New Bulls Offense Focused on Being Physical
August 12, 2026 | Football
Most of the players are new. The coaching staff is new. The philosophy and scheme are new. When the University of South Florida's offense lines up for the first time on Sept. 5 against FIU —with at least nine new starters from last season — we will begin to get clarity on so many offseason questions.
What will the Bulls' offense look like?
Will it go fast? Speed? Power? Both? How will the running backs be deployed? How much running? How much passing?
There are clues, of course. South Florida head coach Brian Hartline served several seasons as offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who ran it about 53-percent of the time last season and about 54-percent in 2024, when Ohio State captured the national championship.
"I think our track record offensively is pretty well-defined, so what they've done in the past (at South Florida), I'm really not concerned about that,'' Hartline said. "We're going to do things that we know helps winning football teams. The guys that win championships, you'll find a lot of similarities in the types of offenses. It's a pretty consistent M.O.
"We'll do a good job of identifying what our guys do best and we'll really lean into that. To label us any kind of certain way, that really isn't how my mind works. We'll do what our guys do best and we'll continue to enhance from there.''
Last season, South Florida's offense worked at a breakneck pace, rarely huddling, rushing to the line, trying to wear out the defense or catch it in a bad matchup. The Bulls were a run-first team (55-percent rushing). You couldn't argue with the overall results. The Bulls averaged 40.5 points per game (fifth nationally) with 62 offensive touchdowns.
Offensive coordinator Tim Beck said the Bulls are capable of playing fast — and they will do that when it's most advantageous — but another quality has risen to the offense's top strategic priority.
"We want to be physical … that's the first thing,'' Beck said. "We want to be a physical football team. We want to be high-powered and well-coached. We want to run the football, make plays in space and the air when we throw the football.
"Everybody says these things all the time. But the one thing that's non-negotiable is the physicality. The effort. The ball security. Those are three things (that are priorities).''
Beck said "there are times we will and times we won't'' when asked how often the Bulls will go up-tempo.
"There are times we're going to need to (play fast) and should, depending on who and when we're playing,'' Beck said. "It's kind of a game by game, week by week type of thing. But we'll have all those tools within the offensive system to do whatever we need to create success.''
Wide receiver Mudia Reuben, one of two returning starters along with guard Thomas Shrader, has gotten the message. Reuben said he likes the offense's "spontaneous'' wrinkles, whether it's a change in tempo or keeping the defense guessing with a series of shifts and motions.
"They (coaches) have a track record of doing that for years, so it's just trusting them and doing what they say,'' Reuben said. "Of course there's going to be physicality. We want to be able to run through people's faces. Then when we're not running through people's faces, we want to get the ball on the outside, get the ball in our receivers' hands and let us work.''
Reuben described the receiver room as "diverse.'' Along with holdovers such as Jaden Alexis, Josh Porter, and JeyQuan Smith, Reuben is joined by transfer additions such as Arhmad Branch (Purdue), Jaron Glover (Mississippi State), Kenny Odom (UTEP), Bryson Rodgers (Ohio State), Cam Seldon (Virginia Tech) and Armani Winfield (Colorado State).
Seldon was named to the annual "Freaks List" produced by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, sighting Seldon being a former high school state 100- and 200-meter sprint champion, clocking 22.9 mph on GPS tracking and putting up 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
Diversity also exists among the running backs, where returnees include Alvon Isaac (the Bulls top returning rusher from 2025), Chase Garnett and Tray Kinkle. Promising newcomers are spotlighted by D.J. Crowther (Dartmouth) and Jason Collins Jr. (Morgan State), both come to the Bulls having run for more than 1,000 yards on their collegiate careers.
"This team has some weapons,'' said Michael Van Buren (LSU), who is battling Luke Kromenhoek (Mississippi State) for the No. 1 quarterback spot.
Offensive guard Caleb Cook (Georgia Southern) put it more succinctly when asked what South Florida's offense will provide.
"Points and touchdowns,'' Cook said. "That's the No. 1 thing. You can't win a conference if you don't score a lot of points. You can't be who you want to be if you don't score a lot of points in the red zone. Every time we're on the field, we've got to make use of it.''
That's what the Bulls intend to do, Beck said. Being effective on first-down plays. Avoiding third-down problems. Whether it's running or throwing, going fast or utilizing a measured pace, Beck said he believes the Bulls will have the proper answers.
"You've got to have depth, right?'' Beck said. "You're going through 12 games, two bye weeks, five weeks of preseason, bowl game, championship game … the season is a long time.
"You're going to need a lot of depth and that's what we're trying to do right now. Everybody's getting opportunities. They're trying to separate themselves based on the consistency. From there, we build on that. I've been pleased in that area for the whole offense, to be honest.''
–#GoBulls–
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
