Year 3 of the Alex Golesh era will be punctuated by veteran players owning the program
TAMPA, Fla. – Land is being cleared and graded for a stadium expected to be ready for the 2027 season and a football operations building scheduled to be up and running earlier that year. Work is taking place adjacent to an indoor practice facility that opened in the fall of 2022. Indeed, significant athletic projects that for so long were seemingly limited to dusty blueprints and idle chatter have become a reality, or are on the way to being just that.
“I literally look outside my window every day, watch these guys work and feel like the closer it gets to ’27, they start earlier and end later,” said coach Alex Golesh, of the view of construction crews from his office in the Selmon Athletics Center. “It has been incredible to watch.”
Can the football team that spends much of its time inside the practice facility and will be a resident of the new stadium, along with women’s lacrosse, rev it into another gear during Golesh’s third season at the helm of the Bulls?
READ: Where Do Preseason Publications Rank The USF Bulls Among Group Of Five?
“When we got here two and a half years ago, we knew it was going to be an incredibly tough challenge to get this program where it belongs, which is the top of its conference,” said Golesh, at American Conference media days in Charlotte earlier this week.
The 41-year-old coach has done a pretty good job so far. True, breaking even in the regular season and finishing 7-6 as the Bulls have done each of the past two seasons is not something that is going to result in banners flapping in the new venue. Still, it was a nice first two years for Golesh as the program created unmistakable momentum that needs to yield something better in 2025.
“I think the biggest thing for us going into year three is continuing to build our brand of football, what we are on all three sides of the football, what we are inside our building,” said Golesh, noting his roster includes 34 seniors.
It is much, much easier to build a program when the same faces serve as the bedrock. As Golesh noted, he has had virtually the same staff since arriving in Tampa as all but one full-time coach is back for a third year. (Receivers coach L’Damian Washington left for the same role at Kentucky and Kodi Burns, who worked with Golesh at Tennessee in 2021, joined the staff as assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach.)
“The continuity continues to give us an incredible support system within our program,” said Golesh. “Really proud of the culture we have established within in our walls.”
That culture continue to be one that is more player driven, something that was a vital element to Golesh’s foundational blueprint since he arrived in December 2022.
READ: USF Athletics Unveils Bulls Athletic Properties To Spearhead Revenue Growth
“We continue to teach what player-driven leadership looks like,” he said. “That has been the last step for us. To continue to close the gap is to allow our players to truly own what is going on inside our program.”
The Bulls begin practice Monday morning. Media availability will be at approximately 11:45 and include Golesh, quarterback Byrum Brown, center Cole Best, linebacker Mac Harris and corner De’Shawn Rucker.
The season kicks off at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 28 versus a Boise State team that is in its last year as a member of the Mountain West before moving to an expanded Pac-12 in 2026. The Broncos are favored to set the pace among non-power conference teams. Game time is 5:30 and the matchup will be the front end of an ESPN doubleheader. The late game (9:00) is Nebraska at Cincinnati.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
