is not logos. Culture is not buildings or pretty paint. Frankly, we haven't done anything (yet). We are establishing who we are.

"I think we have a lot of excitement. I think there are a lot of guys who want to be here for the right reasons. There are a lot of guys who believe in our coaching staff. There are a lot of coaches who believe in our players. We have an opportunity to build something great. Yes, there's momentum at USF. There's no doubt. Now we have to go out and do it.''

–#GoBulls–