ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Wyatt Sullivan had a blast modeling USF’s 2026 football jerseys that, in part, highlight the athletic department’s relationship with Tampa General Hospital. While the helmet he wears on the gridiron differs from what he wore in a helicopter for a promotional video, his thinking cap is ever present.
“I talked to the pilot and he really gave me a different perspective,” said Sullivan, who is always picking brains so that he can fill.
The Atlanta native received his undergraduate degree in business management in the spring. It is a field of study he feels that with his outgoing personality could open doors in any number of areas.
“I feel in life, so much is about connections,” he said at American Conference media days in St. Pete. “I felt like (business management) was a broad major, so I just wanted to be able to use my personability to deal with whatever I am going to do. By having a broad major, I felt as though I could be in so many different fields and not be pigeonholed into any particular area.”
Doors are sure to open for Sullivan, especially since he is also taking graduate courses focusing on artificial intelligence.
“That is where the world is going, so I want to get ahead of the curve,” he said.
A “no brainer” to stay at USF
Twenty players caught at least one pass for the Bulls last season. Between a bevy of transfers and those who expired their eligibility, only eight return for coach Brian Hartline’s first season at USF. Sullivan is one them.
“As soon as I heard that he got the job, it was really a no-brainer,” said the senior tight end, who caught 18 passes for 176 yards and two TDs in 2025, and has 36 career receptions. “He’s super energetic, works out with us, runs conditioning drills with us. At the same time, he’s a wise man who really knows what he is talking about.”
The 6-foot-4 and 245-pound Sullivan is entering his final season of eligibility, and second at USF. He transferred from fellow American Conference member FAU, where he spent his first three seasons beginning in 2022. Hartline is his third head coach in as many seasons and, including an interim, his fifth overall. Alex Golesh (2025), Chad Lunsford (2024 interim), Tom Herman (2023-24) and Willie Taggart (2022) are the others.
Sullivan likes the roster Hartline has assembled, a group that opens preseason camp Wednesday. There may be many new faces, including 41 that arrived through the transfer portal. Still, he likes how everyone has gelled since winter.
“We have a lot of like-minded guys and we have a lot of positive energy guys,” he said. “We don’t have guys that come in with bad attitudes, guys that are negative toward the team. We don’t have that, and that’s a blessing.”
Sullivan counts his blessings while fishing. It is a time for him to reflect and relax with teammates, though often on a solo basis.
“It’s just something that I’ve started to do,” he said, adding that he likes to golf with his fellow tight ends. “I just cast my rod or cast my hook and I just wait. It’s kind of like I’m meditating. I haven’t caught too many fish so far.”
Catching a football is not a problem, and expect Sullivan to have an impact on the Bulls’ offense once again.
READ: ‘Pup’ Ready To Bark: Linebacker Grayson Howard Brings High Energy—And A Love For Dogs—To USF
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