Team recognizes commitment to community service and leadership
TAMPA, FLA., July 15, 2025 – Third-year South Florida Football Head Coach Alex Golesh and graduate wide receiver Christian Helms have been named as nominees for the 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, recognizing college football student-athletes and head coaches for their commitment to community service and leadership beyond the gridiron.
The 2025 South Florida Football Season presented by Tampa General Hospital kicks off at Raymond James Stadium in a nationally televised game on Thursday, Aug. 28, vs. Boise State. The game is set for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
Golesh has been actively involved in numerous community service engagements since arriving in Tampa and has fostered a culture of community service within the football program. Golesh began the Bulls’ annual “Victory Day” event, which he hosts each year in August, as Special Olympians and their families are welcome to campus to participate with the team in football activities. He also regularly supports organizations around the Bay Area, most recently speaking to the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Rising Stars Leadership Academy. Last summer, he participated in the U.S. Naturalization Ceremony for 48 immigrants from 28 countries.
Helms, who competed in all 13 games last year playing on special teams, earned CSC Academic All-District honors and Hampshire Honor Society recognition. He is actively involved in numerous community service engagements, including advocacy and promoting awareness of organ donations through LifeLink. Among the many community service groups he has participated in supporting are Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Parkinson’s Moving Day, Children’s Cancer Center and Pasco County Animal Services. He has also volunteered as a youth football coach among several community activities.
USF is one of 15 programs to have won a bowl or playoff game in each of the last two seasons. The Bulls return 12 starters in 2025 (six on offense and six on defense). Quarterback Byrum Brown, who passed for a program-record 3,292 yards and ran for 836 in 2023, returns after an injury-shortened 2024 season. The Bulls also return four starters on the offensive line and wide receiver Keshaun Singleton, who broke out mid-season in 2024, posting two 100-yard games and 408 receiving yards in the final seven games.
On defense, USF returns its top tacklers from both the 2023 and 2024 seasons in linebackers Mac Harris and Jhalyn Shuler. Harris led the team with 82 tackles and 12 tackles for loss in 2024, while Shuler logged a team-best 97 stops to go with 8.5 tackles for loss in 2023. Three starters also return in the secondary, led by safety Tavin Ward, who led the team with three interceptions and finished second with 62 tackles in 2024.
Up Next:
USF will hold the annual Kickoff Luncheon on Aug. 20 at Armature Works in downtown Tampa. The annual event will feature head coach Alex Golesh and the entire USF team and coaching staff. Public tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Tickets:
Season tickets for the 2025 USF football season are on sale and may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or visiting this LINK.
Single-game tickets for the 2025 USF football season can be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or visiting this LINK.
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About the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team was established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need. Allstate worked to present the award starting with the 2008 season.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 28th season in 2024 with its second-straight bowl victory in the Hawai’i Bowl. The Bulls are one of 15 programs to win a postseason game each of the last two years, as head coach Alex Golesh became the first USF coach to record bowl victories in each of their first two seasons. USF completed construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023 and a $349-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke ground in the fall of 2024 and is slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 17 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including one in 2024), as well as 33 first-team all-conference honorees. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, and the Bulls have made 12 bowl game appearances (going 8-4). USF 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 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings during the 2007 season.
– #GoBulls –
