Blue Collar Work Ethic Links South Florida Coaching Staff
July 20, 2026 | Football
TAMPA - Humble beginnings. For the University of South Florida's football staff, that's generally the common thread. Almost all of the coaches began with next to nothing. They owned beat-up cars, but they were driven by passion and hard work. And now they have found themselves in a place with assets such as this:
USF's $22-million Porter Family Indoor Practice Facility, one of the nation's best of its kind.
The university's commitment to funding the program at the highest level, including revenue-sharing.
The ongoing construction and 2027 unveiling of the $348.5-million on-campus stadium and TGH Center for Athletic Excellence, a state-of-the-art football operations center.
It's a long way from the Gulf South Conference.
Or the Pioneer League.
Or getting up early to do the laundry, then line the practice fields.
Or holding mid-week car washes to raise money for equipment.
Or sharing an apartment, maybe sleeping on the couch.
Offensive line coach Mike Sollenne and tight ends coach Sean Binckes played together at Long Island University Post, then began coaching at Nassau Community College.
"We had an equipment truck that we loaded up with all the equipment,'' Binckes said. "From day to day, we drove that truck from the back of the building to the middle of campus, where we practiced on the quad. I think in year three, we got a shed. So we could keep the equipment in the shed next to the practice field. Then we loaded it in and out of the shed.''
Cornerbacks coach James Rowe began at NAIA Bethel University in Tennessee before working up to NCAA Division III Jacksonville University, then NCAA Division II Valdosta State. Special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach Chad Creamer was a defensive coordinator at the NCAA Division III (Capital University) and NCAA Division II (Shorter University) levels.
"You come up a certain way, where you're never bigger than anything … and no job is too small,'' Creamer said. "Back in the day, I'd bump into James all the time. We did the same stuff, recruited Georgia and Florida, found ourselves on the same path, working like crazy.''
Motivated By The Challenge
Defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge, who grew up on an 80-acre cotton farm, played at Harding University, an NCAA Division II program in the Great American Conference. He began coaching at West Georgia, then shifted to Lenoir-Rhyne.
"I'm a D-2 (Division II) guy for life,'' Aldridge said. "There's a culture of selflessness. If something needs fixing, you take care of it. You're not looking for credit or attention. You don't want to let your brother down. It's very powerful. You're motivated by the greater good, by getting the guys ready to play, by making sure you give them what they need. If you come up that way, you never forget it.''
Safeties coach Danny Verpaele played at USF from 2004-08 when the program transitioned to the Big East Conference and earned the Associated Press poll's No. 2 ranking in 2007. But Danny was around USF football in its infancy through his older brother Kevin, who played for the Bulls from 2000-03. Under Coach Jim Leavitt, the Bulls' program was shaped by its modest beginnings.
Verpaele knows the stories well. When Leavitt was hired, the USF football "facility'' was a single trailer. There was a small hole in the floor. Leavitt shrugged and moved his desk on top of the hole. In time, deals were cut to acquire a second trailer, then a third (with a shower) and a fourth. The football trailer complex was dubbed the "Ponderosa.''
USF's first football staff meeting was held underneath a palm tree. Position meetings were conducted in academic classrooms or sometimes in a Fontana Hall bedroom. Players got their steps in — walking from the Ponderosa to classroom meetings to the Sun Dome's locker room then to a faraway practice field.
"I saw it all happen and kind of grew up through it,'' said Verpaele, who comes to USF from Army, but also has a deep coaching background in the ranks of FCS (Kennesaw State), NCAA Division II (Valdosta State) and NCAA Division III (Jacksonville).
"We have everything now at USF we could possibly want to win a championship. I don't think the young guys understand how good they have it. We didn't have a training table or stay in hotels (the night before a home game). We didn't know any better. But when you come from that background, it prepares you to do anything and everything. It teaches you about football and life. Mostly, it teaches you about people.''
It Starts With People
Ah yes, the people.
Regardless of coaching backgrounds and shared experiences and humble beginnings, that is the common thread.
Sollenne and Binckes each spent a few seasons at Ohio State as graduate assistants, where they developed a relationship with Hartline. They vividly remembered one of the first messages you see when entering the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
"You win with people.''
It was one of the familiar phrases from Hayes, the legendary Ohio State head coach whose core belief was establishing leadership, teamwork and a genuine care for the individuals in his program.
"I think our USF program is like that,'' Sollenne said. "The X's and O's are great. The facilities are great and everything we have is awesome. But at the end of the day, it's about the people, the coaches, the administrators and most importantly, the players. It's not the building. It's about the people who are in the building.''
Hartline, who played and coached at Ohio State, said he believes in that philosophy.
"I think we've assembled a staff of coaches who will do everything to develop and look after our players,'' Hartline said. "It's a hard-working, caring bunch of coaches. I'm excited about what we're going to accomplish here. But I'm especially excited about the kind of people they are and how we're going to work together.
"Nothing's every going to be perfect. But I think the consistency of our message, the consistency of how we act as coaches, the consistency of our expectations, that's what we're after. The game only cares about your preparation and your effort, what you do from play to play. I'm confident that we have the right kind of coaches who can get that message across. In the end, it's about the players. It's not about us. It's about ball.''
That's still true at every level.
In 2016, while coaching at Nassau Community College, Sollenne and Binckes had a road game at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. They drove an hour away to Columbus and snuck into Ohio Stadium, just to check it out.
"We were on the field saying, 'Oh my God, this is the coolest thing ever,' '' Binckes said.
A few seasons later, they were both graduate assistants at Ohio State. They had the keys to the stadium.
"You come to realize that it's bigger, but it's still football,'' Sollenne said.
Now they're at USF at a program on the move.
"I think for all of us, it's never about the next job,'' Binckes said. "When you're at your place, you've got to be where your feet are and just work really hard.
"I think we were fortunate to build a good relationship with Coach Hartline at Ohio State and now here we are. I knew he'd had an opportunity somewhere. He was at the highest level possible, but watching him work every day, seeing how he grinded and coached the receivers, he was the best in the world at what he did. Even at a huge place like Ohio State, he had that chip on his shoulder and he's going to have it at USF, too.''
For Hartline and his staff of grinders — molded by the passion and experiences of football at levels — it's time for the work to begin. They're surrounded by facilities and opportunities like never before. But in the end, it's still football. And that's all they ever needed.
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
