By By Ken Filler | Tampa Bay Sports Journal
TAMPA — Offensive linemen usually receive attention for one of two reasons.
Either they commit penalties, let the quarterback get hit, or they help an offense pile up yards while staying largely anonymous.
USF’s offensive line was noticed for all the wrong reasons during its season-opening victory over FIU.
One week later at Army, the Bulls changed the lineup and discovered the combination they were looking for to let the offense take off.
Graduate senior Thomas Shrader moved from guard to center. Julius Tate entered the starting lineup, joining Shrader, Michael Wooten, Caleb Cook and Ethan Green.
This change did not make headlines before kickoff. It raised more than a few eyebrows after the Bulls’ dramatic 28–24 victory at Michie Stadium.
The Bulls allowed no sacks, averaged 5.2 yards per rushing attempt, and produced 369 yards of offense.
That doesn’t mean every issue with the offensive line has been solved. But it does mean the reshuffled offensive line has earned another opportunity to prove the improvement was real.
The difference was impossible to miss
Against FIU, the Bulls rushed 38 times for 108 yards, an average of 2.8 yards per attempt.
The offensive line allowed seven tackles for loss and produced just 208 total yards.
No USF runner averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry. The offense’s longest running play was 12 yards.
There was very little movement at the line of scrimmage. Running backs had to change direction before reaching the hole, and USF’s offense spent too much of that game operating behind the chains.
The Bulls still won 19–9 because the defense forced three turnovers and Nico Gramatica kicked four field goals.
Coach Brian Hartline admitted afterward that the offense had repeatedly hurt itself.
“We were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Hartline said. “Whether it was an MA, a penalty, or a drop.”
The Bulls needed more than just a few minor tweaks before traveling to West Point. It needed the offense to function differently.
The Bulls increased their rushing average from 2.8 yards against FIU to 5.2 against Army. Their total offense jumped from 208 yards to 369. Their average gain rose from 3.7 yards per play to 6.7.
The biggest improvement on the stat sheet was that quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. was not sacked once in 30 passing attempts after being sacked against FIU.
Van Buren completed 19 of 30 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran five times for 45 yards and two more scores.
He accounted for all four USF touchdowns and made his biggest throws when the Bulls offense had zero margin for error.
Shrader gave USF stability in the middle
Moving Shrader to center was not an obvious decision.
The 6-foot-5, 312-pound senior started every game at left guard for USF in 2025.
Before the Army game, he had played center in only one previous college game—the 2022 season opener during his time at Florida State.
That is very little experience for an offensive lineman in a position responsible for identifying fronts, communicating protections, and getting the ball cleanly to the quarterback.
But Shrader brought something USF needed: experience and calmness.
Center is just not simply another offensive-line position.
It is the point from which everything begins. If communication breaks down, problems spread quickly.
A missed call can create an unblocked defender, a blown running lane, or a quarterback taking a hit he never saw coming.
Against Army, the Bulls looked more organized.
That does not mean every block was perfect. But the Black Knights created some disruption, and the offense still had some stretches when it couldn’t stay on the field.
But the offense no longer looked like five linemen were trying to solve five different problems.
Shrader has always talked about the offensive line as one unit rather than five individuals.
“I give my all to this unit because I don’t just play for me,” Shrader previously said. “I play for the four other guys on my line and the offense.”
The O-Line shuffling also allowed Tate, a preseason first-team All-American Conference selection, to enter the lineup.
Sometimes your goal isn’t to find the five most talented linemen. It is finding the five who can best play together.
The running game finally showed some life
The final rushing total, 130 yards, was not overwhelming. But the Bulls achieved that number on only 25 attempts.
Van Buren gained 45 yards on five carries. Jason Collins Jr. rushed nine times for 40 yards, while D.J. Crowther added 39 yards on six attempts.
Crowther averaged 6.5 yards per carry, and Collins averaged 4.4.
Those are good numbers after both backs were repeatedly stopped behind the line against FIU.
The Bulls also lost only five rushing yards against Army after losing 24 in the opener.
The most encouraging sign was that Crowther had a 13-yard run, and Collins broke a 10-yarder. And Van Buren scored on runs of 18 and 24 yards.
USF went from having no explosive plays of at least 15 yards against FIU to producing nine at Army.
The offense can’t get all the credit for that production.
Van Buren created yards with his legs, receivers won matchups, and offensive coordinator Tim Beck put players in better positions with his play-calling. But none of that happens without good blocking up front.
The Bulls’ final two touchdown drives told the story.
Trailing 24–14, the Bulls drove 75 yards in six plays and scored on Van Buren’s 24-yard run.
After the defense forced a punt, USF drove 80 yards for the winning touchdown. Van Buren had time to find Joshua Porter for 22 yards on third down, then hit him again for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-6.
One good afternoon does not settle everything
It would be premature to declare USF’s offensive-line issues fixed after one game, but that performance is a step in the right direction.
Army’s defense will not be the best front the Bulls face this season.
Opponents now have film of the new alignment, and they will pressure Shrader to test his communication skills.
USF also needs to establish its running backs without relying so heavily on Van Buren’s scrambling ability.
Quarterback runs can change games, but the Bulls do not want to make it a habit of exposing their starter to unnecessary contact.
This performance, though, is how an offensive line begins to build confidence.
Think of what this means for the Bulls offense.
Hartline said USF understood how valuable each possession would be against Army.
“We understood how precious each possession was,” Hartline said.
Nobody will remember the offensive-line shakeup if USF’s offense slips back into the same problems it showed against FIU.
But if Shrader’s move to center becomes the decision that unlocks the best version of Beck’s offense, the Army game will be remembered as the one where the offense began to reach its potential.
For one game it worked. Now, can they continue that performance against Delaware State this weekend.
