Photo Credit: Bobby Carter NGSC Sports
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Under a cloudy but not gloomy sky with a breeze, the University of South Florida Bulls had their spring football game. This was the first under new head coach Brian Hartline. Nearly 3900 fans were attending. The bleachers on both sides of the field were full to cheer on their Bulls. The band and cheerleaders were there to excite the fans. The best part is that not one player was injured, and that’s good, as we were about four plus months away from the start of the season. This will be the final season that the Bulls will play at Raymond James Stadium. They move to their on-campus home starting in the 2027 season. The stadium cast shadows on Corbett Stadium, where the game took place. Many of the fans, prior to the game, walked over to the construction gates to snap pictures of how far it had come.
How the teams were split up is that the offense was in all green jerseys and the defense was in all white jerseys. Right before the game started, the baseball team had a game right across the street and won 1-0 over the UAB Blazers. This would be the final game for legendary broadcaster Jim Louk for USF. Head coach Brian Hartline was very happy with the result of the game. The rules were different as this game gave the defense a chance to score points for certain aspects of the game. Hartline said after the game, “I am really proud when you consider where we were three months ago to where we are now.” He also stated, “That we have a long way to go.” It’s time to assess what happened yesterday. The fans and team know they can get better before kickoff in early September.
Even though there was a score, there were no stats kept. Where the defense shone in the game and how they scored points were causing a turnover, making a fourth-down stop, or forcing a three-and-out. The defense did this a few times in the game and kept it close. One of the biggest defensive plays came from a cornerback who stayed behind from the Golesh’s era in Jair Murphy. Murphy made a great diving interception, which came from the aggressive,e effective pressure. Defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge was set and ready and showed what his defense could be. On the other side of the ball, ll the offense used big rushing plays to score points. The four running backs that were mainly featured were Jason Collins Jr., D.J. Crowther, and two holdovers in Chase Garnett, and Connor Mathews.
The other part of the offense that shone was in the wide receiver and tight end positions. Kade Caton scored on pass plays at the wide receiver position. The two tight ends were Wyatt Sullivan and Evan Dangler. This is an important position in Hartline’s offense. As far as the quarterback position, which was held by Byrum Brown for the past three years, is now a new face. There were two that stood out that will compete for the starting job: Michael Van Buren Jr. and Luke Kromenhoek. According to Hartline, this competition will be going on for quite a while. The game could have been seen as vanilla early in Hartline’s tenure. He was very happy with the fan turnout and knows he will have the team ready for Florida International University on September 5th. The final score of the game was the offense won 39-35.
Is it too early to judge Brian Hartline’s first spring game? Leave a comment below.
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Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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