By 5 Things That Will Be Different About USF’s Offense in 2026
TAMPA — South Florida had one of the most productive offenses in college football last season. That doesn’t mean Brian Hartline wants to duplicate it.
The Bulls enter 2026 with a new head coach, new offensive coordinator, new quarterbacks and a dramatically reconstructed roster.
Hartline and offensive coordinator Tim Beck aren’t abandoning the aggressiveness that helped USF win nine games last season, but they are changing how the Bulls intend to attack defenses.
Under Alex Golesh, everything started with tempo and quarterback Byrum Brown. Brown passed for 3,158 yards, rushed for 1,008 and accounted for 42 touchdowns, making him the centerpiece of virtually everything USF did offensively.
This year’s offense should be less dependent on one player.
Beck has described his desired identity simply: physical, tough and fast. He has also emphasized that the scheme will be built around USF’s personnel rather than forcing players into a predetermined system.
As fall camp gets underway, here are five differences that should define USF’s offense in 2026.
1. The Running Backs Should Become a Bigger Part of the Offense
Perhaps the biggest change will be where USF’s rushing yards come from.
Brown’s departure removes a quarterback who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season. USF isn’t going to replace that production by asking Michael Van Buren Jr. or Luke Kromenhoek to carry the football 15 times a game.
The Bulls have built a running-back room that allows Beck to attack defenses with multiple styles rather than relying so heavily on quarterback runs.
D.J. Crowther brings size at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds and gives USF a back capable of running between the tackles. Jason Collins Jr. is a 5-foot-9, 190-pound option who adds another dimension to the room.
Expect the backs to become more central to the offense, not only carrying the football, but potentially becoming more involved in the passing game.
Beck has made his philosophy clear.
“I think, for the most part, you have to run the football to control the tempo of the game,” Beck said. “If you can do that, you can dictate the things that you want to do.”
That’s a significant statement.
Last season, Brown’s legs often created the numbers advantage. This season, expect USF to ask its offensive line and running backs to establish the ground game.
The quarterback can still run. He won’t necessarily be the running game.
2. The Quarterback Will Be Asked to Distribute Instead of Dominate
USF isn’t replacing Byrum Brown with another Byrum Brown.
The battle between Van Buren and Kromenhoek gives the Bulls two quarterbacks with considerably different physical profiles.
Van Buren is listed at 6-foot, 195 pounds, while Kromenhoek brings more prototypical size at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds.
Both arrived with Power Four experience after Van Buren spent time at Mississippi State and LSU and Kromenhoek played at Florida State and Mississippi State.
Whoever wins the job will have mobility, but the position should operate differently.
Instead of building the offense around designed quarterback runs and Brown’s ability to improvise, Beck can ask his quarterback to diagnose the defense, distribute the ball and take advantage of favorable matchups.
That’s precisely how Beck says he will evaluate the position.
“It starts with the quarterback,” Beck said. “What can he handle? What’s he good at?” The key word could be efficiency.
USF doesn’t need its quarterback to produce 4,000 combined yards if the running backs are producing, the offensive line is controlling the line of scrimmage and the receivers are winning one-on-one matchups.
Van Buren or Kromenhoek needs to get the football to those players.
That’s a much different responsibility than replacing Brown’s statistics.
3. USF Wants to Be Bigger and More Physical Up Front
One of Hartline’s most important offseason projects was rebuilding the offensive line.
USF brought in six offensive linemen through the transfer portal, including four seniors, as part of Hartline’s massive 41-player January portal class.
Twenty-one of those transfers were offensive players. That wasn’t accidental.
The Bulls want to become bigger and more physical at the point of attack.
Under Golesh, the offensive line frequently operated as part of a system built around space, tempo and the threat of Brown keeping the football.
Beck wants more versatility.
“It starts with the quarterback. What’s he good at? Then it goes to the offensive line,” Beck said. “What are they good at? What can they handle? Are we a zone team? Are we a gap team?”
That last part is worth watching.
USF doesn’t want to become predictable in the running game.
The increased size up front should allow the Bulls to incorporate more downhill concepts while maintaining the ability to run zone schemes.
The result should be an offense comfortable playing more physical when the situation requires it.
Third-and-2 shouldn’t have to become a race to the line followed by misdirection.
USF should be able to line up, block the man across from it and get two yards.
That might not generate the highlights of last year’s offense, but it could become important against the better teams on USF’s schedule.
4. The Wide Receivers Could Become the Stars of the Offense
If there’s one position where Hartline’s fingerprints should be obvious, it’s wide receiver.
His reputation was built developing elite receivers at Ohio State, and the list speaks for itself: Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka all became first-round NFL Draft selections after working in Hartline’s receiver room.
Now he has an intriguing collection of talent in Tampa.
Bryson Rodgers followed Hartline’s path from Ohio State to USF and could emerge as one of the offense’s most important players. At 6-foot-2 and 192 pounds, Rodgers brings size, speed and familiarity with Hartline’s expectations.
Mudia Reuben provides another bigger target at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, while Jaron Glover checks in at 6-foot-1, 208. Kenny Odom, Arhmad Branch and JeyQuan Smith give the Bulls different body types and skill sets to create matchups.
Rodgers has already caught Beck’s attention.
“I love what he has been doing,” Beck said during spring practice. “He understands the system, but his route-running, you can see that he has been working with Coach Hartline. You can tell that he is sharp.”
This is where USF could become dangerous.
Hartline understands receiver development at an elite level. He understands releases, leverage, route running, and how to create favorable matchups.
Instead of simply getting receivers into space and asking them to make something happen, expect more emphasis on creating separation through route concepts and technique.
USF lost significant receiving production after last season, but Hartline attacked the position aggressively.
Six receivers arrived in the January transfer, five of whom had been four-star recruits coming out of high school.
The names have changed. The talent hasn’t disappeared.
5. Tempo Will Be a Weapon — Not the Entire Identity
This might be the most noticeable difference. USF is still going to play fast.
But playing fast and playing at breakneck tempo on virtually every possession aren’t the same thing.
Golesh used tempo to put enormous pressure on defenses. When it worked, the Bulls could score almost before an opponent had time to adjust.
But there’s another side to that style.
Quick possessions that don’t produce first downs put the defense right back on the field.
Hartline and Beck appear to want greater control.
That could mean huddling at times, changing tempo during a drive, running multiple formations and personnel groups, or bleeding the clock with a fourth-quarter lead.
And then, when the defense is vulnerable, USF can accelerate.
That’s what makes Beck’s emphasis on the running game so important. He doesn’t just want rushing yards. He wants the ability to dictate the game.
“We want to be physical. We want to be tough. And we want to be fast,” Beck said. “You recruit good athletes, then let them play hard and free.”
That’s different from simply trying to snap the football as quickly as possible.
A Different Offense Doesn’t Have to Mean a Less Explosive One
The temptation will be to compare every aspect of Hartline and Beck’s offense with what Golesh and Brown produced last season.
But USF isn’t trying to win the 2025 season again. This roster is different.
The quarterback won’t be asked to carry the entire offense. The running backs should shoulder more of the rushing load.
The offensive line has been rebuilt with an emphasis on size, experience and physicality. And the receivers could become the showcase position of the entire unit.
Most importantly, USF should have more ways to attack a defense.
Need to control the clock? Run it. Need to convert third-and-2? Get behind the bigger offensive line. Defense crowds the box? Get the ball outside to Hartline’s receivers. Safeties start creeping forward? Take the shot downfield.
Need the quarterback to make a play with his legs? Van Buren and Kromenhoek can still do that.
USF’s offense was explosive last season.
The goal in 2026 isn’t necessarily to become more explosive. It’s to become more complete.
If Hartline and Beck can combine last year’s big-play ability with a more physical running game, a bigger offensive line, a deeper receiving corps, and efficient quarterback play, the Bulls might have an offense better equipped to win the games that matter most.
