Bulls Focused on Fundamentals and Techniques as Training Camp Begins
August 06, 2026 | Football
When the University of South Florida's football team began fall camp Wednesday, it carried the expected reaction from outsiders. Lots of media attention. Lots of chatter from the Bulls' fan base. And lots of anticipation from everyone with South Florida's season-opener now in sight (Florida International University, Sept. 5, Raymond James Stadium).
First-year head coach Brian Hartline had different emotions.
"I'm not a big Day One type of guy,'' Hartline said. "Everyone's all excited. Everything's new and shiny. I'm looking forward to Day Nine, 10, 11, 12 … when it's really hard.
"But we're glad to be back on the field. I'm excited for these guys to get back to some more football and show everything they acquired in the offseason as they apply it to the football field.''
What to expect during camp? What will be emphasized by Hartline and his staff? In a word — toughness.
"I think we've been more physical through practice than we've ever been,'' Hartline said. "So (we) take a lot of pride in that. I think that's an M.O. for the conference. The toughest teams in this conference are going to compete for championships. If you don't have that toughness, you're not going to compete for championships.
"There's probably a timeline you have in camp that you really look at opportunities to get physical and really maybe take guys to the ground a little bit. But then at some point you've got to turn that off and make sure guys aren't exposed to silly injuries and things like that. But having that (toughness) mindset, having that M.O., to be in the heat, all of that serves the right purpose.''
One of the first questions in South Florida's camp — or any football team's camp — revolves around the quarterback. Who's the starter? The prime candidates are Luke Kromenhoek (who played at Florida State and Mississippi State) and Michael Van Buren (who played at Mississippi State and LSU).
"Frankly, it's up to them to separate themselves,'' Hartline said. "When you know, you know. (When) that one guy separates (a starter will become obvious). I really haven't given myself a final date (to name a starter). As we go through camp, we'll see what happens.''
There's healthy competition and storylines throughout the team, of course. But for fans who aren't deep in the depth-chart weeds, there are other encouraging signs. The Bulls look like a team to watch — with as much size, speed, physical maturity and talent as any South Florida squad in recent seasons.
Forty-one new players were added through the transfer portal — and 14 of them were rated either four-star or five-stat recruits coming out of high school. Four of the newcomers earned all-conference honors in Division I football (offensive lineman Caleb Cook, Sun Belt; offensive lineman Cash Hudson, Missouri Valley Football Conference; defensive back Ayden Jackson, Sun Belt; and wide receiver Kenny Odom, Conference USA).
Along the offensive and defensive lines, there's plenty of promise. There are 20 players who weigh 300 pounds or greater.
"We're a team with great size, but … it's all about heart,'' said defensive tackle Major Dillard (6-foot-2, 330 pounds). "The size, the height, the length, none of that matters (without great heart). At the end of the day, you've got to go out there and play. It's about how you do things.''
Cook, a transfer from Georgia Southern who was named this week to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy (nation's best interior lineman), said South Florida's heart has been developed in the training room. Players and coaches alike have praised the program of Antonio Turner, the head strength and conditioning coach who arrived from Ohio State.
"I think we have every physical tool needed in the book — and there are a lot of people who came here from bigger programs or smaller programs who already had the blueprint to get those tools,'' Cook said. "But if I'm going to be honest, the workout program of A.T. (Turner) has turned all of us into the best, whether it's body fat, muscle or speed.
"Everybody has improved at just about everything. That all starts with the strength and conditioning staff. Trust me, that junk (conditioning) isn't easy. When things are easy, it's not working. When it's hard, that's when you get better. And A.T. got us a lot better.''
From the training room to the practice field, a standard has been set.
"I just have to be the best version of myself,'' said defensive lineman Michael Williams II, who has played 32 games in the past three seasons at South Florida. "If you feel like you're one of the best guys, you've got to perform like you're one of the best guys.
"You can't have a bad day. You can't have a (bad) play. You can't have a bad minute. You can't breathe the wrong way. If you do, somebody's going to feed off that, then it starts to trickle down. If you really want to win and have everything be how you want it to be, you've got to set the standard. Then everybody follows behind you.''
It reflects one of Hartline's core values.
Talent is great. Talent is necessary. But talent without work? Talent without heart? It's not going to prevail.
"I would say talent (alone) usually doesn't win out,'' said Hartline, who listed his camp priorities as perfecting fundamentals and technique. "I would say typically it's more about the things that take no talent. The most talented team does not win a national championship or conference championship every year.
"The right way to articulate it is that we as coaches can't put guys in bad positions on game day. We do a great job during practice, bringing them along fundamentally and technique-wise, but it's everything else that leads to winning. It's not tricking people on game day. There are some offenses that are a little different out there, but for the most part, everybody runs the same plays. It's just really how you run them that really allows you to separate yourself.''
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
