ESPN’s Bill Connelly compiled the list of 30 college football coaches
TAMPA, April 12, 2024 – Coming off the greatest one-year improvement in program history and a decisive 45-0 rout of Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl, USF Football Head Coach Alex Golesh has been named to an ESPN list of “30 coaches who will define the next decade of college football.”
The list, compiled by ESPN writer Bill Connelly, names coaches across six categories that will shape the college game. Golesh was named among the “most exciting younger head coaches,” of which three came from the American Athletic Conference.
Connelly wrote “after coaching for the diverse duo of Matt Campbell and Josh Heupel, he landed his first head-coaching job last year at age 38 and immediately crushed it” adding “after going a combined 4-29 from 2020 to 2022, USF leaped to 7-6 last season…crushing Syracuse 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl. His track record isn’t extensive, so putting him here is a risk, but what a first impression he made.”
In his first season leading the Bulls, Golesh produced a six-win improvement, the best in program history and second only to Northwestern in the 2023 season. His offense led the nation with 82 plays per game and ranked No. 17 in total offense (451.6 ypg) behind first-year starting quarterback Byrum Brown, who became the program’s first 3,000-yard passer. Brown and wide receiver Sean Atkins, who became the program’s first 1,000-yard receiver, were part of 16 individual records and 12 team marks set by the Bulls in 2023. USF played in its first bowl game since 2018 and won its first since 2017. Golesh capped off the season with Rivals’ No. 48-ranked recruiting class, the highest outside of the autonomy conferences and the program’s best in a decade.
Golesh and the Bulls will take the field Saturday for the USF Spring Game presented by USF Health, which returns to Corbett Stadium on campus for a 2 p.m. kickoff. A capacity crowd is expected at the USF soccer teams’ competition venue as publicly available tickets were sold out early in the week. Fans must have reserved their general admission ticket for entrance in advance. The game will be broadcast live on 102.5 FM The Bone and the Bulls Unlimited digital radio channel (USF Bulls App or TuneIn Radio).
Golesh’s second USF team returns 20 starters – 9 on offense, 9 on defense and two specialists – including record-setting quarterback Byrum Brown (Raleigh, N.C.) and wide receiver Sean Atkins (Viera), coming off the program’s first 3,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard receiving seasons. The 2023 Bulls set 12 team and 16 individual records and capped the biggest turnaround in program history (going 7-6 after a 1-11 campaign in 2022) with a 45-0 rout of Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl. The USF offense ranked No. 17 nationally producing 451.6 ypg and led the nation running 82.1 plays per game. The Bulls’ 5,871 offensive yards on the year ranked as the third-best total in program history.
USF opens the 2024 season on Sat., Aug. 31 vs. Bethune Cookman in Raymond James Stadium before heading to Alabama (Sept. 7) and Southern Mississippi (Sept. 14) and returning the Ray Jay to close out the non-conference campaign with a clash with Miami on Sept. 21.
New season tickets for the 2024 USF football season at Raymond James Stadium are on sale now. Secure your seats for the 2024 season by calling or texting 1-800-GoBulls or by visiting USFBULLSTIX.com. All tickets are once again dynamically priced for each game based on demand and are subject to change. Tickets can be purchased online at USFBullsTix.com, by calling/texting 1-800-GoBulls or using the direct links below.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 27th season in 2023 while completing construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility. A $340-million on-campus stadium and football operations center is slated for 2027. The Bulls have posted 16 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections, including 2021 consensus All-American kick returner Brian Battie, and had 32 first-team all-conference selections. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and has made 11 bowl game appearances (going 7-4 in those games), posting a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010 and making four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18. The Bulls posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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