South Florida Bulls 2024 Season Preview

The South Florida Bulls are aiming to ride the momentum from last season into an even better 2024 campaign.

During head coach Alex Golesh’s first season at the helm, South Florida jumped from one win to seven victories in 2023. This marked the Bulls’ first winning season since also going 7-6 in 2018.

South Florida’s offense brings back nine starters, spearheaded by dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown.

As a freshman last year, Brown set single-season program marks for passing touchdowns, passing yards, completion percentage and completions. Brown is the first South Florida quarterback to ever amass at least 3,000 yards passing in a season. The dynamic Brown also rushed for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns.

While Brown is clearly the most electric quarterback in South Florida history, the offensive line has to be more sturdy, as the unit gave up 43 sacks last season.

Brown’s go-to receiver is Sean Atkins. The 5-foot-10 playmaker notched the first 1,000+ yard receiving season in USF history last year, along with 92 receptions and seven touchdowns.

Senior running back Nay’Quan Wright heads into his second season as the primary ball carrier for the Bulls. Wright rushed for 797 yards and eight touchdowns during his first year in Tampa.

South Florida is anchored on defense by linebacker Jhalyn Shuler (97 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss) and cornerback Aamaris Brown (40 tackles, two interceptions), both of whom were selected All-AAC honorable mention last season.

South Florida struggled with pass defense last season. However, the Bulls did have a penchant for takeaways, with 10 fumble recoveries and 14 interceptions. Ex-Youngstown State safety D’Marco Augustin is a valuable addition to improve the secondary.

The Bulls are slotted fourth for the 2024 AAC Championships odds, behind only Memphis, UTSA, and Tulane. If South Florida can solidify its defense, expect them to be firmly in the mix in the AAC.