Alex Golesh era at USF could be defined by the next 4 months

Conventional wisdom, even during this wholly unconventional juncture in college football, calls for three years.

Generally, such is the timeframe required for a coach to resuscitate a foundering football program. Sure, it sometimes can be done more quickly in the transfer portal era, but an infusion of talent often represents a quick fix. To really put a program on a lasting foundation, a culture must be established, a process must be plotted out, trust has to be fostered. All of which takes time.

Alex Golesh has been afforded 28 months, during which he clearly has elevated the cachet and morale of USF football. On his watch, the Bulls posted consecutive 7-6 seasons with back-to-back bowl triumphs (after totaling four wins in the three years prior to his arrival), while laying a groundwork for how day-to-day operations are conducted.

“I think it’s easy to forget what we walked into when we got here,” he said.

Yet one noticeable gap remains in the program, one that separates adequate from elite. Immediately after Saturday’s spring intrasquad scrimmage at Corbett Stadium, Golesh reinforced his assertion that the next four months will determine whether the Bulls bridge that gap.

“There’s this next step we have to take,” he said. “And the gap is not huge, but it’s the hardest gap to close. … And that’s from winning bowl games and being competitive to winning championships and playing meaningful games into January.”

The initial signs of 2025 indicate the Bulls are well-positioned to construct that bridge and maybe — just maybe — earn the program’s first conference crown. Including walk-ons, the roster includes roughly 30 seniors. The all-conference-caliber quarterback (Byrum Brown) is healthy again, the offensive line is seasoned, and depth abounds at some positions where it was nonexistent two springs ago.

Moreover, Golesh said his players have learned how to train and practice at a high level, and have fostered the type of cohesion he has craved. Winter workouts were “old-school,” he said, with players challenged physically like they hadn’t been the previous two winters.

“We went into the spring with this hope of — and I don’t know that you’re ever going to get a perfect euphoria in college football — a bunch of guys coming together and actually growing as a football team,” Golesh said.

“Learning to love each other, learning to practice the way you’re supposed to practice. Through 15 practices, that’s what we did. Almost to a point sometimes where … every now and again I’d try to start a little scuffle just to make sure we’re still all on edge.”

The next steps: fine-tuning the roster via the transfer portal (the Bulls have prospects set for official visits the next two weekends), tweaking the offensive and defensive schemes (because opponents now have two years of film on Golesh’s system), and eliminating the maddening inconsistency — be it game to game or play to play — that has besieged the program the last two years.

“A lot of mistakes we made last year were on us,” fifth-year safety Jaelen Stokes said.

“Some of the plays that we gave up could’ve been easily prevented. So if we just take those off our plate, I think that’s the gap coach has been talking about. Just close that gap right there, and then I feel like we’ll be at where we want to be at.”

If not now, when? With a noticeable jump in Year 3, Golesh’s process is validated, recruiting likely is enhanced and the foundation is fortified. But another 7-6 season could yield the law of diminishing returns.

“We’ll get there when we get there, but I think this as close as we’ve been,” Golesh said. “We’ve got to go finish in the portal here. … We’ve got to go finish, we’ve got to shore up the roster, and then we’ve got to go close this gap.”

Year 3 turnarounds

Recent history in this state shows once-foundering programs taking their biggest strides in Year 3 of a coach’s tenure:

Willie Taggart, USF

First two seasons (2013-14): 6-18

Third season (2015): 8-5 (Miami Beach bowl appearance)

Mike Norvell, FSU

First two seasons (2020-21): 8-13

Third season (2022): 10-3 (Cheez-It Bowl win)

Mario Cristobal, Miami

First two seasons: (2022-23): 12-13

Third season (2024): 10-3 (won first nine games)

Billy Napier, Florida

First two seasons (2022-23): 11-14

Third season (2024): 8-5 (season-ending 4-game win streak)

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